Why did President George W. Bush argue that Iraq should be disarmed?

President George W. Bush argued that Iraq should be disarmed primarily due to concerns regarding national security following the September 11 attacks. His administration asserted that Iraq possessed or was actively developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD)—including biological, chemical, and nuclear capabilities—in violation of United Nations resolutions.12

These accusations, which were later proven to be erroneous, were central to the administration's "preemptive" security strategy. Bush maintained that the United States could not wait for threats to fully materialize and argued that disarming Iraq was essential to prevent "rogue states" from threatening the U.S. with destructive weapons. Additionally, the administration frequently alleged that the regime of Saddam Hussein maintained ties to al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, framing the disarmament of Iraq as a critical component of the broader global war on terror.213