Most recent edit on 2005-11-12 17:00:46 by EschaTon
Additions:
On March 19, 2003, President Bush declared war on the country Iraq. The government deployed American troops to Iraq to complete three tasks: find and remove weapons of mass destruction, remove Saddam Hussein from power, and to establish a democracy in Iraq. Two and [a] half years later, with the death toll on both sides rising, America still occupies Iraq and has only completed one [of] its proposed tasks.
On April 9, 2003, less then one month of [after] declaring war on Iraq, the United States gained control of Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. However, American forces still were [were still] beleaguered by hostile opposition from many Iraqis, and the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein was unknown. On May 1, 2003, when the Pentagon declared an end to the official combat in Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s still was still not captured by American forces. On August 9, 2003, 100 days after the official end of combat in Iraq, America’s death toll reached 255, and the search for Saddam Hussein continued. Finally, nearly nine months after the fall of Baghdad, American troops found Saddam Hussein, one of the world’s most feared and heinous tyrants, hiding in a “spider hole” outside of his home town[,] Tikrit. Although America completed the task of removing Saddam Hussein from power, it proved to be an arduous and deadly process. After gaining control of Baghdad, America still had to face many attacks from Iraqi insurgents and fighters from other Moslem nations who were angered by the American invasion. Even after declaring an end to official combat in Iraq and belatedly capturing Saddam Hussein, America continued to be engaged in combat and suffer casualties (Iraq Timeline).
The American government believes that to ensure stability in Iraq and eventually the Mideast, a democratic government must be established in Iraq. On April 15, 2004, almost a month after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush agreed to the United Nation’s proposal to place a “caretaker government” in Iraq when power was to be returned to the Iraqi government on June 3, 2004. However, it was not until June 8, 2004, that the United Nations passed the official endorsement for a caretaker government for Iraq that contained a provision to allow American forces to leave Iraq by January 1, 2006. By June 17, 2004, more than 100 Iraqi citizens had been killed, including an Iraqi diplomat and a senior Iraqi government official, in several Iraqi terrorist attacks. On December 19, 2004 in an act of protest against the new government and newly established elections, car bombers attacked election workers. Today Iraq seems no closer to having a stable democratic government any than it was a year ago. It appears to be nearly impossible to find a common ground that the many different factions of the Iraqi culture and religions can agree upon. The American government persists in its attempts to establish Iraq as a democracy, and as of October 2005, America has lost the lives of more than 2000 troops. Thousands more have been wounded, and the number of Iraqi casualties, noncombatant as well as combatant, far exceed those of the American forces. At home and abroad, there is a growing call for the United States to remove its troops from Iraq; however, the president insists that our troops will remain there until America’s “mission” is finally accomplished (Iraq Timeline).
The American government was able to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but combat with his supporters and anti-American forces continues. American casualties continue to rise, even after President Bush declared the end of “official”combat operations in Iraq. Nine long and bloody months after the fall of Iraq’s capital city, American troops did find Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole outside of his hometown, a city that the American forces had occupied and search[ed] many times prior to his discovery. Unfortunately, the removal of Saddam Hussein has not moved Iraq any closer to peace, prosperity, or democracy.
[This is, as always, a well written and structured paper, but the essay seems to indicate a lack of careful proofreading.]
Deletions:
On March 19, 2003, President Bush declared war on the country Iraq. The government deployed American troops to Iraq to complete three tasks: find and remove weapons of mass destruction, remove Saddam Hussein from power, and to establish a democracy in Iraq. Two and half years later, with the death toll on both sides rising, America still occupies Iraq and has only completed one its proposed tasks.
