United States Opposition to the Iraq War. In 2003, the United States attacked Iraq with the intent to find weapons of mass

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1 London and Mecca 1 Meredith London and Jennifer Mecca Professor Ochsenwald History November 2007 TTH 3:30 United States Opposition to the Iraq War In 2003, the United States attacked Iraq with the intent to find weapons of mass destruction. This should never have been done. Iraq s history with the United States is a bumpy one. The main regulation that the United States was concerned with was the possibility of Iraq keeping weapons of mass destruction. This was the main reason the US invaded Iraq in Weapons of mass destruction were never found. The war still goes on with no solution in sight. More reasons for the invasion include bringing democracy and freedom to the Iraqi. This goal has not been achieved either may never be. Saddam Husain reigned as the leader of Iraq from As president, he was considered the leader of armed forces. Saddam established a security state. With Saddam as Iraq s leader, the state seemed to be under control. Their neighbor Iran was in an upheaval at this time. Saddam wanted to gain prestige and show the rest of the Middle East that he was the leader of the Arab world 1. He also sought to secure border alignments. Saddam had a rivalry with Khomeini, the leader of Iran. He feared that Iranians would appeal to Iraqi Shiis to overthrow him. Therefore, Saddam lead Iraq to attack Iran in It is unlikely that war would have occurred had the shah remained in power. 2 Iraq started to receive weapons from the Soviets for the Iran-Iraq War. This was during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet 1 William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History. 6 th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg Phebe, Marr, The Modern History of Iraq, (Boulder: Westview Press, 2004), Pg 182.

2 London and Mecca 2 Union. The Iraqis also received weapon support from Egypt and France. Iraq was losing the war, and Iran would not accept foreign mediation 3. Iraq then moved to attacking Iranian oil facilities. In 1984, Iraq reestablished diplomatic relations with the US. Iraqi Kurds helped the Iranians, and therefore, 80 percent of Kurd villages and between 150,000 and 200,000 Kurdish civilians were killed 4. United States and France were sponsors of Iraq and did little to stop events like this. Iran s army lost morale at the end of the war in Neither side gained any significant territorial, political, or economic advantage 5. The war appeared to confirm the resilience of the Iraqi state. 6 The next decade brought a new war for Saddam and Iraq. Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990 and the Kuwait War began in There were many reasons that Saddam decided to invade including economic factors, new international environment, Pan-Arab Nationalism, domestic pressures, and personal motives 7. Iraq s main motive was to gain the oil wealth of Kuwait. After the economic disaster of the Iran War, free oil wealth from Kuwait would help Iraq get back on its feet. Among other advantages of invading Kuwait, Saddam looked to gain Gulf water frontage. The Cold War between US and the Soviets ended; Soviets pulled support for Middle East countries including Iraq. With no more Soviet support for Iraq, the United States was a major threat considering it was the new superpower. 8 Iraq, at this time, was the leading military force in the Middle East. Along with an experienced army, Iraq had secret programs aimed at development of possible atomic, chemical, and bacteriological weapons 9. Kuwait s neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, were convinced that Husain aimed at annexing beyond 3 William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg Phebe, Marr, The Modern History of Iraq, (Boulder: Westview Press, 2004), Pg William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg Phebe, Marr, The Modern History of Iraq, (Boulder: Westview Press, 2004), Pg William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg 660.

