Iraq War

Iraq (invasion march 18,2003)
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched every rocket fired signifies in the final since, a theft, form those who are hungry and not fed. Those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its labors, the genius of its scientists, and the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron." Dwight Eisenhower April 16, 1953 he describes what war does and who it affects. War creates orphans; war brings destruction; war kills a generation; in an event of war all other possible alternatives must be looked at. However this was not the case with Iraq war. We went to Iraq for WMD & Everything was rushed during war which has cost us countless lives. It has devastated our economy, & has wounded our soldiers physically and psychologically.
Many people think that we went to war with Iraq because Iraq was involved in 9/11; however it is not true. Bob Graham, former Chairman of the Select Intelligence Committee, stated in an interview with CNN's Larry King Live on March 19, 2004:"As former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I can tell you there's no evidence that Saddam Hussein had any role in September the 11. B.GRAHAM Richard Clarke, former National Coordinator for Counterterrorism for the National Security Council stated on CNN's American Morning broadcast on March 23, 2004: "the white house is papering over facts such as in the week immediately after 9/11, the president signed a national security directive instructing the Pentagon to prepare for the invasion of Iraq. Even though they new at the time form me, from the FBI, from the CIA, that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11." R. Clarke.
The main reason why we went to war with Iraq was WMD. We believed that Iraq was developing weapon of mass destruction there for we rushed a war. (N. Korea.) There were no WMD found in Iraq. The Commission of the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (CICUSRWMD), a presidential committee, stated the following in their final report issued on March 31, 2005: "Extensive post-war investigations were carried out by the Iraqi Survey Group (ISG Iraq Survey Group1,200 experts form the US, Britain, & Australia. In charge of Searching for WMD in Iraq.). The ISG found no evidence that Iraq had tried to reconstitute its capability to produce nuclear weapons after 1991 Gulf war; no evidence of biological weapon (BW) agent stockpiles or of mobile biological weapons production facilities; and no substantial chemical warfare (CW) stockpiles or credible indications that Baghdad had resumed production of CW after 1991 Gulf War." If we know in the beginning that there was going to be no weapon found then why did we invade Iraq? The Iraqis say it was for Oil: Iraq is the largest Arab country in the Gulf region, contains the world's second largest oil reserves, Iraq produces 64 percent of oil; there is $5 trillion worth of oil above and in the ground in Iraq whatever the cause be it is not worth 22,000 civilian lives. The preemptive strike violated the international law. The UN did not approve the use of force against Iraq, but we ignored them and it cost us our credibility.
Speaking of cost Iraq war cost: $ 180 billion
1. Instead, we could have hired 3 million additional public school teachers for one year.
2. Instead, we could have provided 8.5 million students four-year scholarships at public Univ.
3. Instead, we could have fully funded global anti-hunger efforts for 7 years.
4. Instead, we could have fully funded world-wide AIDS programs for 17 years.
5. Instead, we could have ensured that every child in the world was giveimmunizationizations for 57 years.
The cost of war doesn't matter compare to the soldier who have been harmed by the war b/c you cannot put a price tag on a human life. According to bbc.co.uk more than 10,000 Returnees form Iraq have been harmed psychologically. They suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Lt. Goodrum is one of them. During his interview with BBC he said, "My nightmares are so intense I woke up one night with my hands fianced my fiance's throat. So now I sleep on the couch until I can get my sleep, my nightmares, more under control. When I am in crowds I tend to watch people's hands. The smell of diesel takes me back to Iraq." He went on to say "It is easier to accept and understand a physical injury than a psychological one."
Physical injuries are difficult to describe with words only pictures can describe it.
Henry Emersion. "I hate war for its consequences, for the lies it lives on and propagates, for the undying hatreds it arouses, for the dictatorships it puts in the place of democracies, and for starvation that stalks after it.
Iraq has become a breeding ground for terrorists. We are left with only one solution. We should take the case to the U.N. and tell them it was our mistake. Handover the control of Iraq to U.N. and the UN then will ask other nations to volunteer with the security of Iraq (like Afghanistan) and nations who want to build Iraq can do so by donating money for rebuilding Iraq. This way the Iraqi don't see themselves being invaded by US and our soldiers won't die unjustly. So far I have discussed the reason why US went to war with Iraq and how the war has impacted the lives of Iraqi civilians and American soldiers. "Justice will never be done for all of the soldiers and Iraqi civilians who lost their lives needlessly." These are the unseen consequence of a war that will change lives long after the last bullet has been fired and the last soldier has returned home. We have made a mistake, should admit it and learn fojustificationfy it for justificatification leads to nowhere.