The Iraqi War – A Failed Strategy

In a speech at a meeting of the American Veterans of Foreign Wars (8/2/2010), President Obama announced that American soldiers’ combat mission in Iraq will come to an end by August 31, 2010. American troops will leave Iraq by the end of 2011. Some analysts are not sure that a complete troop withdrawal will take place. Personally, I will believe it only when I see it. Nevertheless, there are some questions that require answers.

What did George Bush’s reckless invasion of Iraq accomplish? What have been the consequences of the war on the U.S.? What is the impact of the war on Iraq’s human resources, economy and physical environment?

First of all, President Bush, his vice president and their political advisors misled the American people by falsifying intelligence reports about Iraq “WMD”. Bush spoke publicly about Saddam Hussein’s nuclear arsenal and its threat to the security of the U.S. In one of his public speeches, he referred to the possibility of a mushroom cloud that he did not want to see explode over the U.S.

Iraq was invaded in March 2003 and no WMD were ever found. Even Bush publicly acknowledged that, but he said claimed America’s actions made Israel safer. That was one of the two objectives behind the invasion. The second objective was to control Iraqi oil resources, which was never accomplished.

Bush’s invasion of Iraq and its impact on the U.S. have been tragic. First, it led to the killing of more than 4,000 American soldiers. Second, more than 30,000 soldiers were wounded and more than half of them cannot perform the tasks they used to perform prior to their injuries. Third, it has been reported that the enriched uranium bombs that exploded in Iraq during the war affected the health of thousands of American soldiers. Many of them continue to require treatment. Furthermore, a high suicide rate among soldiers who served in the Iraqi war has been reported frequently in the American press.

Fourth, the financial cost of the war was estimated by experts to be between three and three and a half trillion dollars. Bush and his Congress were borrowing one million dollars per minute from foreign powers (mainly the Chinese government) to support the war adventure. In his book, “The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder”, Vincent Bugliosi noted that, “George W. Bush could be put on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq. Bush’s invasion of Iraq was a war of choice. He and his vice president, and their top aids and advisors should be held accountable for the lies and fabrication of false intelligence reports that they used to mislead the American population in order to justify the Iraqi invasion. President George W. Bush has abused his executive privileges and should be accountable for his actions.”

Let us look briefly at some of the consequences of the American war on the Iraqi people and their society:

1) The impact of the first Gulf invasion (1991) and the embargo imposed on Iraq from 1991-2003 led to the deaths of more than 500,000 children according to UNICEF.
2) 1,370,000 Iraqi civilians died during the Iraq war from 2003 – 2008 (Lancet Rept. #2).
3) More than 5 million Iraqis fled Iraq as refugees to neighboring countries like Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Other Iraq refugees went to several European countries.
4) 2,615 professors, scientists and physicians have been killed in cold blood by assassins, in addition to 338 dead journalists.
5) The war deaths resulted in more than one million widows and around 5 million orphans in Iraq.
6) More bombs were dropped on Baghdad than the total number of bombs dropped on Berlin during World War II.
7) The industrial sector was destroyed and more than 500,000 laborers are without jobs.
8) The Iraqi infrastructure, sewage treatment system and the electrical power were destroyed. At the present (2010), water and sewage systems and electrical power are performing at one-third their capacity.
9) The health condition of the majority of the Iraqi population is very poor and the infant mortality rate increased substantially due to polluted drinking water and lack of health care.
10) The impact of the enriched uranium bombs that exploded in Iraq created a dangerous hazard and its effect began to show in newly born babies with physical defects.
11) The Iraq war led to the rise of ethnic and religious conflicts. This is reflected in the result of the last election. Five months passed and there is no consensus yet to form a government.
12) The war put Iraq 50 years behind for the benefit of Israel and their neoconservative supporters in the U.S.
13) George W. Bush’s reckless adventure was the best gift that can be given to Iran and Bin Laden. The war increased terrorist activity by 300%. Bush would deserve a medal of shame, if such a thing existed.