Former GOP Rep.: Iraq War was revenge

INDIANAPOLIS, July 13 (UPI) -- The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq was motivated by revenge for an assassination attempt former President George H.W. Bush, a former GOP member of Congress says.

John Hostettler of Indiana also says the invasion was intended to aid Israel. Hostettler -- one of six House Republicans to vote against the 2002 resolution authorizing use of force in Iraq -- makes the claims in a new, self-published book, "Nothing for the Nation: Who Got What Out of Iraq," the Indianapolis Star reported Sunday.

"It cannot be debated that toppling Saddam was accomplished by means of a 'private compact' with political appointees and their underlings in the Pentagon 'to support' the ideals of 'partisans ... dedicated to another cause,'" Hostettler wrote.

The conservative Republican, who lost his bid for a seventh term last year, said he wrote the book because conservatives must acknowledge the invasion was inconsistent with the nation's foreign policy principles.

Hostettler said he believes President George W. Bush wanted to avenge a 1993 assassination attempt against his father by the Iraqi Intelligence Service.

"Revenge is a powerful motivator," Hostettler wrote. "On inauguration day in 2001, motive married opportunity."