--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly…" description: "\"The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly carried out under false pretences.\" — Joe Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/joe-wilson-32934_carried_the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-c_1809009.jpg" --- # The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly carried out under… ![“The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly carried out under false pretences.” quote by Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/joe-wilson-32934_carried_the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-c_1809009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/joe-wilson-32934_carried_the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-c_1809009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/joe-wilson-32934_carried_the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-c_1809009.jpg) > “The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly carried out under false pretences.” [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Iraq war was fundamentally flawed, driven by deceptive motives, leading to disastrous outcomes. **In simple terms:** The war was a disaster caused by false pretenses. Key Takeaway Demand accountability for war decisions. Themes war deception consequences Mood critical serious Type political inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - activism - policy analysis - education Key Concepts foreign policy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What were the hidden motives? - How can future wars be prevented? A Different Perspective Complex geopolitics may involve multiple factors beyond deception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [I was a businessman. I was a real estate man and a businessman. That was the first time I think that question was ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-was-a-businessman-i-was-a-real-estate-man-and-a-businessman-that/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Unlike Hillary Clinton, who voted for the war without knowing what she was doing, I would not have had our people in Iraq. Iraq…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/unlike-hillary-clinton-who-voted-for-the-war-without-knowing-what-she/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If a marriage doesn't work, you can't do anything about it. I am not the kind who'll stick on under false pretences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rekha/if-a-marriage-doesn-t-work-you-can-t-do-anything-about-it-i-am-not/) [Rekha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rekha/) > [I don't wish to inhabit the human world under false pretences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-wish-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretences/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [This war in Iraq is part of a larger effort to remove this terrorist threat from the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cellucci/this-war-in-iraq-is-part-of-a-larger-effort-to-remove-this-terrorist/) [Paul Cellucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cellucci/) > [Because Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama failed to provide a status of forces agreement and leave sufficient troops in there, we are back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/because-hillary-clinton-and-barack-obama-failed-to-provide-a-status/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The victor of the war in Iraq is Iran.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/the-victor-of-the-war-in-iraq-is-iran/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [I was against the war with Iraq. First of all, they didn't knock down the World Trade Centre. It wasn't Iraq that knocked down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-was-against-the-war-with-iraq-first-of-all-they-didn-t-knock-down/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“History will judge the war against Iraq not by the brilliance of its military execution, but by the effectiveness of the post-hostilities activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-chandrasekaran/history-will-judge-the-war-against-iraq-not-by-the-brilliance-of-its/) Rajiv Chandrasekaran > [ I think it was Osama bin Laden's \[idea to start a pre-emptive war in Iraq\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/i-think-it-was-osama-bin-laden-s-idea-to-start-a-pre-emptive-war-in/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [I voted against the war in Iraq. I voted against the first Gulf War. I think war is the last resort - the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-voted-against-the-war-in-iraq-i-voted-against-the-first-gulf-war-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [“The use of the shemagh and keffiyeh had been adopted by US troops since the war in Iraq”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mather/the-use-of-the-shemagh-and-keffiyeh-had-been-adopted-by-us-troops/) [Matthew Mather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mather/) > [The war in Iraq is a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times a new world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-war-in-iraq-is-a-rare-opportunity-to-move-toward-an-historic/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The reality is no one knows how much it will cost us to wage war with Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/the-reality-is-no-one-knows-how-much-it-will-cost-us-to-wage-war-with/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [So a truthful assessment of how America is doing in the war on terror as a result of President Bush's war on Iraq is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-olver/so-a-truthful-assessment-of-how-america-is-doing-in-the-war-on-terror/) [John Olver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-olver/) ## More by Joe Wilson > [Giving the same value to fiction as to fact in the interest of so-called fairness is to mislead the American people and the press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/giving-the-same-value-to-fiction-as-to-fact-in-the-interest-of-so/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [I think it's time for the people and the press, in particular, to be more vigilant about not giving equal weight to lies as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/i-think-it-s-time-for-the-people-and-the-press-in-particular-to-be/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [When a government goes to war, particularly a democracy, it is the most solemn and awesome responsibility of our leaders - to decide to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/when-a-government-goes-to-war-particularly-a-democracy-it-is-the-most/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [Nuclear weapons kill Americans - they don't kill Republicans or Democrats - they kill Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/nuclear-weapons-kill-americans-they-don-t-kill-republicans-or/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [We need to be discussing issues specifically to help the American people. And that would not include illegal aliens. These are people - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/we-need-to-be-discussing-issues-specifically-to-help-the-american/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [These are people - I'm for immigration - legal immigration. I've been an immigration attorney. But people who have come to our country and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/these-are-people-i-m-for-immigration-legal-immigration-i-ve-been-an/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [I