The Iraq invasion and occupation is one of the greatest military conquest carried out by the US in modern history. It resulted, in the end, the tyranny of terror and the subsequent bringing to justice of Saddam Hussein, the head of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 (Hafez, 91). Hussein had since coming to power oppressed the people citizens of Iraq and denied them their fundamental rights and freedoms. He had created a dictatorial government that observed neither the nations constitution nor international codes of conduct. His reign was a threat to the peace of the Gulf region and the entire world seeing his continued funding of terrorism (Everts and Pierangelo, 265). However, the war and the consequent invasion also had negative implications for both the people of Iraq and US. While people loud the conflict for the end of tyranny rule by Saddam Hussein, there seems to be a high disregard for the enormous loss of life, resulting birth of the Islamic state and massive amount of public funds used coupled by the fact that the intelligence used by the Bush administration was highly exaggerated.
First, the war resulted in the death of innocent civilians and members of the US military. The Bush administration cited the invasion of Iraq as for both humanitarian reasons and maintenance of world peace. Saddam Hussein’s regime engaged in acts that caused death and untold human suffering (Haass, 1). The dictatorial government used weapons of mass destruction such as chemical attacks on entire villages and beheading to instill fear and silence opposition. Everts and Pierangelo, (287) reported incidences of rape, crucifixion, a public hanging, mass shooting and use of human shields by the Iraq officials during the reign. However, the war and subsequent occupation caused more suffering and deaths. Hafez, (93) reported the demise of only 250, 000 people during the reign of Saddam Hussein while the US occupation resulted in deaths of more than 600,000 innocent civilians. This number may grow bigger as some of the cases were not reported (Everts and Pierangelo, 320).Moreover, there were soldiers from the US and Iraqi army who died during and after the war. There was also untold suffering during the war as people did not have access to food, water, and other necessities. The economy was destabilized as people lost their livelihoods leading to the requirement for aid. The deaths and suffering the people underwent during the war and occupation was more than during the totalitarian rule of Saddam Hussein.
Secondly, the war and army occupation resulted in the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The ISIS, an Islamic terrorist group, operating in the Middle East, is a creation of the US (Haass, 1). The US army collaborated with insurgency groups in Iraq to overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein. The vacuum created in governance was given to an observer government that was made of different insurgency groups while the US army still occupied. However, crises emerged as the insurgency groups started fighting against each other in a civil war that resulted in break up. Moreover, some of the groups fought for the US army to leave Iraq (Stiglitz, 64). They felt that the Iraq had become a colony of the US. Some of the groups involved in the civil war joined and formed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) that is the most prominent militia group in the Middle East today. This terrorist group was made in a utopia of anarchy created by the US for removing a functional government. The US and Bush administration owes the world an apology for the acts of terror performed by this group in the entire globe for the part they played in the role they played in the creation of the most active terrorist team in the world.
Thirdly, the Iraq war resulted in the excessive usage of the American taxpayer's money. The Iraq war cost around 1.7 billion at the end of US occupation. There is an addition of $490 billion as benefits of the wars (Haass, 1). A study released recently shows that this number may increase steadily to $ 6 trillion in the next three to four decades. The figures of the war continue to rise with more detailed studies showing that the US used at least 3.7 trillion (Stiglitz, 63). This accounts for the commitment such as catering for medical disabilities after the war. This cost excludes the lost infrastructure and another cost in the war. It does not also account for the cost of British and other allies that participated in the war. It becomes hard to calculate when other factors are included (Yoo, 563). This cost comes amidst allegations that the war was not called for but a result of forced intelligence given by the Bush administration to Congress and the entire world.
The war of Iraq was based on force allegations by the Bush administration of the situation in Iraq. According to the Iraq resolution, the war intended to remove the regime that developed and encouraged the use of mass destruction, supported terrorism and committed crimes against human rights and defied the UN orders (Everts and Pierangelo, 299). The principal argument was that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction including nuclear and biological ones. The US Secretary of State presented before the UN Security Council allegations of continued creation of weapons of mass destruction (Yoo, 576). However, after the army occupation, there was not any trace of nuclear weapons found in the country. None was also used during the war. The Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agencies confirmed the absence of any trace of nuclear weapons in Iraq.
The second most crucial allegation was that the Iraq government was funding terrorist groups including Al-Queda who were involved in the September 11 attacks. The Bush administration said that officials in Saddam government were supporting most terrorist groups in the Middle East. However, the UN intelligence including other countries like France and Russia saw nothing to relate Baghdad and terrorist (Yoo, 567). Further, most organizations in Iraq were highly opposed to Saddam’s government as he had an ego. Saddam was too full of himself to accept to cooperate with anyone in the region. He could not foresee a future where he would share power with anyone, especially people who were not part of his regime. Stiglitz (61) reported that terrorist activity in Iraq reduced significantly during the reign of Hussein. However, despite the restraint from the UN Security Council, the US, ENDER Bush administration led her allies to invade Iraq.
In conclusion, it is evident that the war of Iraq had more negative than positive consequences. First, it led to increased terrorism in the world by creating a strong group. By invading Iraq, the US destroyed her economy and made the humanitarian situation worse than it was during Saddam’s era. It also led to a significant loss of US money that was unnecessary. Some of the costs are still incurred up to date through medical compensation among other. These expenses are despite the fact the primary reason for invasions were based on false evidence by Bush administration. The war of Iraq is one of the most invalid military operations by the US army in modern history.
Work Cited
Everts, Philip, and Pierangelo Isernia. "The war in Iraq." Public Opinion Quarterly 69.2 (2005): 264-323.
Haass, Richard. “The Iraq Invasion 10 Years Later: A Wrong War. Huffpost. (2013): 1
Hafez, Ziad. "War of necessity, a war of choice: A memoir of two Iraqi wars." (2010): 92-94.
Stiglitz, Joseph. "The $3 trillion war." New Perspectives Quarterly 25.2 (2008): 61-64.
Yoo, John. "International law and the war in Iraq." American Journal of International Law 97.3 (2003): 563-576.
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