War+in+Iraq

 user:rider69


 * __Introduction__**

The war in Iraq has strained our government and economy to breaking point over the past 5 years of fighting. Our entire country has united in retaliation against the terrorists attacks on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. Also, the United States has proven their name further by standing by our troops when they went overseas to help fight for our countries freedom in a war against terrorism. Since the beginning of this war, controversy has continued to surface over whether or not the United States should have even went to war in the first place. Even so, no matter what one’s opinion may be, we’re in the war now and all we can do is pull together as a country and provide support and aid in any possible way. user:lil_ash user:rider69


 * __Reasons For War__**

The republican and democratic parties have decided on opposite opinions concerning the war. Which has led to constant disagreements, causing the inability to pass laws that would help our men or possibly halt the fighting. Many republicans favor the continuation of fighting, democrats favor leaving their country and letting the Iraq government get the country in order itself as the best option. On September 11, 2001 at 8:46 a.m. eastern time Southewest Airline Flight 11 was crashed into the northern face of the north World Trade Center Tower. 17 minutes later a second team of al'queda hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the southern tower. At 9:59 a.m. the southern tower collapsed, and at 10:28 the northern tower came down. The total deaths of people in the towers totaled more than 2,750.150 words When the attack occured President George W. Bush was taking part in a photo-op with a classroom of second graders. After 2 years of contemplation the U.S. congress, (along with president Bush) declared war on Iraq. Troops were sent into Iraq on the claims of finding Sudam Hussain and taking revenge on the Al'Queda terrorists that attacked our country. Almost two years later Sadam Hussain was captured and executed. Osama Binladin was never found and has not been found since, even after he was given credit for the attacks. There were also claims that Iraq was hiding nuclear weapons that were going to be used against the U.S. This gave Bush another reason to start the war. A lot of fighting followed this accusation all for the reason of finding the weapons that Iraq was going to use against the U.S. On October 22nd 2004 the president openely admitted to being wrong about nuclear weapons, much confusion followed this statement as to why we were continuing the war. Republicans insisted that we could still find the terrorists that commited crimes against our country. One of the more recent reasons for the war and thought to be to underlying cause for invading Iraq is oil. During the war every oil company is bringing in more money than ever before. In one year Haliburton gained 100 million dollars in government funded loans and grants. This money was used for the entry and removal of oil from certain Iraq areas. From the world bank they have also recieved 869 million dollars for fossil fuel extracation. And this is just oneoil company, some of the other major ones that have rigs in Iraq are Enron, Exxon, Chevron and many more. ([|http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=7228)] Enron was the worst polluter that contributed to the aggresion of the Iraq people. This gave the Iraq people a reason to fight back and the U.S. to continue the war while we keep getting more and more oil. Without the influence of oil, the twin tours or the governments greed, there would most likely be no war going on at this time.

**__Exit Plans and What Can Be Done To Help__**

Due to the rising amount of anti-war Americans, exhausted troops, and dwindling supplies for said troops, Congress has come to a point where an exit plan is in need of establishment. Members of the House are somewhat worried as to the questionable chaos it would cause if the Americans were to quickly exit from this war. Bush has targeted an exit plan with the goal of complete removal of troops next spring. Even so for some people this idea does not seem to be enough. The death toll has now been pushed to over 4,000 and parents at home in the US are enraged. “Iraqi mothers want the same things for their children American mothers want for theirs; a place for their child to grow up, get a good education, and be able to realize dreams.” George W. Bush said. In defense of mothers on both sides of this war, who both have goals and dreams to see their children grow and thrive wherever they desire. In all fairness, it is clear an exit plan is necessary. Yet without one, the United States would still have some amount of power over our stock in oil, though it seems the prices have become so absurd we have none. There are two sides to the exit plan dilemma, and America is still in need of a well rounded plan fit to please both sides of the system. Also, if the US were to leave Iraq, it would most likely fall to terrorists. The jobs of regular policemen and enforcement in this country are the most dangerous. To the Sunni people, being arrested is the equivalent of being killed. Some journalists are subject to skepticism. One was quoted to say, “ The goal is not so much to exit Iraq, but leave behind a skeletal military force that would maintain the network of permanent bases under construction throughout Iraq while maintaining access to massive oil deposits in the North and South. Breaking Iraq into a series of mini-states, a strategy being pushed by some White House allies in the media, is seen as one way to ensure these goals”    Since evidence of a rising death toll is prevalent, many opportunities to contact the congress today have opened up. There is a website that releases the addresses and such contact information of any public official of your choice. Also, help is available for the remaining troops overseas. Many foundations and fundraisers are in actions that are also accessible over the internet. [ [|http://www.soldiersangels.org/ Basically there are groups that provide everything from moral support to medical help to finding the troops a place to stay when they are out on leave. There are also options for pen pals, baked goods during the holidays, remembrance for fallen soldiers, even sand and heat protection when they’re on duty (known as ‘Scarves’). This foundation is known as ‘Soldiers Angels’ and even has a book chronicling their success in the support of troops, in every way. In addition to support for American people, there are foundations for support of Iraq children. This is important to ensure a better future for Iraq itself. user:rider69

