...Iraq War Iraq War was an armed conflict that began with the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003 and lasted until 2011. The US counted with some allies in this war such as United Kingdom or Australia. There were different reasons to explain the interest of the invasion and posterior war. Iraq invasion had a lot to do with 9/11 and the 1991 Gulf war. The Bush administration made the argument that in the post 9/11 climate there should be a belated reckoning with Saddam Hussein. He had continued to sponsor terrorism, had over the years invaded or attacked four of his neighbours, and had killed tens of thousands of his own people. Another important reason was the strong belief that Iraq had weapon of mass destruction, according to CIA, and most Middle Eastern governments and European intelligence agencies agreed. This started with the belief that there were missing stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. The possible possession of these weapons was never clear, but was useful to get some more support as the other reasons would not generate enough public urgency for pre-emption. Another motivation to invade Iraq was the issue of oil. The intention was not to take Iraq oil, but to avoid Saddam of having the control of oil. Iraq’s oil revenues meant that Saddam would always have the resources to foment trouble in the region, would always be difficult to remove through internal opposition, and would always use petrodollar influence. Finally, we could also say that another reason...
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...Justification of the War in Iraq In 2003 the United States of America invaded the country of Iraq in an effort to stop the production and take custody of the weapons of mass destruction that were believed to belong to the Iraqi government. Today we take a look at the actions taken by the United States government and analyze if there was truly weapons of mass destruction and if the invasion was justified in taking place. There are many opinions on this matter. Some throughout the world believe that there was just cause to invade. We ask ourselves if Iraq’s past actions which included genocide may have gave weight to the supporting opinions. If you look at the opposing side there are just as many, if not more, that disagreed with this military conflict and the actions taken by the United States government. Non supporters thought that the risk may outweigh the benefits of the invasion and also voiced doubt on the existence of weapons of mass destructions. In researching the issue and being a witness to the actions taken by the United States I am eager to believe that the war was justified. There are many reasons that I believe and other believe that it was just or not just. In support of the invasion of Iraq by the United States there are many reasons that are well apparent in supporting this notion. Prior to the invasion Iraq has proven that it supported terrorist and also supplied a haven for the terrorist that attacked and were planning to attack America and its...
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...The Iraq war wasn’t justified The 2003 invasion of Iraq (March 20 – May 1, 2003), was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War or Operation Iraqi Freedom in which a combined force of troops from the United States, alongside the United Kingdom, and smaller contingents from Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations. This phase (March–April 2003) consisted of a conventionally fought war which concluded with the fall of Baghdad that marked the beginning of the second phase, the current Iraq War, and was a continuation of the Gulf War of 1991, prior to which Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait, and after defeat by Coalition Forces had agreed to surrender and/or destroy several types of weapons, including SCUD missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). According to then President of the United States George W. Bush and then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, the reasons for the invasion were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's alleged support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace. Although some remnants of pre-1991 production were found after the end of the war. US government spokespeople confirmed that these were...
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...Cultural Awareness on Iraq In thesis I talk about why Iraq has one of the world's oldest cultural histories. Iraq is where the Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations were, whose legacy went on to influence and shape the civilizations Of the Old World. Culturally, Iraq has a very rich heritage. Iraq is an Islamic nation and has one of the most colorful histories in the world. The country’s traditions remain evident in many aspects of everyday life, the most common tradition is afternoon cup of tea also know as shy, it is a welcoming invitation to sit with your friends and family enjoy a cup of tea specially if you are not from this country. In the past, arranged marriages were common. However, “this practice is becoming more rare, and a law was...
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...War is a very broad term for writing. Under this word, everybody imagine black and white soldier with a gun in a dusty environment. My question is “why?”. Why is the basic question of all. Existence on earth, learning, reading, or why somebody listen one ear in and another ear out? Why do we have war? Why people argue?, fight?. Why do we have quarrels?, rivalry or racing? The answer is simple. Proving power is not really right move. Subjugation is the wrong way of showing the great powers or superpowers. Power should provide love and support, not a battle about who is better. When I asked my younger sister what is the war, she said, "Battles and shooters where people kills and dies." This way you also our ancestors proved and showed their "size". Dictators, leaders of fascism and nationalism did not just wake up one day and became dictators. These people started manifesting in early childhood. At the school in the form of bullying or vandalism, and if they do not have a steady hand above them, their "abilities" develop even further. Lack of attention or care from parents, despise, not enough friends- all of this bad examples play big role and they are benefits to become person like that. Maybe we should help people like that and not brushed them aside because they are different. They have their reason why they are different. In my essay I would like to compare two wars, World War II and Iraq war. What are the differences and what are the similarities? World War II Starting...
