Executive Summary
The war on Iraq has always been seen as unjust and a kind of psychopathic war. It is a war that was started because of biological weapons, which were not found even after the attack. President Bush failed in his war against Iraq, because he made many people suffer rather than help them. The citizens of Iraq have always suffered, plus also the soldiers and their families in America. The troops in Iraq have quite done their best by protecting innocent citizens from the Islam extremists. There have been activities of terrorism and many have lost their lives. Sadam Hussein was a dictator, made many suffer and also threatened many countries with his actions. His ouster was another thing that many people, including Americans see, was not the best course of action in a sovereign state. These made President Bush become infamous and harshly judged by the world (Gold 5).
The troops that are in Iraq have to be credited for their work. They have done a good job since 2003 and they have showed extreme courage and patriotism to America. They have stayed there for a long period, its time now for them to go back home and leave Iraq for the present government to start its work. This will prevent America from running two countries. The people of Iraq also, should be left to do their own affairs and be proud of a new era without any problem or interference. Many of the American troops have died and the families have also been left psychologically tortured. It is the time for the change and now that President Obama wants to redeem the image of America to the world should uphold that policy of bringing back the soldiers home.
Context and importance of the problem
The Iraq war which was also known as the second gulf war was started by the United States in March 2003. United States was also supported by Britain and other countries like Denmark, Australia, Poland and Spain. There were several factors that led to the war, which included the September 11, 2001 bombing of the world trade centre, which most people linked to Iraq although there was no credible evidence against them. Many of the Americans believed that Iraq had something to do with it and warmongers made it look like the truth. President Bush and his counterparts also believed that Sadam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction therefore; he was a threat to the world. These were all baseless accusations because even after the war no weapons were found. Most countries including traditional United States allies did not support the war due to lack of evidence. The United Nations inspectors also, had not found any weapons but still there was no verification. Although no evidence was found, Sadam Hussein was blamed for supporting al-Qaeda. The Palestinians suicide bombers were supported financially by Iraq and this led to US invasion. These led to United States preparations, through Kuwait to attack Iraq and with the support of the Kurdish invaded Iraq. Eventually they succeeded and captured Sadam Hussein and occupied Iraq. He was executed by the new Iraq government, but there rose the Iraq insurgency, whereby there was violence against coalition forces and among sectarian groups as well as the rift between the Sunni and Shia Iraq groups. These led to the current situation of the troops not being able to complete their mission as expected (Farrell 13).
The troops had to camp there in order to restore peace amongst the Iraq citizens. The situation has worsened because up to now, violence is still on its peak in Iraq. This has led to the present government of Iraq not being able to contain the violence in the country. The troops must be there, to try support the growth of that nation economically and also honor the agreement made between the two nations on security (Hamilton A01).
In this United States led war in Iraq, there are several parties that have a stake in the war. Several countries that supported the invasion had something to gain out of the war. Britain is one of those countries whose interest was similar to that of America. Many argue that the United States and Britain have always been planning to attack Iraq since the Gulf war in 1991. This is in order for them to gain control of the oil reserves which are big in Iraq. The plan to attack Iraq started when there were sanctions against Iraq on delivery of medical supplies which was very much needed in Iraq. The carcinogenic effects of uranium left many dead. Oil is one of the major sources of energy in the world, those countries that possess it grows economically. Most of the countries that possess oil have the United States as an ally so that they can also benefit. Iraq is one of the major producers of oil this made the United States and Britain try as hard as possible to get there. Britain entered into war even without the support of the majority of her population. Israel also benefited in the Iraq war because Iraq was always a threat because of the poor relationship in the Middle East. The Iraq war eventually made Iraq very weak and the threat they posed to Israel ceased (Research Unit for Political Economy par. 6-7).
The Israel factor was seen as very much instrumental in the Iraq war. It was seen as to speed up the peace process between Israel and Palestinians because the road to Jerusalem leads through Baghdad. Several other countries withdrew their troops after the public opinion in their countries favored it but, United States and Britain did not. This explains why their interest was not just the weapons of mass destruction as they alleged.