__**Editorial**__ We don't agree with the war, however we do agree with what it's accomplishing. We don't think that we can just pull out at anytime because we already have obligations over in Iraq. These obligations include our pledge to give Iraq a democratic society, keep our oil ties, continue our fight against terrorism, prevent U.S. defeat, and keep our credibility. However there is some negativity to the War in Iraq. Since the war began in 2003 the United States national debt has increased tremendously. Over a billion dollars is being sent to Iraq each month, money that could be sent to school districts lacking supplies for teaching. Also, the rising death toll only continues to inflate. Now at over 4,000 casualties, it is apparent that more people have died than necessary. Another thing that could have been achieved already is national health care. This has become a more pressing matter for all citizens in the Unites States. They have found themselves unable to afford emergency services that are required. A simple ambulance ride and emergency room visit could render one bankrupt and perhaps seriously injured. We think that our tax payments would be better invested in aiding all citizens of the United States with necessary health care than money spent on inactive troops. We are not trying to give the impression that we do not support our troops. The men and women who have been sent over to Iraq are fighting for us every day for what we believe in. We support our troops and we want them to come back home but we are aware that there are commitments and problems that need to be solved before our troops can return. We want this war to be over just as much as the next person and we agree with any movements towards helping the troops and their families. user:lil_ash user:rider69


 * __Action__**

The War in Iraq has developed a death toll of over 4,000 people. Of course American citizens want to contact their public officials with their own opinions. Luckily, websites have been created just for this purpose. The website releases the addresses and such contact information of any public official of your choice. This useful knowledge can be found at sites such as  [|http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/ . <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">Also, help is available for the troops still in Iraq. Many fundraisers and foundations exist that involve people across the country to help them in multiple ways. http://www.soldiersangels.org/  <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">is a foundation that provides the troops with everything from moral support to medical help to finding the troops a place to stay when they are out on leave. There are also options for pen pals, baked goods during the holidays, remembrance for fallen soldiers, even sand and heat protection when they’re on duty (known as ‘Scarves’). This foundation is known as ‘Soldiers Angels’ and even has a book chronicling their success in the support of troops, in their varying ways. In addition to support for American people, there are foundations for support of Iraq children. This is important to ensure a better future for Iraq itself  .user:rider69

user:rider69

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">**__Wars Effects on Oil Prices__**