3 London and Mecca 3 Kuwait to include the entire Arab world. During the Iran-Iraq War, the United States aimed at becoming allies with Iraq. The US knew that if he was successful in annexing Kuwait, he may turn to Saudi Arabia next. This would greatly affect the world oil prices. Therefore, the US sent troops to what was called the Desert Shield project to protect Saudi oil fields 10. Under the leadership of the United States, Middle Eastern, and other Muslim forces helped Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. When Iraq did not meet its deadline in January of 1991, the UN launched Operation Desert Storm, which was a massive air attack. Another attack was launched on the ground in February in Southern Iraq which led to Iraqi retreat from Kuwait. Resolution 687 was set by the UN to place much of Iraq s economy and military under international control. 11 The United States ordered that no Iraqi planes could fly over areas of Northern or Southern Iraq because of the attacks on Kurds. Even after being defeated, Saddam still remained in power of Iraq. Kuwait was once again independent. The United States became the dominant external force in the Middle East 12. The United States did not occupy Iraq or try to bring Saddam out of power. President George H. W. Bush said this would lead the US into a deadly quagmire. 13 The pattern of a war per decade follows through into the twenty-first century. Another Iraqi war began in The reasons for this war started after the Kuwait War ended in The United Nations formed resolutions to be carried out including information of secret weapons programs. Some records were altered to retain hidden military strength 14. Ba th party elites were becoming rich, while the poor were getting poorer. Iraq was failing to comply with UN orders. Weapons of Mass Destruction searches were called off when inspectors were not being cooperated with. Therefore, United States and British air attacks occurred in On September 10 William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg Phebe, Marr, The Modern History of Iraq, (Boulder: Westview Press, 2004), Pg William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History, 6th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg Arthur, Goldschmidt Jr., A Concise History of the Middle East, (Boulder: Westview Press. 2006), Pg William, Ochsenwald, The Middle East a History. 6 th ed., (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), Pg 663.

4 London and Mecca 4 11, 2001, the United States was attacked on its own soil. The most probable attacker was al- Qaida, a coordinating body for Muslim resistance movements 15 In 2002, President George W. Bush reiterated the necessity of finding weapons of mass destruction. Resolution 1441 was passed unanimously by the UN in Resolution 1441 required Iraqi cooperation with UN searches. In March of 2003, US attacked Iraq in hopes of finding weapons of mass destruction and to remove Saddam Husain. The weapons were never found. Nor have freedom and democracy been established in Iraq. 16 The occupation of Iraq by the United States has led to animosity between Sunni and Shii Muslim Iraqis. Another problem that the war has caused is that terrorist organizations have gained solidarity and members under the Anti-American slogan. Along with a hunt for weapons of mass destruction and to oust Husain, US had plans to control Iraq s oil and attacked as a first step to possibly change all Arab governments opposing US and Israel. 17 The events that led up to The War in Iraq were both very complicated and contentious. Iraq s history since the reign of Saddam Husain has been marked by war and controversy, but perhaps the most controversial event that has happened in the modern history of Iraq is the war that the United States and its fellow allies waged against Iraq in Based on facts from before the war and from current times, The War in Iraq is completely wrong. The United States should never have started The War in Iraq. President George W. Bush s main reason for invading Iraq was because of their weapons of mass destruction (WMD s). On January 29, 2002, President Bush made a speech to Congress. In his speech he said, [o]ur second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. The President outlined America s 15 Arthur, Goldschmidt Jr., A Concise History of the Middle East, (Boulder: Westview Press. 2006), Pg Arthur, Goldschmidt Jr., A Concise History of the Middle East, (Boulder: Westview Press. 2006), Pg Arthur, Goldschmidt Jr., A Concise History of the Middle East, (Boulder: Westview Press. 2006), Pg 435.

5 London and Mecca 5 three biggest threats. He identified them as: North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. President Bush explained that these three nations made up the axis of evil. 18 Because President Bush explained in January of 2002 that there were three nations that the United States needed to focus on, it did not make sense that he primarily targeted Iraq. Both North Korea and Iran were known to have either already acquired or were in the process of acquiring nuclear weapons. On the other hand, the only known weapons that Iraq might have had were old chemical weapons and possibly small amounts of unreliable biological weapons. Both of which were less powerful than anything that North Korea or Iran possessed. 19 Therefore it did not make sense for the President to be targeting Iraq, when there were other nations who posed a more serious threat. Another reason that it was unlikely that Iraq s WMD s posed any threat to the United States was because it would have been very foolish for Iraq to use WMD s against the US. If, in fact, Iraq had WMD s and was willing to use them against a nation such as the United States, the US and its allies could have retaliated against Iraq very easily. The consequences of using WMD s would have been much greater for Saddam Husain and his country because of the superiority of the United State s weapons. 20 Another reason that was given for the invasion of Iraq was Saddam Husain s possible connection with al-qaida and therefore possible connections with the attacks of September 11, Again this theory has lots of holes in it. For example, Peter Galbraith explains that Saddam Husain s regime in Iraq was secular. In contrast, the leader of al-qaida, Usama bin Ladin wanted, a universal Islamic state that transcends national and ethnic boundaries. In fact, al-qaida considered Iraq s government to be corrupt, while Saddam Husain 18 Peter Galbraith, The End of Iraq (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006), Peter Galbraith, The End of Iraq (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006), John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, An Unnecessary War, Foreign Policy 134 (2003),