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...strategy is derived from the nature of war. In the following parts, evidence would be mentioned to show how similar nature of war generates similar strategy, military tactics and consequence (Waldman, 2012). Nature of war Both Afghan and Iraq military campaign are war on terror. In September 20, 2001, George Bush, the U.S president, mentioned that the war on terror would start at Ai-Qaeda. War would end until all terrorist groups are found out and eliminated. He also said countries supporting terrorism would be punished. Bin Laden was the most wanted which was the leader of Ai-Qaeda (Barker, 2003). For the Afghan military campaign, it occurred because of September 11 attacks which caused more than 3000...
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...Thucydides, an Athenian historian, political philosopher, and commander is more commonly known for his work surrounding the history of the Peloponnesian War. While serving his time as commander in the war he was exiled for his failure and wasn’t allowed to return to Athens until after the war had ended. While this may not have been ideal for him at the time, it gave him the opportunity to gather information from both opposing sides, Athens and Sparta, throughout the war. This then enabled him to write a direct and concise account of the war and to refrain from any personal opinion. He is commonly regarded as the father of philosophical history. His account of the Peloponnesian war is not only extremely accurate, but it chronicles a war that...
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...The Iraq War: An Avoidable Situation Introduction Iraq has generally never been a nation at peace, but that did not stop the United States from exacerbating those problems. Following the attacks of September 11 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 the United States’ actions and counter terrorism strategy created an insurgency that set them up for a long and arduous war. Through what appeared to be a rushed planning process the United States entered Iraq and acted as if they wanted to worsen their situation. This paper will look at how the ordinances passed during the first year in Iraq, due to Paul Bremer’s lack of knowledge concerning counter-insurgency, made the United States government reconsider their strategy in Iraq. These actions combined with a growing resentment towards United States occupancy and Shi’a and Sunni insurgencies caused the United States to change its course of action towards counter-insurgency. The civil war that was beginning only added to the problem. Quickly, they wrote two new field manuals on counter-insurgency and with successful campaigns, led by General Petraeus, regained some stability in the war-torn nation. Background A decade before the War on Terror and the subsequent invasion of Iraq under the Bush regime, there was the Gulf War. Following the Iraqi defeat at the hands of a USA led, United Nations backed force there were strict sanctions placed on weapons, the military, and oil reserves in Iraq. Also, following this conflict, a wealthy...
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...lies. My friends we were all lied too back in 2002 when George Brush and Tony Blair declared, falsely, that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction” (WMDs) and that we had to prevent Saddam from unleashing his furry on the World or else we would all be doomed. So with no evidence to support these claims and against the United Nations orders, the United States and the Allied forces brought “freedom” and “democracy” to the people of Iraq. Now, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know just how this new found, wonderful freedom and democracy has benefited the people of Iraq. Just take a look at this fact; over four million Iraqis have emigrated from Iraq since 2003. What does this mean? This means that the invasion of Iraq was wrong. Bush and his so called “friends” invaded under false pretences; they were selective about where and when to promote this so-called democracy; and they did not make the world a safer place by eliminating Saddam Hussein. In the lead up to the war, Tony Blair and George Bush claimed that Saddam’s Iraq had developed weapons capable of creating mass destruction and that the only solution was too enter Iraq and exterminate these weapons. However, after seven years of endless searching not a single piece of evidence was found to support Bush and Blair’s claims. The collation forces ended up leaving Iraq WMDless. In any case, even if Iraq did have WMDs, so does other countries such as Israel, Russia and North Korea (which by the way has openly threatened...
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...Reagan/Bush Era Reagan/Bush Era To take a look at the past and see how it has guided the present era; look back at the Reagan-Busch era and see what they were involved in, initiated or finished while in the Oval Office. These two were President and Vice President for two terms and George Bush succeeded Reagan as the 41st President of the United States and carried on where Reagan left off. His presidency was limited to one term as most Americans felt that he was not strong enough or not able to function without President Reagan. The Iran-Contra war was an embarrassing scandal that almost caused Reagan his presidency. The involvement of the United States in the business of supplying weapons to the enemy of the United States basically a black market operation that was not approved by the Congress and ran by a Military Officer. The whole matter was a negotiation tactic we sell you weapons and you release hostages. Monies profited from this illegal black market scandal was funneled to the contras of Nicaragua to support their internal democracy issue and eventually allowed them to overthrow Anastasio Somoza Debayle. This whole scandal reflected poorly on the United States and President Reagan as it was a defining point in his presidency and almost cost him his office. This scandal first began in 1985 and continued until 1986 and was actually effective until the Hezbollah terrorist group got greedy and started taking more hostages in demand for more weapons. The article was...
