Benefits of US Invasion of Iraq - Essay Example

Sub Department Benefits of US Invasion of Iraq America on 11th September 2001 was attacked by terrorists allied to the Al-Qaeda group on its own soil. Immediate intelligence pointed fingers at Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s dictator as being the one behind the attacks or in some way had aided the terrorists responsible, even though this turned out not to be true since the terrorist plot started from Afghanistan, which was invaded by America in the fall of 2001.A National Intelligence Estimate in the October of 2002 claimed that Iraq had in possession “weapons of mass destruction(WMD)” and on 19th of march 2003 ,the US military with the support of most Americans and the Congress started bombing Iraq. Bush would later address the nation and claim that the purpose of invasion was to “disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”(Bruton & Balkiz, 2013). Nevertheless, Iraq invasion in 2003 has been one of the most significant occurrences in recent times. Consequently, having a deep understanding of this occurrence from various perceptions has a paramount importance not only for International Relations students but also for the people studying recent world history. In addition, when we analyze the causes of Iraq war we discover some arguments that have been established to be inadequate such as Saddam’s aiding of terrorism and the possession of WMD by Iraq. Such inadequacies of the reasons for war resulted in some unanswered questions in the minds of people leading to harsh criticizing of the war not only by Americans but also by people outside the US. Utilization of theories is important to identify and evaluate the invasion of Iraq by America which affected hundreds of thousands of people’s lives in addition to several state policies just like that utilization is an essential component to explain other world politics issues –with the realist theory of international relations being the best that can be utilized to have a wide apprehension of the America’s invasion of Iraq. This is because realism is broadly considered as the most significant theoretical tradition as far as International Relations is concerned. Because realism has been an effective element in the politics of the US via her history with US leaders having learnt from realism to concentrate on interests instead of any other thing, I am of the opinion that it best defines the key features of the war and that it is first crucial to describe how the war was and then the techniques that it ought to have been executed looked upon. It is possible to see realism principles in the US decision to invade Iraq. Firstly, mankind has always been pursuing power throughout his existence and that power is an aspect of human nature. Thus communities have been inconstant competition amongst people to rule their societies and the US on the other hand is made up of people and naturally it is normal for them to compete with each other to be a main player in the international community. The US being the most powerful nation on earth did not want to lose this status and felt in 2003 that furthering American hegemony was threatened due to attacks on her own soil and thus America did not hesitate to attack Iraq. Secondly from the perception of realism, the US decision makers were of the belief that the interests of America necessitated an attack on Iraq. They knew that it was feasible to attack Iraq easily instead of North Korea or Iran as regards military power abilities and it would not be suitable to consider moral concerns (whether WMD existed or not) while making decision .An invasion of North Korea or Iran could have affected the US more in terms of military expenses and casualties hence the decision to invade Iraq must have appealed to them especially when they took into account the power relations (Hinnebusch,2006). President Bush oftenly blamed not just Iraq but also several other authoritarian governments in the Arab nations for generating anti-American terrorism and believed that a democratic push in Iraq, specifically, would not only extend American values but also raise US national security. From US perception, overthrowing of Saddam as well as establishing a democratic government in Iraq would be an excellent illustration for other countries dissatisfied with their own dictatorial governments within the Middle East region and that these countries would challenge their own despots asking for increased democratic space. Consequently, the dictators would attempt to repress those revolting against their governments, even though the there was a likelihood of the international community intervening just like America in a manner to bring freedom to the suppressed countries of Middle East. Meanwhile, the countries who were against the intervention of the US in Middle East would acknowledge that the US was correct in her resolve to invade Iraq (Ozdemir,2011). In addition, the need for America to occupy a strategic position within the Middle East spanning from central Asia to North Africa so as to control the possible US adversaries can also be employed in explaining the US attack on Iraq endowed with very rich oil fields to be utilized for the benefit of America. All in all America’s invasion of Iraq has left the country better as compared to the pre-war period. Thus, for instance, in the years following the invasion of Iraq by the US, the political system of Iraq has undergone a big transformation. Iraq, therefore until 2003 was under Saddam Hussein- a ruthless dictator renowned for his cruel repression. Those who opposed his regime or dared express themselves faced torture, exile and most of the time death. Today, however, the new political system in comparison to the earlier one is a great improvement and the country can boast of a new constitution in addition to holding numerous rounds of elections. Iraq citizens now enjoy political, religious and civic liberties never witnessed before in the past with even the luxury of having mobile phones and satellite dishes, which had been banned by the regime of Saddam Hussein. Consequently, images of Iraqi citizens in January 2005 coming from polling stations with fingers purple-inked, demonstrating that they had voted, put in a nutshell a sense of optimism and hope for the young fledgling democracy and a new dawn for Iraq. Thus in the years following the ouster of Saddam Hussein, there was establishment of procedural democracy. In addition, there was adoption of a new constitution paving way for the creation of a federal parliamentary democratic system resulting in the holding of numerous rounds of not only provincial but also national elections. In comparison to the Ba’ath Party era under Saddam Hussein, the people of Iraq now enjoy greater political and civic freedoms with numerous political factions competing for power. Typically speaking, Iraq is now a democracy.In addition, since 2003, equality in Iraq has significantly improved. Thus for example, according to the World Food Programme, the number of Iraq citizens going without food has significantly reduced in recent years with the percentage of malnourished individuals as well as those who do not get adequate food to sustain a healthy lifestyle falling from 7.1 percent in 2007 to a mere 5.7% in 2011.Nevertheless, that is somehow around 1.9 million Iraqis with the Thi-Qar and Basra in the south being the worst-hit areas. The life expectancy for Iraqis has also considerably improved from an average of around 58.8 years in 2000 to 69.6 years in 2005. Gender equality has also improved a lot and in 2004, the then US president Bush in a speech to 250 women from all over the world in commemoration of International Women’s Day concentrated on the new-found freedom of women in Afghanistan and Iraq proudly claiming that they were now “learning the blessings of freedom” all because of the US. Bush further claimed that “Every woman in Iraq is better off because the rape rooms and torture chambers of Saddam Hussein are forever closed,” (Khalek, 2013).In conclusion, US invasion of Iraq has not only made Iraq better and safer but has also has made the whole world safer without a ruthless dictator such as Saddam Hussein. Nevertheless, Iraq’s budding democracy needs the backing of the international community so that it can withstand the various tests it may be subjected to. List of references Read More