2003 George W. Bush ordered US forces to invade Iraq. US won a quick victory and the strong leader of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, was defeated and his regime fell with him. The consequenses of the invasion has afterwards proved to be devestating and a debate about whether the invasion could be justified awakened. Out of this debate the issue of this essay was born. This essays purpose is namely to answer the question; Can the US official motives to the invasion of Iraq 2003 be considered as justified accordig to Just war theory? Just war theory is an established theory consisting of four criteria that should be met to justify war. As this essay investigates wether Just war theory correspond with the US official motives to the invasion or not the work has been of theory-testing character. To answer the research question has case study method and analysis of ideas-technique been used. By comparing Just war theory criteria with the US official motives the conclusion reached is that only two out of four criteria are fully met and thereby can the US official motives to the invasion of Iraq 2003 not be considered as justified according to Just war theory.

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