Iraq Invasion and Occupation, Essay Example

The tenth anniversary of the Iraq invasion conducted by the USA in 2003 is marked in March 2013; hence, the recognizable date arouses much reflection and reconsideration of the US actions that led to the $60 billion expenditures of the American taxpayers, a tremendous death toll for American soldiers, and resulted in an absence of stability in Iraq, and the renewed war in Afghanistan (‘Too much taxpayer money was spent in Iraq for too few results, report finds’; Johnson para. 1). Only in eight years, the US forces withdrew from the Iraqi territory. Hence, the anniversary of the Iraq invasion was marked in Washington DC by an official apology of the US government to the public for supporting the unreasonable, thoughtless, and devastating military invasion ten years ago (Douthat).

Despite the fact that the US intervention campaign was guided by virtuous inclinations to help stabilize the war-torn country, the 2013 report to Congress prepared by Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen indicated very explicitly that the financial expenditures for the war actions were unreasonably high and unjustifiable. The reason for this was seen in the growth and expansion of the reconstruction mission to Iraq much far beyond the borders initially anticipated by the military leaders. Moreover, according to the opinion of the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the US spending on aid for Iraq reconstruction could have done very much to help Iraq on the way of its re-establishment after the collapse of the Hussein regime, but there was too much misspending detected that crippled the US assistive measures. The present problem was noted by the Kurdish government official Qubad Talabani – the complex problem of Iraq could not be solved by money only, and required strategic thinking and planning which the US leaders lacked in that war (‘Too much taxpayer money was spent in Iraq for too few results, report finds’).

Sincere repentance of the US governmental officials is evident during the period of recollecting the Iraq war’s onset. However, as Douthat wisely noted, that repentance may be superficial and even false because the US politicians are perfectly aware of the impossibility of the Democratic majority in 2012 in case the Iraq war were not unleashed. It is due to the Iraq invasion that the Democratic majority emerged in the US government, as a counter-measure to George W. Bush’s expansionist policies. The victory of Barack Obama at the Presidential elections may also be largely attributed to the critical Iraq-related situation in the USA in 2008, and Obama’s anti-war zealousness (Douthat).

Notwithstanding the fact that the US intervention to Iraq is still seen as a helpful step that saved many Iraqi people and assisted in the establishment and protection of human freedoms and rights, the public disapproval of the war in Iraq is still acute. The war in Iraq was officially over two years ago, but the war in Afghanistan persists, which drives funds out of the country and places an additional burden on taxpayers. Public protests mount around the military campaigns of the US government, and protesters are visible across the USA, and marking the 10^th anniversary of the invasion to Iraq, protests were conducted in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Vermont, and other states to remind to the public of the continuation of military actions and the need to curb the senseless war (‘Anniversary of Iraq war invites recollections by peace demonstrators of why they persist’).

Hence, as one can see, the Iraq invasion and occupation may be approached from different perspectives; if one considers it from the public viewpoint, it becomes clear that the US nation was always heavily opposed to the Iraq war, even despite the anti-Islam hatred that burst out after the 9/11 events. Politicians supported the war at its onset, but because increasingly disfavoring it when its costs gradually overweighed the expected outcomes. Hence, at the tenth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, the public and the government have come to a collective understanding of the huge monetary and human life costs of the war that contributed to certain positive political processes in the USA but nevertheless did not accomplish its goal – the democratic reconstruction of Iraq.

Works Cited

Associated Press. ‘Anniversary of Iraq war invites recollections by peace demonstrators of why they persist’. Fox News. 21 March 2013. Web. 9 April 2013. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/21/anniversary-iraq-war-invites-recollections-by-peace-demonstrators-why-persist/>

Associated Press. ‘Too much taxpayer money was spent in Iraq for too few results, report finds’. Fox News. 6 March 2013. Web. 9 April 2013. <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/06/too-much-taxpayer-money-was-spent-in-iraq-for-too-few-results-report-finds/>

Douthat, Ross. ‘The Obama Era, Brought to You by the Iraq War’. The New York Times. 23 March 2013. Web. 9 April 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/opinion/sunday/douthat-the-obama-era-brought-to-you-by-the-iraq-war.html>

Johnson, Scott. ‘10 Years After the Invasion of Iraq, a World of Hurt’. The New York Times. 7 March 2013. Web. 9 April 2013. <http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/ten-years-after-the-invasion-of-iraq-a-world-of-hurt/>