The Iraq War-Just or Immoral?

The Iraq War – Just or Immoral?

The war in Iraq has been going on for many years now, but has the situation improved? Was it right to go to war in the first place? And with the many lives lost, is it justified? In modern society this is a very controversial topic and with both sides of the debate having strong arguments. The Iraq War gets a lot of hype and media attention in the news today and therefore is a hotly debated topic. In this essay I will be exploring both sides of the argument and give points from both sides. Personally I think the War in Iraq is immoral, wrong and totally illegal. The cost of this war is not worth the end result. Sectarian violence is still rife in the country; as Sunnis and Shiites continue to slaughter one another and suicide bombers and car bombs kill hundreds a day. Is this the control America promised? I think not.

One of the main reasons for the invasion of Iraq was to stop the dictator Saddam Hussein and find his weapons of mass destruction. But to this day no such weapons have been found, and many men, women and children have died, mainly innocent civilians in aid of this pointless and worthless search. However, some people would say that’s its necessary to keep searching for these weapons to prevent terrorist attacks, are the lives of innocent people really worth sacrificing in the search for these weapons when they probably don’t even exist?

Is it fair for the most powerful country in the world to attack and invade an impoverished third world nation 6,000 miles from American shores? Iraq doesn’t even posses a navy or air force, yet this country is deemed a threat to national security. Some people who support the war would say that it is necessary to invade Iraq and help the citizens of the country, because Saddam's human rights record is among the worst in the world and in history. Yes, it is important to rid a country of a strict and brutal dictator, but the U.S secured oil fields first and left securing hospitals and residential areas to last. I believe this shows America’s true intentions in this conflict, it’s not to save lives, it’s to steal oil.

This brings me to my next point. Many clear reasons exist as to why the U.S. attack on Iraq was not justified. Iraq has not been found to have weapons of mass destruction and is not even linked to the al Qaeda terrorist group. In addition to losing over 200,000 lives from both sides and wasting a massive $6,500,000,000 on the war, the United States has lost most of its allies, like France, Germany and China, because it goes against the principles of war to attack a country that is not a threat.

Iraq was never a threat to ...

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Iraq was never a threat to America or any other neighbouring countries. Saddam Hussein never threatened to attack the United States or to use weapons of mass destruction offensively. Sure, Iraq's surrounding countries such as Kuwait and Iran hated Saddam Hussein, but they were not afraid of him. They knew that Iraq was the weakest country in the region. Iraq has been weak and under control since the Gulf War and has not troubled its neighbours. So was it right to attack and aggressively invade a weak, third world country that couldn’t launch an attack on any country?

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 America has spent well over $6,500,000,000. Don’t you think this massive amount of money could be put to better use? Like spending it on America’s failing education system, as they are one of the most uneducated countries in the civilised world. They are down 71% on education productivity, compared to 1960, literacy rates are declining, they have one of the lowest maths ranks in the world and they are last in the physics rank in the world. This is all according to the Department of Education for the U.S. Maybe the money could be put into health care and save lives, instead of destroying them. A computer guided missile costs around $100,000. America is willing to pay this amount of money to kill people, most of them innocent civilians. I firmly believe this war is unnecessary and the resources going into the conflict could be put to far better use.

Many people support the war in Iraq, but they are a minority compared to the amount of people who oppose it. Many of America’s allies in Europe, the Middle East, and around the world were opposed to the United States attacking Iraq. France, Germany, China, and virtually all Arab and/or Muslim countries friendly to the United States have forcefully voiced their opposition to a U.S. attack on Iraq. OK, maybe most of the world opposes the invasion of Iraq, but what do the people of Iraq think? Actually, most Iraqis disagree with America invading their country. Tens of thousands of Iraqis recently demonstrated to get the U.S to leave and were larger than the crowds who watched the Hussein statues fall, which was only a few hundred. Some people say the people of Iraq are happy to be ‘liberated’, but I hope you can see this is not the case.

America’s goal was to enter Iraq, overthrow Saddam and replace him with a stable government and to create peace within the region. Many people say this justifies the war. This leads me on to my next point. This may justify the war but America hasn’t accomplished this and has only made the situation worse. When they tried to set polling booths up in Bagdad for a new government, they were attacked by suicide bombers. And Iraq is far from being a peaceful region, as many people die daily, mostly women and children, as markets during the day are usually attacked. America’s presence in Iraq also fuels resentment towards them and it encourages terrorist recruitment. When Iraqis see American soldiers on Muslim land and they see the suffering American troops create, this causes many Muslims to join terrorist factions and new generations of terrorists and America haters will continue to grow.

In conclusion I firmly believe that this unnecessary, immoral and illegal war is totally unjustified. America promised stability within the region, with a stable government and a stop to the bloodshed, but the U.S have fallen short of all their goals. Many innocent civilians die every day and the nation is in complete chaos. America’s true goal was to secure oil fields, which they consequently achieved. Since the passed the Authorization for ‘Use of Military Force’ against Iraq in 2002 too many lives have been lost. I hope I have convinced you through this essay that the invasion of Iraq was immoral, as well as unprovoked. I believe you can’t go to war to prevent war.

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