Iraq: Five Years PassedGilad Chudler

This week marks five years of an American presence in Iraq. After watching three of the most important buildings in America topple, citizens of the most powerful country in the world wanted revenge for these horrific acts. Many in the United States were swept up in the fervor of Bush’s “axis of evil” and became convinced by the administration that an invasion of Iraq would help prevent such attacks in the future.

Five years later the world is as dangerous a place as ever and the Middle East hasn’t been this turbulent since Lawrence of Arabia. In a speech that was prepared for the anniversary’s date, President Bush said, “Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision – and this is a fight America can and must win.”

How right you are, President Bush. Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the correct decision in many respects: he truly was a brutal dictator who was not above terrorizing ethnic swathes of his own citizens. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq had a history of dangerous affairs with weapons of mass destruction including an attempted nuclear facility and let us not forget the rampant use of chemical weapons.

One would have to search far and wide to find a staunch supporter of Saddam Hussein and the world should be thankful for his removal. Yet, many Americans are now asking themselves, “Didn’t we originally invade Iraq because we were told Saddam had direct links to Al-Qaeda and was possessing weapons of mass destruction?”

At this point in time, citizens across the country are fed up with what has become an immensely unpopular and costly war. Pundits have estimated that the Iraq war will likely end up costing tax-payers upwards of three trillion dollars. Who knows how much more American tax payers will cough up if John McCain is elected president, considering he has claimed that US forces will stay in Iraq for another “10,000 years” if necessary.

Many of us who have followed the war since day one have been asking ourselves the same question for half of a decade now, “Why Iraq? Why was it so necessary to purge that country of questionable leadership instead of somebody else?” This question has only become more pressing now that America knows that the link between Saddam and Al-Qaeda was essentially fabricated by the administration and that more and more evidence points to the fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq at the time of invasion. It’s no coincidence the media has labeled this war “Bush’s War”.

Since America invaded Iraq, the other two members of the “Axis of Evil” have had the freedom to further their goals with America tied up in a war that will never finish. North Korea has set off a nuclear weapon to the chagrin of the international community and Iran gains waves of influence throughout the Middle East every day. For the first time in its history, Iraq is now a hotbed of terrorism. Opportunistic foreign jihadists moved into Iraq to fight America and to establish radical elements throughout the country in an effort to take advantage of the chaos, misery and instability that the war has brought.

Despite all of these factors, President Bush insists that, “Defeating this enemy in Iraq will make it less likely we will face this enemy here at home.” Well President Bush, this wandering Jew disagrees. Before the Iraq invasion there was no element in Iraq that posed as a substantial threat to the United States. Now there is an entire network of terrorists that have taken advantage of the instability. These networks are a part of much larger international networks and pose a grave threat to Western countries.

It is true what Bush says about the recent surge of troops into Iraq in this sense, “it has done more than turn the situation in Iraq around – it has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror.”

Such statements have what could be called a drop of truth in it because before the American invasion there were no terrorists in Iraq to fight against – now it is chock full of them.

Yet, what options are left for America at this point?

Roughly 70% of Americans do not support the Iraq war and that number only increases every day. Americans are sick and tired of spending billions of dollars a day on a war that has sent America straight into a recession and they are sick of sending their sons and daughters to a war they don’t agree with.

Can America even pull out of Iraq at this point? If American troops were to leave next week, what would the consequences be? For years experts have said that the moment American troops leave Iraq, a massive civil war similar to the one that broke out in Vietnam after the US Army left would erupt leaving thousands, possibly millions dead. The fragile democracy that is finally beginning to garner support and strength in Iraq would almost certainly crumble. Perhaps the most frightening prospect would be the strong influence Iran could immediately impose on the fledgling Iraq which would strengthen what has been a coalition of conservative states who openly support terrorism.

The truth is that at this point there are now straightforward easy answers as to what America “should” do. Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq with his family earlier this week to talk about opening up Iraq’s vast oil fields to foreign investors (Still wondering whether oil played a role in America’s invasion?) Frankly, the current administration is not ready to leave Iraq because none of their goals have been met: There is certainly not a pro-Western liberal democracy in place of Saddam, we have not gotten our hands on Iraqi oil and the Middle East is more dangerous than ever. The instability in Iraq caused by this war has done nothing but endanger Israel’s position as the only liberal democracy in the region.

It is easy with the power of hindsight to say that invading Iraq was a mistake. There are only a few neo-conservatives sitting in their living rooms below Ronald Reagan posters hung up on their mantles that believe Iraq was a good idea and that America should “stay the course.” The true challenge is deciding what the best move is now. Iraq finally seems that it is starting to stabilize, at least in a relative sense. There are only 100 people dying a week now instead of every day which is a step in the right direction, at least. The Iraqi government is more stable now than it has ever been since Saddam was toppled. Is the time approaching for American troops to come home to their loved ones?

Americans are only now beginning to feel what will surely be the long term affects from this war. Already America’s economy is buckling in the face of a massive deficit that has only continued to increase due to poor management of government funds. Soon, college campuses across America will be filled with blind, deaf and limbless soldiers seeking a higher education –roughly 30,000 soldiers have been injured and nearly 4,000 US soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq. The prospect of travelling for internationally minded Americans becomes more and more frightening as the world continues to turn against America for what they view as a gross violation of international law and a blatant grab for oil amidst the chaos of 9-11.

The upcoming presidential election will help determine the course of Iraq, but less than many think. America is stuck in a dangerous quagmire in Iraq, one that it will not be able to dig itself out of anytime soon.