This chapter examines the lead-up to the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq as a prime illustration of two distinct motives for insincere coercion: mobilizing the support of a key ally and making an example of a target. Following the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration shifted from a strategy of containment to one of preventive war and regime change. Although the United States had already formalized a foreign policy objective of regime change in Iraq, President George W. Bush pursued coercive diplomacy through the United Nations to secure Security Council Resolution 1441. The chapter argues that this diplomatic effort was not a genuine attempt to disarm Iraq peacefully but an instrumental maneuver to help British Prime Minister Tony Blair overcome domestic opposition and secure the United Kingdom’s diplomatic and military support. Furthermore, the chapter details how the US administration utilized the destruction of the Iraqi regime to make an example, aiming to deter other rogue nations, including Libya and North Korea, from pursuing weapons of mass destruction. Ultimately, the Iraqi case demonstrates how intentional coercion failure may be used as an instrumental step towards brute force war.