have long felt that it is readers and viewers of conservative media who could benefit from a more balanced discussion of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/i-have-long-felt-that-it-is-readers-and-viewers-of-conservative-media/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [We have the new greatest generation. We don't need as large a military due to the technology we have, the equipment we have outfitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/we-have-the-new-greatest-generation-we-don-t-need-as-large-a-military/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [The government serves the people - not vice-versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/the-government-serves-the-people-not-vice-versa/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [No longer is there a quest for the truth so much as there is this apparent need to present both sides of an issue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/no-longer-is-there-a-quest-for-the-truth-so-much-as-there-is-this/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [I am not a rabid partisan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/i-am-not-a-rabid-partisan/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [One must always keep one's government under control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/one-must-always-keep-one-s-government-under-control/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [I am a gentleman. My natural inclination is to be on my best behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/i-am-a-gentleman-my-natural-inclination-is-to-be-on-my-best-behavior/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) > [We need to be discussing issues specifically to help the American people. And that would not include illegal aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/we-need-to-be-discussing-issues-specifically-to-help-the-american-2/) [Joe Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) [Explore all 15 Joe Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/) ## More Carried quotes > [The greatest of all crimes are the wars that are carried on by governments, to plunder, enslave, and destroy mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-greatest-of-all-crimes-are-the-wars-that-are-carried-on-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [Osama Bin Laden is dead. Killed not by a massive troop deployment but by a commando raid carried out by a few dozen highly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/osama-bin-laden-is-dead-killed-not-by-a-massive-troop-deployment-but/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [“No, no, no, no. Don't get carried away, man. One thaw is not the summer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-levy/no-no-no-no-don-t-get-carried-away-man-one-thaw-is-not-the-summer/) [Andrea Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-levy/) > [It took me a long time to make that leap to being a grown-up and responsible adult because I carried on being a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-fletcher/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-make-that-leap-to-being-a-grown-up-and/) [Dexter Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-fletcher/) > [As many of the riders before me had been held up and robbed of their packages, mail and money that they carried, for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calamity-jane/as-many-of-the-riders-before-me-had-been-held-up-and-robbed-of-their/) [Calamity Jane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calamity-jane/) > [“With a boot on his chest, she used her free hand to search for the syringe he surely carried. Found it. Jabbed it into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-stevens/with-a-boot-on-his-chest-she-used-her-free-hand-to-search-for-the/) [Taylor Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-stevens/) > [“A mapping of discovery should be carried out”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/a-mapping-of-discovery-should-be-carried-out/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Any new legal measures, or cooperative arrangements between government and companies meant to keep people from organizing violence or criminal actions, must not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/any-new-legal-measures-or-cooperative-arrangements-between-government/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [The whole tax code should be looked at, all the way from farm subsidies to carried interest to - to corporate loopholes, because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-pagliuca/the-whole-tax-code-should-be-looked-at-all-the-way-from-farm/) [Stephen Pagliuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-pagliuca/) > [The perpetuation of slavery, the exile and extermination of American Indians, and the passage of Jim Crow laws weren't carried out at the bidding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-perpetuation-of-slavery-the-exile-and-extermination-of-american/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [It didn't matter what you looked like. It was how you carried yourself, how you saw yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/it-didn-t-matter-what-you-looked-like-it-was-how-you-carried-yourself/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [I still like to get carried away - but passively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/i-still-like-to-get-carried-away-but-passively/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [When I began modelling I was completely unprepared for the onslaught of curiosity it carried with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-dahl/when-i-began-modelling-i-was-completely-unprepared-for-the-onslaught/) [Sophie Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-dahl/) > [You cannot trust 25 guys in a locker room to have the same respect and training as I do with a weapon. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-scott/you-cannot-trust-25-guys-in-a-locker-room-to-have-the-same-respect/) [Luke Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-scott/) > [“Moderation should never be carried to extreme.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-arthur-williams/moderation-should-never-be-carried-to-extreme/) Andrew Arthur Williams Browse all 264 Carried quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly carried out under false pretences.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joe Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-carried-out-under-false/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carried" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-carried-out-under-false/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/joe-wilson-32934_carried_the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-c_1809009.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/joe-wilson-32934_carried_the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-c_1809009.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/joe-wilson-32934_carried_the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-c_1809009.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The war on Iraq was a disaster, clearly carried out under false pretences.” — Joe Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joe Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The war on Iraq was a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-carried-out-under-false/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wilson/the-war-on-iraq-was-a-disaster-clearly-carried-out-under-false/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```