On April 9, 2003, less then one month of declaring war on Iraq, the United States gained control of Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. However, American forces still were beleaguered by hostile opposition from many Iraqis, and the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein was unknown. On May 1, 2003, when the Pentagon declared an end to the official combat in Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s still was still not captured by American forces. On August 9, 2003, 100 days after the official end of combat in Iraq, America’s death toll reached 255, and the search for Saddam Hussein continued. Finally, nearly nine months after the fall of Baghdad, American troops found Saddam Hussein, one of the world’s most feared and heinous tyrants, hiding in a “spider hole” outside of his home town Tikrit. Although America completed the task of removing Saddam Hussein from power, it proved to be an arduous and deadly process. After gaining control of Baghdad, America still had to face many attacks from Iraqi insurgents and fighters from other Moslem nations who were angered by the American invasion. Even after declaring an end to official combat in Iraq and belatedly capturing Saddam Hussein, America continued to be engaged in combat and suffer casualties (Iraq Timeline).
The American government believes that to ensure stability in Iraq and eventually the Mideast, a democratic government must be established in Iraq. On April 15, 2004, almost a month after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush agreed to the United Nation’s proposal to place a “caretaker government” in Iraq when power was to be returned to the Iraqi government on June 3, 2004. However, it was not until June 8, 2004, that the United Nations passed the official endorsement for a caretaker government for Iraq that contained a provision to allow American forces to leave Iraq by January 1, 2006. By June 17, 2004, more than 100 Iraqi citizens had been killed, including an Iraqi diplomat and a senior Iraqi government official, in several Iraqi terrorist attacks. On December 19, 2004 in an act of protest against the new government and newly established elections, car bombers attacked election workers. Today Iraq seems no closer to having a stable democratic government any than it was a year ago. It appears to be nearly impossible to find a common ground that the many different factions of the Iraqi culture and religions can agree upon. The American government persists in its attempts to establish Iraq as a democracy, and as of October 2005, America has lost the lives of more than 2000 troops. Thousands more have been wounded, and the number of Iraqi casualties, noncombatant as well as combatant, far exceed those of the American forces. At home and abroad, there is a growing call for the United States to remove its troops from Iraq; however, the president insists that our troops will remain there until America’s “mission” is finally accomplished (Iraq Timeline).
The American government was able to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but combat with his supporters and anti-American forces continues. American casualties continue to rise, even after President Bush declared the end of “official”combat operations in Iraq. Nine long and bloody months after the fall of Iraq’s capital city, American troops did find Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole outside of his hometown, a city that the American forces had occupied and search many times prior to his discovery. Unfortunately, the removal of Saddam Hussein has not moved Iraq any closer to peace, prosperity, or democracy.
Oldest known version of this page was edited on 2005-11-03 17:04:41 by StarrySkies []
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America’s Success in Iraq
On March 19, 2003, President Bush declared war on the country Iraq. The government deployed American troops to Iraq to complete three tasks: find and remove weapons of mass destruction, remove Saddam Hussein from power, and to establish a democracy in Iraq. Two and half years later, with the death toll on both sides rising, America still occupies Iraq and has only completed one its proposed tasks.
One of the most compelling arguments for America’s invasion of Iraq was the belief by certain factions of the American Government that Iraq was stockpiling Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) with the intent to attack other countries. In January 2005, it was announced that America had ended its search for such weapons. This was not because America had found a large amount of WMD, but because after almost two years of searching, none had been found. In October 2004, Charles A. Duelfer, the head of the Iraq Survey Group’s WMD search, admitted that there exited no proof that Saddam Hussein or anyone else in Iraq was creating, had possession of, or even had the intent of creating WMD. Thus, the American government’s strongest argument for invading Iraq proved to be a fallacious one (Iraq Timeline).
On April 9, 2003, less then one month of declaring war on Iraq, the United States gained control of Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. However, American forces still were beleaguered by hostile opposition from many Iraqis, and the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein was unknown. On May 1, 2003, when the Pentagon declared an end to the official combat in Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s still was still not captured by American forces. On August 9, 2003, 100 days after the official end of combat in Iraq, America’s death toll reached 255, and the search for Saddam Hussein continued. Finally, nearly nine months after the fall of Baghdad, American troops found Saddam Hussein, one of the world’s most feared and heinous tyrants, hiding in a “spider hole” outside of his home town Tikrit. Although America completed the task of removing Saddam Hussein from power, it proved to be an arduous and deadly process. After gaining control of Baghdad, America still had to face many attacks from Iraqi insurgents and fighters from other Moslem nations who were angered by the American invasion. Even after declaring an end to official combat in Iraq and belatedly capturing Saddam Hussein, America continued to be engaged in combat and suffer casualties (Iraq Timeline).
