2008 Woodie Awards
Elections alone cannot justify war in Iraq
Issue date: 2/4/05 Section: Opinion
Election day in Iraq has come and gone and many are excited about the new democratic era that is about to begin.
Americans should be aware that elections don't mean U.S. troops will be pulled out of the country any time soon.
Just look at our own country. It took years to flesh out a democratic system, a system that still has flaws today. In the case of the United States, there was a majority consensus that a democratic government was what the citizens desired.
In the case of Iraq, does anybody really know what the citizens want? A democracy is what we deem in the best interest of the Iraqi's, and maybe it is. But did anybody ask the Iraqi people if that's what they wanted? It doesn't matter because a democracy is in the best interest of the United States.
Some say the elections and creation of a democracy justify the U.S. invasion into Iraq. The original purpose, which was to find the weapons of mass destruction that were supposedly hidden in the country, seems to be forgotten.
No WMD's were found, and so it appears we invaded a country just to turn it into a democracy. It is almost like we are back to the colonizing era, where countries invade each other to impose their will. Of course, Iraq will be a free country, but U.S. presence will be so strong there for years to come that we might as well declare it a U.S. territory.
We at The Rocket feel the United States needs a more justifiable reason to occupy Iraq than just creating a democracy.
It is true that there are Iraqi people who are better off with Saddam Hussein out of power. There are surely those who will benefit from this new government. But is it worth the lives of our troops and millions upon millions of dollars?
Maybe if we had found a stockpile of WMD's with a note that said they were intended to destroy our country, the war would be more justifiable.
It's not that the United States shouldn't help other countries in need, but it appears we are only selecting countries important to us - countries with oil. Countries such as Sudan, where horrible atrocities occur daily, will never receive our help.
If we want to justify our involvement in Iraq by saying a democracy was established and the people are better off, then what about all the other countries who need help?
Americans should be aware that elections don't mean U.S. troops will be pulled out of the country any time soon.
Just look at our own country. It took years to flesh out a democratic system, a system that still has flaws today. In the case of the United States, there was a majority consensus that a democratic government was what the citizens desired.
In the case of Iraq, does anybody really know what the citizens want? A democracy is what we deem in the best interest of the Iraqi's, and maybe it is. But did anybody ask the Iraqi people if that's what they wanted? It doesn't matter because a democracy is in the best interest of the United States.
Some say the elections and creation of a democracy justify the U.S. invasion into Iraq. The original purpose, which was to find the weapons of mass destruction that were supposedly hidden in the country, seems to be forgotten.
No WMD's were found, and so it appears we invaded a country just to turn it into a democracy. It is almost like we are back to the colonizing era, where countries invade each other to impose their will. Of course, Iraq will be a free country, but U.S. presence will be so strong there for years to come that we might as well declare it a U.S. territory.
We at The Rocket feel the United States needs a more justifiable reason to occupy Iraq than just creating a democracy.
It is true that there are Iraqi people who are better off with Saddam Hussein out of power. There are surely those who will benefit from this new government. But is it worth the lives of our troops and millions upon millions of dollars?
Maybe if we had found a stockpile of WMD's with a note that said they were intended to destroy our country, the war would be more justifiable.
It's not that the United States shouldn't help other countries in need, but it appears we are only selecting countries important to us - countries with oil. Countries such as Sudan, where horrible atrocities occur daily, will never receive our help.
If we want to justify our involvement in Iraq by saying a democracy was established and the people are better off, then what about all the other countries who need help?