The United States has been reminded on three occasions just how important peace with Iraq is in stabilizing the price of oil. Trouble with the Middle East most often leads to higher oil prices. The first two occasions were from OPEC’s price shocks in the mid and late 1970’s and the third occasion was at the start of the Gulf War in the 1990’s. On all three occasions the price of oil went up. Today we can get our oil from other sources; however a quarter of the world’s oil supply is from the Middle East. So why are big companies so interested specifically in Iraq? There are three main reasons for their interest. For one Iraq has a high value and high quality product. The attractive chemical properties of the oil make it the right choice. The second reason is that Iraq is one of the supply and demand leaders for the U.S. The third reason is that Iraq has among one of the lowest cost of productions in the world. Their low production cost yields a higher cost per barrel profit. The war has caused demand for oil to rise, however the Iraqis are keeping their supply constant and not reaching the need of the demand. This in turn, is causing the price of oil to rise. President Bush says that with our unstable ties to Iraq’s oil along with the Middle East’s, we are in desperate need of finding other bio-fuels. Scientists are currently at work in finding other bio-fuels to use in replace of oil. Among these, ethanol, made from corn, has made a huge controversy between scientists and the government. Using ethanol as an alternative bio-fuel has caused the price of corn to rise, which has caused the price of other various market items to rise like beef. Other bio-fuels have had much of the same effect, like the rice enterprise. The average price a person spends in the market has greatly risen during the war. The higher prices of foods along with the higher price of oil and gas have caused the United State’s economy to nose-dive. The Iraq war has made a big impact on the price of oil and our ties with the Middle East’s oil supply, which in turn has caused the United State’s economy to fall. user:lil_ash **__Reasons For Staying in Iraq Longer__** <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">There are many different opinions on whether the United States should stay in Iraq longer, and all are strongly voiced. Whether you agree with the United State’s involvement in Iraq or not, we are in it now and some can’t help but wonder, “Why?” Not only are we in a war against al-Qaeda, but we are in also in a war against terrorists in general. This makes it even more important to stay. Recently Bush has claimed that if the United States were to pull out of the war early then the Iraq oil reserves would go to terrorists, who would use it as a weapon against other countries. Letting the oil reserves fall to terrorist extremists is not in the United States best interests. President George Bush has stated that victory will come, "when Iraq is no longer a safe haven for the terrorists and when the Iraqis are able to defend their democracy.” and that we will not leave until we do not intend to leave until we have a victory. A victory would mean achieving our main goals which are to stabalize and rebuild Iraq, aid in eliminating terrorism, and expand U.S influence in the region. The United States wants to establish democracy in Iraq and keep the country a whole, so far an Iraqi Governing Council has been elected. The U.S. would love to expand their influence in the region because we want a good ally with Isreal. A democratic Israel is a strategic ally, because U. S. relations with Israel strengthen the United State's presence in the Middle East. After taking out Saddam's regime, the U.S. helped enhance Israel's security. Thus, helping our ally with Israel. In addition, America’s ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker, says, “If America gave up now the consequences would be massive human suffering in Iraq, the intervention of regional states for Iran and al-Qaeda.” The United States are trying to help the citizens of Iraq by making it safer for their people. We are making progress to bring peace and democracy to Iraq, slower then some would prefer, but why would we want to pull out and ruin all our hard earned improvement?Also, the enemy, al-Qaeda and all the insurgents in Iraq, want us out. They want us to leave so a power vacuum is created, and so al-Qaeda and the insurgents can effortlessly fill it. Why would we let the terrorists have that advantage? The Iraqi government wants us to stay and help them. President Talabani wants us to stay until they are, “ <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">capable of putting an end to terrorism and maintaining stability and security.” If we stay we are greatly assisting Iraq out with their problem with terrorism. Iraq’s economy would greatly suffer if the U.S prematurely pulled out of the war. Their oil production would be disrupted and the price of oil would rise even higher then it already is. Our economy is already suffering with the rising price of food and oil, and the citizens of the United States would have a very difficult time if the price rose even higher. Not only does the Iraqi government want us to stay but also the UN, European Policy Experts, the Sunni Sheiks, and Iraq’s neighboring countries. The UN believe any withdrawal or decision could lead to a further deterioration of Iraqi citizens hope. European Policy Experts believe terrorism would increase in the United States if we were to pull out to early. The Sunni Sheiks, a militia group, have recently taken a courageous stand against al-Qaeda in favor of democracy, and need the U.S in Iraq for security. Iraq's neiboring countries believe American withdrawal before Iraq stabilizes would be disasterous because it could lead to a regional war. Staying in Iraq also prevents Iraq’s neighboring countries from entering the war and causing complications. Another reason we should stay in Iraq longer is to just simply prevent victory and prestige of al-Qaeda and the terrorists. Also it would be in the United State's best interest to prevent U.S defeat and credibility problems, because the United States needs people worldwide to feel secure about aligning themselves with the U.S. In addition as Americans we believe that all people in the world are endowed with the same rights. No race is above another, because we are all equal. In a sense the United States needs to stay in the war to prevent the betrayal of beliefs, prevent the betrayal of friends, and prevent increased terror risk. user:lil_ash __**Re-Election of the President/ U.S. Pull-Out Ideas**__

