Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly has publicly reiterated his regret over supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq, attributing his past stance to incomplete understanding and reliance on reporting that proved inaccurate. "I made a mistake with the Iraq situation, and that haunts me to this day," O'Reilly stated, referencing the conflict that resulted in over 4,000 U.S. military deaths and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties.
O’Reilly explained that his support was based on information from sources like The New York Times, which reported that then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein possessed deadly weapons. "Turned out to be wrong," O'Reilly said. "Saddam didn’t have any weapons of mass destruction, and the chaos that ensued brought a lot of pain on America. I was wrong."
This acknowledgment is not the first time O'Reilly has expressed remorse. He previously apologized for his errors regarding the war in a 2004 interview. The conflict, launched under President George W. Bush, was based on intelligence that later proved to be unsubstantiated.
In contrast to his past position on the Iraq War, O’Reilly voiced support for military action in Iran, drawing a distinction from his former colleague Tucker Carlson, who has been critical of the Trump administration's actions regarding Iran. O'Reilly noted President Donald Trump's rationale for ordering strikes on Iran, including claims of the country rebuilding nuclear facilities after a prior conflict, and mentioned that peace negotiations were "over."
"Now, the president’s threatening to bomb Iran tonight," O’Reilly observed. "Nobody knows what’s going to happen because these threats come and they go, but this has got to stop. And I don’t see any other way but military to stop it."
O'Reilly acknowledged the uncertainty of the current situation regarding Iran, stating, "In Iran, maybe I’m wrong. But I don’t see any other way here." The conflict in Iran has already resulted in the deaths of at least 13 U.S. service members and over 3,000 Iranians, including children killed in strikes on a school.