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...Iran-Iraq War, An Iraqi soldier carrying an AK-47 assault rifle during the Iran-Iraq War. [Credit: © Jacques Pavlovsky/Corbis](1980–88), prolonged military conflict between Iran and Iraq during the 1980s. Open warfare began on Sept. 22, 1980, when Iraqi armed forces invaded western Iran along the countries’ joint border, though Iraq claimed that the war had begun earlier that month, on September 4, when Iran shelled a number of border posts. Fighting was ended by a 1988 cease-fire, though the resumption of normal diplomatic relations and the withdrawal of troops did not take place until the signing of a formal peace agreement on Aug. 16, 1990. The roots of the war lay in a number of territorial and political disputes between Iraq and Iran. Iraq wanted to seize control of the rich oil-producing Iranian border region of Khūzestān, a territory inhabited largely by ethnic Arabs over which Iraq sought to extend some form of suzerainty. Iraqi president Ṣaddām Ḥussein wanted to reassert his country’s sovereignty over both banks of the Shaṭṭ al-ʿArab, a river formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that was historically the border between the two countries. Ṣaddām was also concerned over attempts by Iran’s Islamic revolutionary government to incite rebellion among Iraq’s Shīʿite majority. By attacking when it did, Iraq took advantage of the apparent disorder and isolation of Iran’s new government—then at loggerheads with the United States over the seizure of the...
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...Should the American public trust those they place in power? Absolutely, but this trust is not always there and even more recently has become an even greater illusion. Up until 1968, American citizens for the most part trusted their leaders and expected that they would be honest with them and act in their best interest. However, this credulous relationship faltered when the term “Credibility Gap” was coined in 1965. This rift between the public and the government continues to grow well into the 21st Century. What started in the wake of the Tet Offensive of ’68, has once reared its ugly head again with the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and most recently extended in the Benghazi scandal of 2012 has led the American to lose absolute trust in the United...
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...Chapter 13 Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Nations, States, and Nation-States A. Logistics Students’ Time Requirements Activity 1: The Rise of Nationalism and the Fall of Yugoslavia Readings 60-90 minutes Fill in the blanks 75-90 minutes Activity 2: Iraqaphobia Readings 60-90 minutes Fill in the blanks 75-90 minutes The fill-in-the-blanks activity works very well as an in-class group project. It helps for students to be able to discuss the questions and readings with other students. If so, it is absolutely essential that students read the assigned articles in advance of the discussion. They will need to consult the readings to find pertinent passages, but if they are reading it for the first time during group work, they will either not finish or not contribute. I remind my students of this fact several times in the days leading up to the project. If students don’t finish during class, they can finish at home. If done in groups in class, you may wish to suggest that a different student act as recorder for each block of questions. Also, assign a different student to be the discussion leader/gatekeeper to keep the discussion on track and prevent any single individual from dominating the discussion. A third student could function as timekeeper. See Chapter 11 and 14 role-playing activities for further discussion of these tasks. Remind students that Balkan and Middle East politics are always changing and can get...
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...Environmental Impact of the Gulf War The Gulf War of 1990-1991 seemed to have been a decisive victory from a militarily and tactical point of view. From an environmental point of view the Gulf War was a disaster that ravaged the local ecosystem that the conflict touched. Both the Iraqi aggressors and the allied forces committed crimes against the environment ranging from use of minerals such as depleted Uranium for weapons manufacturing, and deliberate dumping of oil into the Gulf. The dumped oil spills had a major impact on the ecosystem around the Gulf region and in the Gulf itself. The actions that were taken and not taken from both parties (Iraqi troops, and allied forces) had a negative implication on the resources, and ecosystem of the Gulf. There were three reasons as to why the Gulf war came about. First, Iraq had long claimed that Kuwait was a part of its own country. This claim led to many confrontations and hostility between the two countries. Along with Saddam Hussein’s defeated invasion attempt of Iran, it can be argued that he sought to find a weaker foe in order to conquer which happened to be Kuwait. Second, rich deposits of crude oil had straddled the borders of the ill-defined desert area, and Iraq claimed that Kuwaiti oil riggers were illegally tapping this rich reserve that was claimed to be part of Iraqi fields. The Middle Eastern deserts make it so that border differences between local countries are hard to distinguish, thus leading to conflicts. Finally...
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...The Uncovering of the Truth About the Iraq War There are many stories about war that are usually biased and only showing one perspective of war. As an audience, we are never truly given factual evidence about everything, especially in wars. In order to uncover the true story of wars we must investigate the matter at hand, why are we at war? The fact of the matter is because of our political leaders and the way they address themselves to other countries. The United States for many years has set a goal, which any country that is non-democratic in a sense is an enemy of the United States and the world. During 1991, Operation Desert Storm was put in place because Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. This increased international security. The reason...
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