The war in Iraq Afghanistan has been going on for about 7 years. It was all started on September 11 2001 8:48 east coast time, when we were attacked by terrorist groups. That incident killed exactly 2,998, excluding the 19 hijackers. With this brutal attack on our country, President Bush declared war on Afghanistan or Operation Enduring Freedom 3 days after the attack. One year later we declared war on Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom because the suspect of WMD's. Colin Powell told the United Nations "Our conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stock pile of 100 too 500 tons of chemical weapons agent." To this day we have found none of these weapons. We are still in the middle of both these wars and have come to no conclusion. In 2004 the re-election of President Bush was up in the air. The biggest controversy was "The war in Iraq" and what the strategy was going to be. On November 2 2004 Bush was again elected elected again the president of the United States. Many things may have been different if he was not elected, but it is not a point you can make because it didn't not happen and we do not know what would happen if a different elective was voted in. We do know that 4 years later the American death toll is over 4,000 and it is rising by the day. Recently, on May 8 2008 fighting in Baghdad broke out and we lost 17 of our men. In the past few weeks a<span class="Apple-style-span" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255)">round 1,000 people, including many civilians, have been killed as the fighting in the Shia stronghold of Sadr City has intensified and gotten worse. Going back a little farther, on March 3 2008 two separate car bombings in Baghdad killed at least 19 people and injured over 45. One was targeted at police headquarters in east Baghdad, the other was targeted at police headquarters in the Maisaloon Area. Separately in the southern city of Basra, gunmen ambushed a top provincial police chief, killing him and three bodyguards. Being in Iraq now for over 6 years we are having the same problems; car bombing, suicide bombings, and our death toll had jumped in March ruining a 6 month decline in casualties lost. Our reason for going into Iraq was to take away the WMD's and to give Iraq its freedom, hence Operation Iraqi Freedom. On May 1, 2003 our President announced Mission Accomplished. But 97 percent of the death toll came after he stated this news. To have some numbers 140 American service members died before May 1, 2003, out of a total of over 4,084. Going into Iraq was possibly too rushed. On May 28, 2008 f ormer White House spokesman Scott McClellan has said US President George W Bush was not "open and forthright" on Iraq and rushed to an unnecessary war. He also stated Bush relied on a "political propaganda campaign" to sell the war. Scott McClellan worked under Bush from July 2003 to April 2006 as a White House Spokesman and was in Bush's inner circle.

__**Work Cited:**__ Denny, David A. "Bush Explains U.S. Goals." __America.Gov__. 11 Jan. 2006. 25 May 2008 <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">[|http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/January/20060111190421dmslahrellek0.7826197.html.</span]> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">Hawkeye. "View From Above." __Blogger__. 18 Oct. 2007. 25 May 2008 <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">[|http://viewhigh.blogspot.com/2007/10/26-reasons-for-staying-in-iraq.html.</span]> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">Perry, George L. "The War on Terrorism." __Brookings__. 24 Oct. 2001. 27 May 2008 <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">[|http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2001/1024terrorism_perry.aspx.</span]> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">Slavin, Barbara. "World." __USA Today__. 17 Feb. 2004. 27 May 2008 http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-03-16-iraq-anniversary_x.htm. "The Iraq War." __Economist.Com__. 5 May 2008. 25 May 2008 <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9804115.

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif">user:lil_ash user:rider69