Wassim Rahal
Mr. F Carrasco
6th C
28/04/2014
US-Iraq War
The U.S. establishment for the Iraq War has faced heavy controversy from a collection of popular and official sources both inside and outside the United States. Throughout history, the United States has engaged in many wars, but the Iraq War has been the one of the most prominent due to its role in creating a wide range of different impacts in people’s opinions. While some people argue that the US should have attacked Iraq, many people oppose that idea. The US should have not attacked Iraq since the Iraqi government did not pose a clear and present danger, the war killed thousands of people, and the costly invasion took resources away from much needed priorities at home.
The US government claimed that it had raided Iraq to prevent Saddam Hussein from using weapons of mass destruction. However, in the1990s, United Nations weapons inspectors went to Iraq and almost completely dismantled the major weapons factories and destroyed nearly all the country’s biological and chemical weapons and long range missiles. Yet, also at the same time, the US had supported the nuclear-armed dictator of Pakistan. This leads people to think that the US intervention was more than just preventing Saddam Hussein. According to Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group, Iraq did not pose an apparent threat. He claimed that the Iraqi threat required intent and obvious danger. In addition to that, the US claims that there had been possible ties between al Qaeda and Iraq. There actually had been reports that contacts really occurred with Bin Laden, however they do not appear to have resulted in collaborative relationship due to two senior Bin Laden associates denying any link had exi...
... middle of paper ...
... of the biggest reconstruction projects in Iraq have been controlled by the United States. Moreover, rebuilding contracts have been agreed for drilling hundreds of new wells, repairing thousands of miles of pipeline and building several giant floating oil terminals in the Persian Gulf, and a new port.
The US has made a great deal of mistakes participating in its costly war against Iraq which did not front any danger, leading to the death of many innocent civilians. This issue helps the US government in further wars, acknowledging their previous mistakes in the amount of troops deployed, making a deal to in’clude all parties, and to target only armed forces before rushing into wars. Moreover, the war reflects Iraq’s current humanitarian crisis and how the international community should take action. Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It did not take long to determine those who were behind the attack and a call for retribution swept through the nation. Citizens in a wave of patriotism signed up for military service and the United States found resounding international support for their efforts in the war on terror. Little opposition was raised at the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad diminished approximately a year and a half later when Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration’s larger ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent several stories and in some cases remain silent of the truth where would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war they were resolved on engaging in.
As time passes, every society endures situations which stress its' very fabric. Each societies' history is sprinkled with these situations. One such situation which the United States underwent was the Vietnam war. For years this particular event has been hotly debated. Hardly anyone who was present at the time agrees on any point concerning this war, except that they regret it. It has become 'the greatest American foreign policy calamity of the century.' . Now the United States finds itself entangled in another war. A war in Iraq which is beginning to resemble more and more the events of the Vietnam war. Many analysts, and even the public have begun to wonder if the current situation is the same as what took place in Vietnam. The answer is a disturbing yes. The current military engagement in Iraq is showing signs that it will become for this generation what Vietnam was to that generation.
Since the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration has been calling every citizens and every nations to support his Middle East policy. Nonetheless, the U.S. has been involved in the middle-east struggle for more than half of the century, wars were waged and citizens were killed. Yet, political struggles and ideological conflicts are now worse than they were under Clinton’s presidency. As “President’s Address to the Nation” is a speech asking everybody to support the troops to keep fighting in Iraq, I, as an audience, am not persuaded at all because of his illogical fallacy in the arguments. In this essay, I will analyze how and what are the illogical fallacies he uses in the speech.
The United States has again stumbled into an overseas quagmire from which there is no easy exit. History seems to be repeating itself when again, we are led by a group of men who launch wars without exit strategies and fail to understand the nature of their enemy. In Vietnam the United States became involved because they felt the need to stop the spread of communism throughout the rest of Asia and attempt to prevent the "domino effect." The belief is that if Vietnam fell, so then would Cambodia, Laos, etc. Vietnam was the longest U.S. war with its never ending deaths, escalating destruction of Vietnam and Cambodia, and growing danger of splitting the American people (Carter 28). In Vietnam the Americans were told that U.S. was there because the South Vietnamese asked us to save them from the communist threat. But what the soldiers experienced did not add up to what the American people were being told (Thura 9). Americans have been told that the United States is going to war against Iraq in order to remove Saddam Hussein, eliminate him from power, abolish Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and prevent Baghdad from aiding terrorist groups. (Anderson 5). In Iraq the soldiers are anxious with no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, and Saddam Hussein no longer in power the reason why U.S. is still fighting in Iraq when the war was declared over a year ago is questionable (Moore 19).
Though out history, American has had its hand in conflict with other countries. Some of those conflicts have turned out into wars. Looking back at America’s “track record” with war, America has a worthy past of having its citizen’s support. Obviously the two World Wars we not controversial. The United States in the Korean War was criticized, fairly, for its strategy, but the need to defend South Korea was never questioned. In only the Vietnam War was the United States’ very participation criticized. This is such a gigantic change with prior wars that it bears study as to why it happened, and better yet, should have it happened. This paper will discuss the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, by asking the simple question, Should have the Untied States’ gotten involved into the first place. This paper will prove that in fact, America should have not gotten involved with the Vietnam War.