6 London and Mecca 6 thought that al-qaida was a threat. 21 Therefore it was highly unlikely that the government of Iraq would have collaborated with al-qaida on the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Because the United State s two main arguments for starting The War in Iraq were both overwhelmingly false, the war should have never been started in the first place. If the United State s government would have taken the time to investigate all aspects of the potential threat that Iraq posed, it would have been clear that there were other nations who might have been more of a threat. Obviously whenever a country makes a major decision there are always things that are easy to see in hindsight, however there are certain things like death rates and the costs of war that a country knows that they are going to have to face. In the case of The War in Iraq both of these figures are staggering and should have certainly been taken into account before starting the war. For example, according to a report published by Deborah White, as of November 5, 2007: 3,848 United States troops have died in Iraq and 28,451 troops have been injured (this figure does not include psychological damage). In addition to the US troop casualties there have also been reports of upwards of 600,000 Iraqi civilians that have died due to the war. These figures are extremely high and do not even include people such as, the Iraqi Police Force, private contractors, or even journalists that have been killed due to the war. Another staggering thing that has come from The War in Iraq is the cost of the war to the United States taxpayers. Again, White reports the latest financial figures from the war. It has been estimated that the war has cost the taxpayers about $600 billion. To make matters worse, the President has already requested another $200 billion for the year That brings the total estimated cost of The War 21 Peter Galbraith, The End of Iraq (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006), 79.

7 London and Mecca 7 in Iraq up to $800 billion. 22 All of these figures are extremely high. There is no reason why so many people should be dying for a war that should have even been started in the first place. It is almost like the US is paying billions of dollars to have soldiers and innocent people killed. The views that the Iraqi people have towards the United States regarding the war are very interesting. Most Iraqis think that the United States does not belong fighting a war in their country. In fact, The Iraq Study Group Report says that: Recent polling indicates that only 36 percent of Iraqis feel their country is heading in the right direction, and 79 percent of Iraqis have a mostly negative view of the influence that the United States has in their country. Sixty-one percent of Iraqis approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces. Obviously if the majority of Iraqis do not think that the United States should be fighting a war in their country, the war is not going to be very successful. 23 There have also been polls taken by the British Ministry of Defense. In these polls it was found that less than 1 percent of Iraqis feel that,...coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security. 24 Before The War in Iraq started Mike Ferner spent time in Iraq. He had a notebook that he let Iraqi people write their thoughts in. One Iraqi wrote, I pray to God to save us from the war because it s a disaster. We are a peaceful and freedom loving nation. In war there are no winner parties but a loss for all 25 Obviously The War in Iraq is not a good thing if the Iraqis do not believe that the United States belongs there and do not see any improvements in security due to the United State s efforts. 22 Deborah White, Iraq War Results & Statistics as of Nov 5, 2007, About.com, < /od/homelandsecurit1/a/iraqnumbers.htm>, 12 November James Baker, The Iraq Study Group Report (New York: Vintage Books, 2006), Deborah White, Iraq War Results & Statistics as of Nov 5, 2007, About.com, < /od/homelandsecurit1/a/iraqnumbers.htm>, 12 November Mike Ferner, Inside the Red Zone (Westport: Praeger, 2006),

8 London and Mecca 8 Another basis for the argument against The War in Iraq lies with the American s views on the war. The Iraq Group Study Report, concludes that, Sixty-six percent of Americans disapprove of the government s handling of the war, and more that 60 percent feel that there is no clear plan for moving forward. 26 Obviously it is not a good thing when the majority of the United States does not approve of The War in Iraq. In addition to the American people speaking out against the war, several leading politicians are speaking out. In fact, 2008 Presidential candidate Barak Obama has spoken out against the war from the very beginning. He stated that, Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat to the United States and that invasion would lead to an occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. 27 Other 2008 Presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards also oppose The War in Iraq. Both of these candidates have immediate exit strategies for Iraq should they be elected. 28 If the American people and some of the leading 2008 Presidential Candidates do not support The War in Iraq then there is definitely something very wrong with it. Based on the events leading up to The War in Iraq and the current situation that the United States is facing in Iraq, the war should never have been started. One of the main reasons for invading Iraq was its weapons of mass destruction; however, since these were never found the war has been a waste of time, money, and lives. Neither the Iraqi people nor the American people currently approve of The War in Iraq, making it very hard to be productive. 26 James Baker, The Iraq Study Group Report (New York: Vintage Books, 2006), Obama for America, Plan to End the Iraq War, 11 November Hillary Clinton for President, Ending the War in Iraq, 11 November John Edwards for President, John Edwards' Plan to End the War in Iraq, 11 November 2007.

