In the defense of our world leaders, it is very difficult to make decisions rationally. Often political leaders are forced into situations that don’t have any appropriate options. Take, for instance, the example of Saddam Hussein who decided to lie to the world about the nuclear weapons he didn’t have. Looking back on this decision, it seems completely irrational. By implying that he had nuclear weapons he was bringing attention to himself which would lead to some hefty consequences. His calculations were not those of a completely crazy man but rather those of a man who had few alternatives. He decided to lie for several reasons. One was out of fear of attack by neighboring and rather unfriendly Iran. Another was out of the hope that if the world believed he had weapons they would leave him alone and let him make demands, as has been the case for North Korea and its rather infamous leader Kim Jong Il. Unfortunately Saddam’s plan backfired on him and he was invaded by the United States.

Another example of seemingly irrational behavior also originated from Iraq, although this was during the first Gulf War. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, despite a large number of American troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. Hussein knew there would be major consequences for invading the small but wealthy Kuwait, but after weighing the pros and cons he decided it was worth it, especially because he didn’t the rest of the world would do anything about it. He was wrong. That action lead to the death of many Iraqi soldiers and sanctions placed on the country (“First Persian Gulf War: 1990-1991”). Saddam’s decision to invade was obviously irrational and ended up hurting the people of Iraq.

It is widely accepted by realists that people, especially those in power, are not always rational. While on a small scale, it isn’t always necessary to be rational; on a far larger scale irrational decisions often lead to citizen endangerment. George Bush and Saddam Hussein, two seemingly opposite types of leaders have shown this is true. The alternative method most world leaders employ when making decisions is ineffective, confusing and often contains false information. Unfortunately, once a person reaches that kind of political power it seems to be the only effective met