The War in Iraq

The War in Iraq

The war in Iraq is a controversy clouded with misinformation and confusion. To get a proper view of the war we need to step back and examine both sides, pro-war and anti-war, of the facts leading to the war, execution of the war, and the effects of the war.

President Bush's premise for going to war was to prevent potential weapons of mass destruction, specifically nuclear weapons, and not only to destroy current weapons, as the opposition to the war states. The Gulf War in 1991 ended when Saddam Hussein agreed to destroy chemical and biological weapons that the United States had seen and which Saddam admitted ownership of. In multiple resolutions with the United States and the United Nations in the following seven years, Saddam agreed to disarmament and destruction of weapons of mass destruction. He never followed through on these resolutions and not only refused to produce evidence of their destruction but in 1998, refused entry of United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq. In the meantime he continued working towards nuclear capability. The United Nations never carried through on the consequences of not disarming as stated in the resolutions. During that time, Saddam took revenge on opposition in his own country through starvation and the use of chemical and biological weapons on ten of thousands of his own people. Those deaths would not have happened if the United States had remained until the destruction of those weapons had been carried out.

Yet another reason for invading Iraq was the War on Terror and Saddam's connection to the terrorist network. He supported and funded many terrorists camps and suicide bombers connected to Al-Quida, whom were responsible for attack on the World Trade Centers. One other reason that the opponents claim we went to war was "Oil for War". There is truth to this argument. The United States was protecting its own interest and economy by protecting Kuwait, our ally, in 1991 when Iraq invaded Kuwait to take over their oil fields. There's nothing wrong with that.

The opposition to the war said that the United States would lose face and credibility in the eyes of the world by going in alone. The United States didn't go in alone. There was a coalition of 39 countries who participated in the war, including Italy, Spain, Australia, and Japan.

Once the war was underway, the opponents of the war stated that the United States was unjustly invading and occupying Iraq and killing innocent people. The troops who served in Iraq at the time say that the vast majority of the Iraqi people cheered and welcomed their presence and still continue to do so. The main reason for this was that Saddam had been