The Iraq War is a disaster for the United States

Well, it is time that I write what has been on my mind for several years. The war in Iraq is a disaster that was going to happen once the United States military entered that country. Why do I call this conflict a disaster? Because that is what that war is. I have written about this subject before but I believe that the United States can do better things than start wars it has no business to start in the first place.

On the day of March 19, 2003, then US President George W. Bush made a decision to invade the sovereign nation of Iraq. He made this decision after announcing that he had given Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq within 48 hours. So along with the United Kingdom, the United States military launched a full scale invasion of a country that had not attacked the United States ever. This conflict was totally unnecessary and a disaster waiting to happen as soon as the United States entered Iraqi soil. At the time of the invasion, I was an undergraduate student at the University level working towards a degree in journalism.

We heard all about the reason for going to war. The stated reason for starting this war was to dismantle Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. We were told that if the United States did not act and get Hussein out of power, American cities would be engulfed in mushroom clouds of toxic nuclear material. It was later proven that Iraq had no such weapons of mass destruction. After the weapon of mass destruction lie was exposed, the Bush Administration said that the United States and its allies went to war because Hussein was responsible for the horrors of September 11, 2001. Saddam Hussein being a secular dictator was one of the biggest enemies of the fanatics that were responsible for bringing down New York City’s Twin Towers. After that lie was exposed, the Bush Administration then changed the justification for the war to spread democracy in Iraq. As anyone that has studied the history of the Middle East knows, the people in that region have no idea what a western style democracy is.

Although the war lasted only a few short weeks and Saddam Hussein lost control of Iraq and was deposed, George W. Bush, the man who had been given everything without having to earn it did not know what was to come next. He was so ignorant of the history of that region that he didn’t know that you can never occupy a country like Iraq and expect to control them. Those Iraqis will do anything to fight and expel those foreign forces that are in the country. The United States currently has over 50,000 troops still remaining in the country and President Barack Obama has failed to live up to his promise of ending the war. A war that was started on the pretext of national security freedom and liberation has turned into a cesspool of chaos. Iraqis have lack of access to clean drinking water. They have to deal with frequent electricity blackouts and violence daily. Different groups of the population do not like each other. Is this a better life for the people of Iraq? Obviously, the lives of ordinary Iraqis are much worse now than before the war.

Whatever the reason was for this war, it was never justified because Iraq had never attacked America and it was not planning to. Supporters of this war will constantly say that we needed to enter Iraq to make our country safer. This conflict has put a severe strain on the US federal budget and it has weakened the American economy so much that millions of people, many of them educated with multiple college degrees cannot find jobs. Meanwhile, oil companies that had been forbidden to set up their operations during the rule of Saddam Hussein are now making millions of dollars in profits.

By attacking Iraq, I believe that the United States has given birth to a national resistance movement that will not end until the last American soldier leaves Iraq. The longer the United States remains in Iraq there will be more injuries and deaths of US soldiers. Those that do not return home dead will end up returning home and bringing with them a host of serious problems. Some of these include post traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, missing arms, missing legs or disfigured bodies and faces. These soldiers will never be the same again. There is no way to know the accurate number of dead and wounded US soldiers as the controlled US media is keeping the death count low so that the population will not be frightened and panic. The number of dead American soldiers in my opinion is much higher than what the mainstream media says. There could be 15,000 or 20,000 dead American soldiers. Whatever the true number of dead soldiers is, all of these deaths are based on lies. These soldiers did not die to protect US freedoms and liberties or to make Americans safer. These soldiers died in order to help the United States depose Saddam Hussein so that the oil companies could make big profits.

I’d also like the people especially those in the United States to ask themselves this one important question: was the death of Saddam Hussein worth the loss of these soldiers from these different countries? If you are a person who cares about the safety and security of your country, you would obviously have to conclude that Hussein’s death does not make the world a more secure place. This occupation actually will create conditions that will make the world more unsafe. Because of the security situation in Iraq, there will be people that can take advantage of the situation and US troops will continue to be sitting ducks for snipers shooting from rooftops, roadside bomb attacks and mortar launchers. I can guarantee you that the longer the US military remains in Iraq, the more money that will be wasted and more lives will be at risk.

I know that Saddam Hussein was a dictator but it is not the responsibility of the United States military to police the world. Those troops belong at home to protect their citizens in case of a natural disaster. It is time for the US troops to come home. Not six months from now but right now. Otherwise as I said earlier, they will die. It is clear that the majority of Iraqis do not want to see foreign troops occupy their country. It is time that the US government understood this. They do not deserve to be there. All the true military experts agree that the war in Iraq is lost. There is no way that the US military can win in Iraq. Not today, not tomorrow, not one year from now, never. There were never any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to begin with. Saddam Hussein should have been allowed to serve the rest of his life in Iraq. His death makes little difference to the security of the world. As a person that wants to see peace in this world, I ask God to have mercy and forgiveness for Saddam Hussein’s spirit. It is up to the people in Iraq to determine what kind of government they want to have. Iraq is right now certainly not a western style democracy.

Saddam Hussein did commit horrible crimes during his rule but there are many countries in the world that have dictators in them. It is time for the United States to deal with its own affairs and stop this aggressive foreign policy. Instead of going around the world searching for people to kill, the United States government must do the responsible thing and end this horrible, illegal and unwinnable war right now. This useless and counterproductive foreign misadventure in Iraq has left the United States near bankruptcy and it has also resulted in the citizens losing their jobs, homes and health insurance.