Why Is There A War In Iraq?

Question

Please forgive my ignorance, but I still don't quiet understand why there is a War in Iraq. Can anyone please provide a simple and thorough answer? Thank you.

Answer 1

all to do with oil

Answer 2

There are several reasons that seem plausible: security, greed, bigotry, etc., but when you stop and realize that mandkind's history is riddled with wars and violence, it seems that peace is the aberration. Since it is stronger than our ability to reason , it is likely to be part of our nature.

I think it is possible to argue that agression and war have some value, but it would take a lot of effort, and it is an idea that we find distasteful. We are much more comfortable thinking we are justified and even noble. We like to think that agrression is the only way we could respond to the agression that threatened us so terribly! Our hands are forced!

But if we weren't at war in Iraq, we would be at war in Iran, or Korea, or Iceland or Canada, or Norway, etc.. I think it depends to a large degree on where we happen to "focus". Iraq works well because we can so easily rationalize that we are "the good guys" and we can give many examples of why "they are the bad guys", but whether that is true or not is not the point. The point is that, that is not our real motivation. It is not the real reason we are involved in a war. If it was, then we would be involved in dozens of wars throughout the world with other "bad guys".

And it is not because of the oil. That sounds right because it is insightful and cynical, but we are just not that rational, nor does it make any sense from a greed or business perspective. If that was our "business", then by now we would be bankrupt. If we had gone to a bank and presented this venture as our business plan, I doubt anybody would have given us any funding because it is obvious that we would be spending much more than we could ever get in return.

Putting it in perspective we have currently spent 500 billion dollars on this war. When we factor in the needed medical costs of taking care of all the veterans suffering with brain damage, PTSD and drug and alcohol abuse, for many years to come, it is very likely to cost us a trillion dollars.

So, is this the best way to spend one trillion dollars. Are we forced to do this because we are dependent on this oil, and need to protect it for the sake of security?

I'm by no means an expert, but I have heard that it would be possible to make a typical residence in the northeast completly energy independent with solar panels at a cost of $20,000 after government and utility rebates.
With that one trillon dollars we could have picked up that cost and made 50 million homes in the United States completely energy independent.

So to answer the question there is a war in Iraq but not because we hate Muslims or because the terrorist hate freedom or because we want to help a people, or make a lot of money from the oil, or because we will be more secure.

Unfortunately we need to have wars. Once we accept that fact, maybe then we will be able to do something about it.

Answer 3

President Bush wants a war in Iraq and he is the decider, it sure isn't because the American people WANT a war, they overwhelmingly do not. Nor do the troops serving in Iraq, they don't think we should have invaded in the first place, and neither do the Generals. It is not because of the terrorists or the WMDs or any of the reasons the WH gave for the invasion. We are there to save face for the PNAC branch of the GOP and for no other reason.

Answer 4

You are not the only person who turns on the news and scratches their head and wonders the exact same thing. The only thing I can figure (without pointing any fingers): is after 911, and after we appeared to have at least the Taliban in check, there was intel from "somewhere" (we aren't privy to that info) claiming that Saddam had WMD's. Iraq, a haven for terrorists, Saddam having balked at the prior UN agreement for years, a jumpy WH Admin that still didn't have Bin-Laden, a president that's not exactly brilliant & listened to Cheney, & Rummy, all equaled recipe for disaster.

Answer 5

Looking for OBL!!!! What better way then to go to all the oil rich countries and hoping if we dig deep enough he might magically appear??? Who knows there may be a terrorist there someplace... or maybe we can find those WMD's that Sadam hid... But if we don't find any of these it's ok.. lets just put more contractors in there to help pay them back for the generous donation to the campaign!!!
I'm just happy bush didn't stoop so low to claim he's "LOOKING for WALDO" if he was we would be killing millions rather than thousands...

Conservatives... keep you stance and refuse to see the truth and maybe it can be you looking down the barrel of a gun to defend the honor of a liar.. But I'm sure you will still find a way to yell LIBERAL before you die!

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION AS TO WHY WE ARE AT WAR.. YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE, IT CHANGES DAILY TO FIT WHAT EVER AGENDA BUSH NEEDS AT THE MOMENT. HOW MANY DIFFERENT ANSWERS CAN HE GIVE US? SO FAR NOW IT'S BEEN 3

Answer 6

O I L that is what it is all about. It really had nothing to do with Saddam Hussein or weapons of mass destruction it was all about oil. Iraq sits on the second largest oil field on earth.

Saddam Hussein treatened the life of George H.W. Bush and junior wants revenge. (A contributing factor too)

Answer 7

There is no simple answer. The reasons are many and complicated. The president didn't listen to his advisors. The previous administration didn't do an adequate job maintaining an embargo. There was a total nut running the country acting as though he had the WMD that we thought he did. The populace of the country are too afraid of their own people and too afraid of the troops to stand up for themselves and oust the insurgents. those are just a few of them

Answer 8

Oil

Answer 9

In 1981 Iraq under no provocation invaded Iran launching chemical weapons onto the military and civilian population of Iran, killing an estimated 1.5 million Iranians and 500,000 Iraqis. In (about) 1984 Saddam Hussein unleashed Serine and Mustard Gas onto the Kurdish population, killing an estimated 25,000 decimating whole villages. From the day Saddam Hussein declared the dictatorship in 1979 to the day of his removal from office, he killed apprx. 150,000 of his own people for an assortment of reasons, creating mass torture chambers and mass graves in the desert. In 1991 Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, mainly for oil, defeating the country in 2 weeks and slaughtering the local population. The U.S. decided to take action and pushed Iraq out of Kuwait, shortly after Saddam invaded Saudi Arabia which cost the lives of more Saudis and Americans. When the war was over and Saddam defeated we made it so that we would be able to fly our planes over certain parts of Iraq (Northern and Southern sections) to make sure he was not making any identifiable nuclear reactors such as the one destroyed by Israel in 1991. In 2003 Saddam did not like the conditions and started shooting down our planes. Thankfully they were unmanned ones, Predators. Saddam had made known he wanted war. He gave $25,000 to the family of every family that gave up a family member to blow themselves up and kill either Israeli's or any non-muslims. We knew that Iraq had huge stockpiles of chemical weapons left over from the previous wars, and started up his nuclear program again. In fact, during the inspections, when the weapons inspectors tried to suprise search certain buildings, the Iraqi guards would lock them in rooms. The weapons inspectors reported hearing trucks pull up and when they left the Iraqis would let them out. After we successfully overthrew Saddam we captured his key nuclear scientist and found out that they did indeed have chemical weapons but moved them to the Bekkaa valley in Syria occupied Lebanon, and that the Iraqis would have had nuclear weapons, but they could not figure out how to split thousands of atoms at the same time (not simultaneously) which is the key to nuclear weapons. He said that they were within a year or two of being able to attain nuclear weapons.
Sorry for it being so long, but it is such a complicated matter that is misunderstood by many Americans, that need to be told the truth.

Answer 10

Because our President's daddy started it for oil years and years ago, so little George decided to try again.

Answer 11

There are many reasons but no of the ones given turned out to be true. So take a wild guess and you'll be right.