I believe...

In March of 2003, the United States invaded Iraq, claiming that the invasion was a crucial part of the President’s War against Terrorism. The invasion of Iraq was sold to the American people as a necessary response to the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, for which the terrorist organization al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. When rallying his people and gaining support for his decision to go to war, President Bush said, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” I strongly believe that the invasion of Iraq was unjustified and that the United States has become entangled in a quagmire in Iraq as a result of being misled by the current Presidential administration. Furthermore, I believe that in many instances, we the American people have shown a total lack of respect and knowledge for Islamic culture. Due to this, our situation in Iraq has become increasingly difficult and has turned people in the Islamic world against the United States.
The logic behind our invasion was two-fold: that Saddam Hussein had direct links to al-Qaeda and the 9/11 terror plot, and that he possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that he was poised to use against the United States. Yet, the U.S. military was unable to recover any WMDs following the invasion and, shortly after the invasion, the Central Intelligence Agency reported that Iraq had no ongoing programs to develop any weapons of mass destruction. Further, as was widely reported, the September 11th commission – the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States –concluded in June of 2004, just one year after the invasion, that there was in fact no link between the government of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. President Cheney had called the evidence linking Osama bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein, “overwhelming”. Due to this invalidation of the Bush administration’s main reasons for invading Iraq, the American people, including myself, were left to speculate if the invasion was at all necessary.
Far from helping win the War on Terrorism, the invasion of Iraq has alienated the Islamic world against the United States and probably produced, rather than combated, terrorism. Today, we have lost 3,288 American soldiers according to Iraq Coalition Casualties, and the number of innocent Iraqi civilians killed is anywhere from 61,074 to 67,015 according to US Central Command, General Tommy Franks . Wounding and killing innocent Iraqi civilians does not support George Bush’s claim that this is a war of liberation, a war with the goal to improve the lives of Iraqis. So, not surprisingly, most Iraqis – 71% - would like to see the U.S. military presence out of their country within a year according to World Public Opinion. A staggering 82% of Shias and 97% of Sunnis strongly believe that U.S. military presence has provoked more conflict and violence than it is preventing. America’s goals in Iraq will prove to be extremely challenging and costly if the majority of Iraqis oppose its military presence.
Iraq has proved itself to be ungovernable to decades. The fact is, we have wedged ourselves into a position that makes it our responsibility to leave Iraq a stable and peaceful nation. If we are not able to do this, then our diplomacy will be forever labeled as impulsive, imperious and militant. The Middle Eastern region, already a place ridden with complex rivalries and ethnic and religious strife, will realistically not find peace in the near future. Hypocrisy will also stain America’s reputation. As our guest speaker Asmeh so articulately said, America is only left with one standing justification for its military presence in Iraq – the spreading of democracy in order to better the world. Why then do we have such close relations with Saudi Arabia – a country that lacks every aspect of democracy? It is reasonable for other countries to see America as spreading democracy in only the places that will prove to be strategic or economically advantageous.
Because the American culture and the Islamic culture clash, it has often times made this war even more spiteful and vicious. Furthermore, the conflict has sparked racial profiling here at home. Our misconstrued views of the Islamic religion has promoted intolerance and helped to expel hatred toward the Middle Eastern regions. I believe that the media, here at home, has focused on promoting fear among the American people. What this means, is that by focusing solely on the extremist and fundamentalist aspect of Islam, we are not allowing ourselves to have a positive impression of Muslims as a whole. I believe that if America became more educated over the conflict and over the Islamic religion, we would become more respectful toward them and in turn, receive more respect.
President Bush’s justifications for entering Iraq were that the country had links to al-Qaeda and was harboring Weapons of Mass Destruction that were to be used against America and other peaceful nations. Snce the invasion, evidence has surfaced to show that both justifications are simply not valid. In end, I believe that the core values of American society: liberty, freedom, democracy- are worth fighting for – if that is indeed what we are fighting for. However, we must ask ourselves if we have taken on a task too great, too costly and too crippling for both Americans and Iraqis.