The war on Iraq should be handled very carefully, as many people have their lives on stake because of this war. The president elect should stand by his opinion of withdrawing the troops from Iraq. This too has its pros and cons and various issues should be considered in order to have a situation that will lead to a worse humanitarian crisis. There are several groups in Iraq that are not comfortable with the current government and are ready to attack at any time. These groups have also different interests and they often result to suicide bombings. The Iraq government is very young and it needs a lot of support in order to contain these issues. If the United States withdraws its troops without proper steps Iraq will turn out disastrous. There will be many terrorists who will later start attacking other countries including America. The rise of terrorism in that country will be triggered by the inability of the government to contain the situation. As far as troop’s withdrawal is necessary, many other factors should be considered for prevention of a bigger problem (Research Unit for Political Economy par. 6-7).
The president should first support the establishment of strong government mechanisms, in order to stop any other looming terrorist activity. Iraq should be supported economically before any troops are withdrawn.
If these troops are withdrawn there may be formations of rebel groups which later may overthrow the government. Therefore, the procedures of a true democracy should be considered first before any withdrawal. People in Iraq should be made to understand and learn how to develop themselves without any acts of violence. These are issues that the United States can do without the fast withdrawal of troops. Otherwise, without proper measures the withdrawal would be creating a problem that will be worse than al-Qaeda (Knowlton par. 8).
On the other hand, America has become an enemy of many nations because of the stand it took against the Iraqi government. Many of the families of the soldiers taking part in the war are always suffering. There have been many deaths to the soldiers who are American citizens. These are some of the problems that America has faced during the duration of that war. America is still not safe from terrorism and threats of weapons, as in the case with North Korea hence withdrawals can be necessary. For Iraq people to be responsible few governance mechanisms can be put in place to help them lead their country. One person’s life is very important, many of the Americans have died. Let us save the others from going through the same ordeal. Some are held hostages and other horrible terrorism activities (Farrell 13).
As the president elect, with the policy of withdrawing the troops from Iraq he should continue with the strategy. Many of the Americans are for the withdrawal of the troops and as a democratically elected president he should adhere to that policy. Americans have been subjected to a lot of discomfort, due to a war that should not have started and is continuing to haunt them.
Policy Recommendation
There are several things that should be considered before any step is taken. Withdrawal of troops in Iraq may create a situation where to reverse it another war will not be inevitable. Terrorists may be created and other groups or nations may use Iraq residents to attack America and the other nations. More troops may seem necessary to stabilize the nation because it’s still not stable. As far as these troops are needed they will be at the expense of the Americans. Troop’s withdrawal is an issue that also should be considered as it will favor the Americans. Therefore, some policies should be put in place to prevent further crisis. The closure of Guantanamo bay is also another policy to be looked at by the government critically as that of troop’s withdrawal (Kaminski par. 5).
It is true that the troops should be withdrawn to minimize the suffering endured by the Americans. The United States is losing a lot of soldiers which is not a good option to people who initiated the war to benefit the world. The policy of withdrawal should be extended to about 2012, for proper procedures to be followed. This will ensure smooth transition of security to Iraq forces, and leave the current government in full control of the situation. This period will ensure that more soldiers from Iraq are well trained by the Americans. It is also necessary for America to add a bigger portion of their budget to the military to cater for the training. These will ensure that the American troops will eventually withdraw and Iraq will have peace. This is the most appropriate action for the president elect to take. It will also ensure that the Iraqi people feel they have a country. It will also make many American citizens satisfied, especially the families of the soldiers in Iraq (Kaminski par. 7).
Works Cited
Knowlton, Brown. “Top US general resist calls for pullout from Iraq-International Herald Tribune”. The New York Times. 2006. Web.
Gold, Dore. “Wartime Witch Hunt: Blaming Israel for the Iraq War”. Jerusalem Issue Brief 3.25 (2004): 5.
Kaminski, John. “The Iraq War”. Serendipity. 2009. Web.
Research Unit for Political Economy. “The Ira-Iraq War: Serving American Interests”. Iran Chamber Society. 2009. Web.
Farrell, Stephen. “Drive in Barsa by Iraq Army Makes Gains”. The New York Times, 2008: 13.
Hamilton, William. “Bush began to plan war three months after 9/11”. Washington Post, 2004: A01.