IRAQ WAR LIES: The conflict was a textbook case of rewriting history to cover up war crimes.

• Author: Zunes, Stephen
• Position: THE LINGERING EFFECTS OF

Twenty years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the country remains unstable, with one of the most corrupt and dysfunctional governments in the world. It is unable to provide Iraqis with many of the basic services previous generations had known. Rival militia groups are battling for influence, and serious human rights abuses are ongoing. Thousands of U.S. troops remain in the country to this day, ostensibly to counter the presence of ISIL/ISIS cells and Iranian militia groups, both of which emerged as a direct result of the 2003 invasion.

The cumulative cost of the war for American taxpayers will end up at well over $3 trillion, adding to the national debt and giving deficit hawks the excuse to resist needed expansions, and even to impose cuts in important domestic spending. On the environmental front, the war is estimated to have resulted in the release of hundreds of millions of additional metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, seriously undermining efforts to reduce emissions elsewhere.

Both the financial and environmental costs have been compounded further by the war against ISIS, a terrorist group founded and led by Iraqis radicalized by the U.S. invasion and occupation. The spread of ISIS beyond Iraq has led the United States to deploy additional forces and engage in air strikes and commando raids in no less than a dozen countries in Africa and the Middle East. In addition, massive arms shipments and additional troop deployments have been made in response to Iran's strengthened role as a result of the rise of the pro-Iranian militia and the strong influence of pro-Iranian political parties in Iraq's government.

The predictable consequences of the U.S. invasion of Iraq are now being used to justify a bloated U.S. military budget and expanded overseas deployments in response to the threats the war created.

The Watson Institute at Brown University estimates that more than 300,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in direct violence from the invasion and its aftermath, and several times that from damage to systems that provide food, health care, and clean drinking water, resulting in fatal illnesses and malnutrition that could otherwise have been avoided or treated.

In light of such tragic results, supporters of the invasion have attempted to rewrite history. Among the false claims was that virtually everyone supported the invasion. In reality, the majority of Congressional Democrats voted against the war resolution, and the...