A power vacuum exists when a government and its apparatus, is rapidly destroyed/withdrawn
The people have no control in their lives and society rapidly breaks down into anarchy
You get this in a riot
Another example is when the police of Montreal, suddenly went on strike in 1969:
en.wikipedia.org
Until troops arrived to restore order, there was a definite power vacuum, and society fell apart
As we saw, there was no non-compliance
Iraq had no WMD
Saddam was a POS, but he represented order. Bush Jr was hell bent on righting a perceived defeat of his father...after the 1990-91 Gulf War, Bush Sr lost office, while Saddam remained in power
Not too many presidents win a war so overwhelmingly and get voted out of office the next year
Invading Iraq was a REALLY bad idea
The invasion of Iraq was a huge mistake, as was the invasion of Afghanistan
Ask yourself what the cost has been, ask yourself what benefits we have got - if any
A clearer headed man might want to know where the quickest exit was and where the closest hospital is
Winning the Gulf War was essential. But that should have been it.