India, Jan. 4 -- One of the greatest strategic mistakes in recent times was the illegal and ill-advised US invasion of Iraq, which left a trail of destruction and chaos across the Middle East. Motivated by Saddam Hussein's supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction, for which there was no evidence, President George W. Bush unleashed a short war, which permanently destabilised the region. Rattled by the disaster of the 9/11 attack on the United States, the Bush administration invaded Iraq in order to send a message to all countries, especially the recalcitrant regimes such as Syria, Libya, or North Korea, that American hegemony was here to stay. Put simply, the Iraq war was motivated by a desire to (re)establish American standing a...