The American government believes that to ensure stability in Iraq and eventually the Mideast, a democratic government must be established in Iraq. On April 15, 2004, almost a month after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush agreed to the United Nation’s proposal to place a “caretaker government” in Iraq when power was to be returned to the Iraqi government on June 3, 2004. However, it was not until June 8, 2004, that the United Nations passed the official endorsement for a caretaker government for Iraq that contained a provision to allow American forces to leave Iraq by January 1, 2006. By June 17, 2004, more than 100 Iraqi citizens had been killed, including an Iraqi diplomat and a senior Iraqi government official, in several Iraqi terrorist attacks. On December 19, 2004 in an act of protest against the new government and newly established elections, car bombers attacked election workers. Today Iraq seems no closer to having a stable democratic government any than it was a year ago. It appears to be nearly impossible to find a common ground that the many different factions of the Iraqi culture and religions can agree upon. The American government persists in its attempts to establish Iraq as a democracy, and as of October 2005, America has lost the lives of more than 2000 troops. Thousands more have been wounded, and the number of Iraqi casualties, noncombatant as well as combatant, far exceed those of the American forces. At home and abroad, there is a growing call for the United States to remove its troops from Iraq; however, the president insists that our troops will remain there until America’s “mission” is finally accomplished (Iraq Timeline).
There are many reasons that the American government failed to fulfill two of the three goals it had before invading Iraq. First, the government relied on faulty information concerning the existence of WMD in Iraq, and it dismissed any and all evidence that such weapons had not been developed by Iraq since the Gulf War. Our nation’s initial and most urgent reason for sending our troops in harm’s way in Iraq was erroneous. They fought and many died seeking weapons that did not exist. The American government also had high hopes for creating a democracy in Iraq after removing Saddam Hussein from power. Obviously, and perhaps naively, the American government expected to be enthusiastically welcomed as friends and liberators by the citizens of Saddam’s brutal regime. Defeating Saddam’s army seemed to be a relatively simple task, and it was. However, the American government failed to foresee the deeply imbedded insurgency and continuous combat with the insurgents. It also failed to foresee the improbable, if not impossible, task of forming a democratic government in Iraq. Although President Bush and certain government official in the United States and Iraq insist that such an Iraqi democracy will be established, there seems to be little evidence to support such a belief. The American goal of establishing a selfsustaining democratic government in Iraq by January 2006 is quite unlikely.
The American government was able to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but combat with his supporters and anti-American forces continues. American casualties continue to rise, even after President Bush declared the end of “official”combat operations in Iraq. Nine long and bloody months after the fall of Iraq’s capital city, American troops did find Saddam Hussein hiding in a hole outside of his hometown, a city that the American forces had occupied and search many times prior to his discovery. Unfortunately, the removal of Saddam Hussein has not moved Iraq any closer to peace, prosperity, or democracy.
Two and a half years after invading Iraq, America is still at war. This war has taken its toll on America through money and lives. Invading a foreign nation for mistaken or false reasons and being unprepared for the realities accompanying such an invasion have placed our nation and its troops in a precarious position. Yes, Saddam Hussein is now imprisoned and standing trial in Iraq, but no Weapons of Mass Destruction were found, for none existed; and an Iraqi democracy seems unattainable. Our government has succeeded in fulfilling one of its tasks in Iraq, the removal of a despot. Unfortunately, its failure to complete its other two equally important tasks increasingly makes the decision to invade Iraq seem to be a terribly unwise one.
WORK CITED
“Iraq Timeline”. 1 November 2005.
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