9 London and Mecca 9 Bibliography Baker, James A., and Lee H. Hamilton. The Iraq Study Group Report. New York: Vintage Books, This book discusses the situation in Iraq in It also outlines several different strategies for how the United States can move forward with The War in Iraq. This source will prove to be very useful when drawing upon the Iraqi s feeling towards the United States. It also has lots of information on how the United States people feel about the war in "Ending the War in Iraq." Hillary for President. 11 Nov < This website outlines very clearly Hillary Clinton s current feeling on The War in Iraq. It also explains what she will do with the war if she is elected President of the United States. This source will be very useful in outlining America s current feelings about The War in Iraq. Ferner, Mike. Inside the Red Zone. Westport: Praeger, This book is about Mike Ferner s travels to Iraq before the invasion in 2003 and after the war started in This source is unique because it compares how Iraqi s felt both before and during the war. It will be very useful for first hand account from the Iraqi people. In the book, Ferner has very personal stories that the Iraqi people shared with him. Galbraith, Peter W. The End of Iraq. New York: Simon and Schuster, This book will be a very useful source. It will be very helpful in explaining why weapons of mass destruction should not have been a reason to go to war. It also includes lots of information about the relationship between al-qaida and Iraq. Overall, it will be useful in outlining the argument that The War in Iraq never should have been started.

10 London and Mecca 10 Goldschmidt, Arthur, and Lawrence Davidson. A Concise History of the Middle East. 8th ed. Boulder: Westview P, This book is a text that gives general background information. The book is also supportive of our argument against the invasion of Iraq. This book will be useful to establish the events before the invasion while arguing against the invasion at the same time. "John Edwards' Plan to End the War in Iraq." John Edwards Nov < This website will be useful in explaining the United State s current views on The War in Iraq. It explains John Edwards current views of the war. It also explains what he will do in Iraq if he elected President. Marr, Phebe. The Modern History of Iraq. Boulder: Westview P, In the Modern History of Iraq, the details of the Kuwait and Iran wars will be helpful in developing the background of our argument. The book is more detailed because it is only history of Iraq. This source will mostly be used in the first section to explain the events leading up to the 2003 invasion. Mearsheimer, John J., and Stephen M. Walt. "An Unnecessary War." Foreign Policy 134 (2003): JSTOR. Newman Library, Blacksburg. 11 Nov < AUW%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8>. This journal article will be very useful in providing set up information about how the United States never should have invaded Iraq. This article is unique because it was written before the war started; therefore, it is not another source that has been written based upon the

11 London and Mecca 11 knowledge of hindsight. It clearly explains how the damages that would come with using weapons of mass destruction would have been much great for Iraq than for the United States. Ochsenwald, William, and Fisher N. Sydney. The Middle East: a History. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, In this text, the Iran-Iraq war, the Kuwait war, and the events leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq is covered. The book will be a good source for background and general information of these wars. The book also highlights the regime of Saddam Husain. "Plan to End the Iraq War." Obama' Nov < issues/iraq/>. This website will again be helpful in providing information on America s current feelings towards The War in Iraq. It also provides Barak Obama s feelings towards the war. Unlike most current politicians he opposed the war before it started. The source also details Barak Obama s immediate plan for troop withdrawal in Iraq if he elected President of the United States. White, Deborah. "Iraq War Results & Statistics as of Nov 5, 2007." About.Com. 8 Nov Nov < This website provides lots of information on the latest statistics from Iraq. The figures and statistics are from November 5, It has lots of information including death rates, costs of war, and opinions of the war. It will be very useful in building the argument that The War in Iraq is wrong.