Daniella Portal: Blog Response #2: In Retrospect: Did the US do more harm than good?

As we reach the 10^th anniversary of the US invasion into Iraq, too many Americans are baffled as to how we got to this point. At the beginning this war was supposed to be quick and relatively low costing, yet here we are 10 years later, and US troops are still occupying Iraq.  The first part of this response will briefly examine the US motivations it had for invading Iraq, which is very much up for debate and is not my main focus. Then, I will discuss how the intended initiatives were not carried out, and explore whether the US ultimately did more harm than good in this war.

The forerunner of this war can be explained by a number of factors: some uncertainty if Iraq was producing WMDs, a weak connection that linked Iraq to the attacks of 9/11, and need to install a democracy in the Middle East. These all seemed like valid and even selfless motivators at the time, however, only to later discover that there were no WMDs and that Iraq wasn’t involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Now the only intended purpose of our presence in Iraq is to provide them with a stable government. A war that was supposed to be relatively low in cost turned out to be one of the highest costing wars in US history.

Not only did the US waste its own financial and military resources, but they also destroyed the lives of the natives. The Bush administration assured all before the war that great care would be taken to avoid harm to civilians however, most of the civilian deaths were due to air attacks.  Not only did they start a war over false accusations and assumptions, but the US also stayed there and created even more chaos than before. Though Saddam Hussein was not a very compassionate leader, he still managed to maintain peace throughout his country. The people have more freedom than before, but their ability to vote does not provide them with food for their families. Before the war, people had regular jobs and regular lives, very similar to those of the Western world. As Iraq became in complete disarray, these people were now concerned whether their home will be bombed or whether they can leave their homes to buy food.  

It’s difficult to say what violence would look like if the US hadn’t invaded, but take note that the US sought out to fight a “war on terror,” and ended up instilling terror into the everyday lives of the people. With a 10-year perspective on the matter, I conclude that the US has done more harm than good. In the eyes of Iraqi civilians we are terrorists and we have violated every single one of their natural rights by being there. I yearn for the return of US troops from Iraq, not only for their families’ sake, but for the civilians’ sake.