Followers of Realist school of thought argue the case of 2003 Iraq war from the standpoint of power and Security. The Bush administration’s rationale for launching a pre-emptive attack against Iraq was based on two misleading assumptions: firstly, Iraq had or was developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (along with Iran and North Korea) and secondly, that it was aiding and protecting terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda. Such a conjecture based on unsubstantiated evidence helped Bush administration conjure up a dystopian situation which justified 2003 invasion of Iraq under the pretext of “security maximization”. This explanation was given in pursuance of the realist assumption that States’ as rational actors always act in accordance with their national security interests.
The Iraq war, also known as the second Gulf War, is a five-year, ongoing military campaign which started on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by U.S. troops. One of the most controversial events in the history of the western world, the war has caused an unimaginable number of deaths, and spending of ridiculous amounts of money. The reason for invasion war Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, which eventually was disproved by weapons inspectors. Many people question George W. Bush’s decision to engage a war in Iraq, but there might be greater reason why the decision was made. The ideas of George W. Bush might have been sculpted by one of the greatest works of all time, "The Prince."
On the daybreak of September 2011, 19 members of the Al Qaeda terrorist’s organization hijacked four commercial jets. Two planes collided into the infamous World Trade Center’s twin towers in lower Manhattan, and another crashed into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C (pg. 301). Al Qaeda, a terrorist was blamed for the attacks with verification from Osama bin Laden. During the attack Former President Bush was visiting my elementary school to support adolescents about their high performing test scores when America was assaulted. He immediately left to report back to his association to plan what to do about the incursion. Following the attack, Bush declared a global war against the assailment of Iraq. The Bush administration asserted that the operation was set in order to find and destroy Saddam Hussein and his allies (guardian.co.uk). System analysts proposed that any system, in reference to the Bush Administration had the responsibility to execute any suitable task for the situation at hand following the procedures mandated by Congress. This system is...
9/11 was one of the darkest days in America, but some say the government could have been part of these attacks. For many years people have debated about the 9/11 cover up. This theory cannot explain why the government would do this. Once people understand why the 9/11 cover up is fake, they will begin to see the answer to their problem, could the government have done this? This conspiracy theory is wrong because, terrorists admitted to the attacks, so many people died, and there's no evidence against the government.
The war in Iraq is over now. Looking back on a huge controversy makes one side seem clearly more “correct” than the other. Yet in the beginning there were two sides to the controversy about the war in Iraq. There was the terror brought upon by the 9/11 attacks, people that the government wished to punish or kill like Saddam Hussain and Osama Bin Laden, and a country which was in “need” of US help both politically and financially. At the time of the Terrorist attacks, people were afraid of what else the terrorists were planning or could do and so George Bush sent troops in to look for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). In hindsight the war on Iraq was a bad idea. The situation was handled poorly, far too much money was spent, and there were far too many casualties to say that the war was a good idea to enter into. To continue war efforts and gain support, lies were spread about finding actual weapons. Later in the war it was revealed that there were never any WMDs. So beyond the decision that was seemingly wrong after a decade of fighting to enter a way with Iraq, the US government lied to prolong the war and continue to waste resources.
After the tragedy and chaos of September 11th, 2001 there was an expectation for the United States to respond with aggression. In his address to the nation, President George W. Bush stated “The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts…We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.” It became apparent that the perpetrators were affiliates of the radical Muslim group Al-Qaida, and with Al-Qaida as the espoused target the War on Terror in the Middle East began. War was presented as the only course of action. The attacks on the World Trade Center elicited fear in the US public and a post-9/11 state of emergency regarding homeland security made war … It started in Afghanistan and eventually transitioned into Iraq. I will discuss how an Orientalist discourse used by politicians and the media framed and justified the War on Terror . Through this discourse an inferior “other” was created and that alienated dehumanized the East and its people in the US public consciousness, internationally and within the United States.
Attention: According to an article by The New Yorker entitled Did George W. Bush Create ISIS written by Dexter Filkins on May 15th, states that after the overthrow of Saddam, the Iraq army was disbanded by the US which left over two hundred thousand people humiliated and without a job (Filkins). These angry young men decided to take up arms against the United States to get revenge. This is what caused start of the Iraqi insurgency; all this could have been avoided if the United States stayed out of Iraqi Politics (Filkins).
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.
World War II, which started in 1939 and ended in 1945, is considered the “Good War”. Quite frankly, is any war to be considered a good war? There are certain reasons that this War could be known as a “Good” War. For instance, toward the end of the war we see the defeat of Hitler’s Nazi system. In addition to that, the U.S. was not only stronger than ever, but also was considered a greater world power that other nations could depend on. Also during and after the war, the growth of women in the work industry. Not only doing jobs fit for men but succeeding at doing so. In addition, African American involvement in war issues occurred more during this “Good War”. Although the creation of the atomic bomb took place, this can be a turning point to
The abrupt end of decade long dominating regime in three weeks had created a political vacuum, that is evident in shifting coalitions and divisions among religious groups, ethnic groups, regional groups and even classes (Barnett et al. 2003, 25). US did not realize, moreover, the depth of the hostility between Kurds and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites, and the members of different tribes and local religious groups. Furthermore, to deal with destruction in Iraq new plan was decided by the US. The plan was to pull out all troops and hand over the responsi...