Mackenzie+A

Mackenzie Abel Mrs. Downey AM Writers 8 May 2008 While most people think that the war on Iraq started with the terrorist actions of September 11th, once you do a little research it is clear that there is much more than meets the eye. Yes, of course the attacks on the towers played a large role, but I feel it was merely the spark that set the blaze and not the timber that kept it fueled. We, the United States, have been involved in the Middle East since the early nineteenth century. We have always been heavily invested economically due to oil, and now more than ever we are invested for our own safety as well as the safety of the whole world. However, there are many different views on why this war actually started. Is it a noble war to protect the world from terrorists, or is it a war of greed over oil and money? Economically we are involved mostly with oil. The Middle East controls approximately 17 percent of the oil that the United States uses, which if they keep raising the prices of the oil our economy will go into a recession. Bush was provoked to send in the military in 1990 because the Iraqis invaded Kuwait to gain control of their oil supply. This would not have been such a problem if Saddam had not used aggressive force but used peaceful tactics. This was just the start to the problems of oil throughout the world. By going to Iraq we are trying to prevent the increase on oil prices not only for the United States but for the rest of the world, and save the economy from a downfall. People not only use oil to power our cars but to power our homes, and to keep them heated. The price this would cost us would not only be causalities but factories and utility plants would be forced to shut down, causing unemployment and possibly poverty. After [|September 11, 2001] we started to think that al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein and the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were all related. Some even thought that Osama Bin Laden was related to these attacks also. Bush had said that Iraq had trained al Qaeda citizens how to make life threatening gases, poisons and bombs. The president said, “ Saddam Hussein has a long history of reckless aggression and terrible crimes. He possesses weapons of terror. He provides funding and training and safe haven to terrorists who would willingly deliver weapons.” (President Bush, radio address) The president said that after September 11, 2001, after he saw what they did with airplanes he was afraid if they had other weapons they could do more damage. We invaded Iraq to look for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and possibly Nuclear weapons. This started because we were afraid that if we attacked them they could potentially kill many people in the world. President Bush told reporters on the issue of Iraqi nuclear capacity, “I would remind you that when the inspectors first went into Iraq and were denied, finally denied access, a report came out of the Atomic--the IAEA--that they were six months away from developing a weapon. I don't know what more evidence we need” (Pfiffner, 4.) Along with that it was stated that Iraq could develop a nuclear weapon in as little as 6 months from then. They had suspected that there were materials being purchased, such as aluminum tubes and “yellowcake” uranium which could be used to make [|nuclear bombs.] We were also informed that after we got Saddam Hussein out of power we then were going to help make Iraq a self-governed country. While doing this, help is also being issued to improve their security, and restore their other basic needs. These basic needs consist of electricity, water, new schools, medical clinics and roads. Not only do these things help the security and well being for them but also for the United States. There are accusations made against President Bush about untrue statements that were supposedly were known to be untrue when he said them. There are beliefs that he lied to America about Nuclear bombs, WMD and Saddam Hussein to gain the support of our Nation’s people. It is said to believe that the CIA made false stories about biological weapon labs to make everything more believable. President Bush says that this is not true and takes full responsibility for the mistakes that he made but still believes that we should be in Iraq. Along with these accusations there are some people that are saying that President Bush planned out with war to look stronger, and have rights to the shore off the gulf coast. These people state that Saddam should not have been blamed for all the things he supposedly did and the war was a trap to get him in trouble. The war in Iraq is subjectively doing more good than bad and we are truly trying to make the world a better place. This war killed many people but may have saved the lives of people that may have been affected by more attacks or worse by weapons of mass destruction in the future. In order to bring freedom to other countries of the world, with democracy and the privileges we have, we have to help one country at a time. We have started with Iraq in the Middle East and it can only get better from here. ** Works Cited ** Bush, George W. "War Against Iraq Was Necessary to Protect the World from Terrorism." // Current Controversies: //// Iraq //. Ed. Andrea C. Nakaya. San Diego  :   Greenhaven Press, 2004. // Opposing //// Viewpoints // // Resource // // Center //. Gale. Seton High School. 24 Apr. 2008 . Church, George J. "The case of war." __Time__ 136.n23 (Nov 26, 1990): 106(1). __ Student  __   __ Resource __   __ Center __ __ –  __ __ Gold __. Gale. Seton    High School. 7 May 2008 . code __ Cong. Rec. __ 8 Mar. 2003 : 1. __The White House__. 8 Mar. 2003. Washington. 8 May 2008 code code . code code code code Christi, Pax. "Our Wat Againt Iraq : Causes & Cure." __Institute for Space and Security Studies__. 16 code code Jan. 1999. 8 May 2008 . code code

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