The Iraq War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Iraq War - Research Paper Example Without a doubt, the Iraq War was one of the more hotly-contested wars—many people arguing that this was the next Vietnam. Some eleven-thousand American lives later, it’s possible that some people would not agree. But the Iraq War, no matter how much precedent the U.S. had to invade, will always remain in the American mindset as a colossal financial drain. Here it will be attempted to: identify and describe the Iraq War; analyze the historical and contemporary causes of the Iraq war; analyze different historical interpretations of the Iraq war; and evaluate the positive and negative outcomes of the Iraq war. II. Identification and Description of the Iraq War The Iraq War was an armed conflict that took place beginning in Iraq in 2003. Although people now state that the Iraq War is technically over, there are still U.S. troops which are occupying Iraq. It was technically supposed to have ended a few years ago, but realistically, there are still American forces there, and there probably will be for some time to come. So, even though the war is technically designated as finished, it is still not finished—if that makes sense. There is no â€Å"over† for this war. The war began when President Bush acted (without Congressional authority) to unilaterally declare war on Iraq. According to Kelly (2001), â€Å"A huge controversy arose when President Bush sent troops into Iraq on March 19, 2003 claiming that the country led by Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction and aiding Al Qaeda operatives†¦[however,] time passed and no evidence of those weapons were found in Iraq†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pgh. 7). It was especially distressing to the American public to find out that there were, indeed, no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq. This angered much of the public and made many Americans feel like they were tricked into going into an armed conflict without all of the available evidence laid before them first. This was a major faux pas that continues to be rehashed in the media whenever people argue about whether or not the U.S. should have invaded Iraq; it will probably be a sore spot for years to come. III. Analysis of the Historical and Contemporary Causes of the Iraq War Historically speaking, the rationale that President Bush used for going to war with Iraq was the advent of 9/11. According to Hanson (2004), â€Å"[T]here is a direct connection between Iraq and our current war on terror†¦Whether or not one believes Iraq was involved at the planning in 9/11, there is proof that it had something to do with the first World Trade Center bombing, had intelligence meetings with†¦Al Qaeda [members], [and] tried to assassinate a former president of the United States†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pp. 245). Although 9/11 is traditionally associated with the main reasons for why Bush began his â€Å"war on terror,† another reason that many people feel he went to war with Iraq was to settle an old score with Saddam Hussein for having engaged in conflict with his father (Bush 41) in Operation Desert Storm. Many people feel that one of the sole reasons that Bush went to war with Iraq was so that he could feel vindicated on the behalf of his father. One of the contemporary causes of the Iraq War was also the fact that U.S. companies stood to make millions of dollars off of the war. Vice President Dick Cheney’s construction company Halliburton was called into Iraq for most of the reconstruction of the