Sanctions can exist against USA, but you’d only hear about them buried in the subject matter of tariffs. There’s no technical disqualifier. In 2003, there were

Sanctions can exist against USA, but you’d only hear about them buried in the subject matter of tariffs. There’s no technical disqualifier. In 2003, there were protests for sure. But the background on why Iraq was invaded is different than Ukraine. Gulf 1 was a United Nations mission ending in 1991 with a ceasefire. Breaking the terms of that ceasefire could happen if: - no-fly zone violated - weapons inspectors denied access anywhere - material support for attacks outside the country Saddam violated the first two and confessed to world media about having WMDs. It was a lie, but it wasn’t hard for W to keep it going. - regime change became USA policy under Ws predecessor, allowing him to say this is not simply an oil play. A better Saddam could have admitted he lied about WMDs and surrendered in order to spare his people.