Is the War in Iraq a Good Thing for the United States to get involved in ?

War is never a good thing for any country, anywhere and at anytime, especially for families who have loved ones in active combat duties on the frontlines. It is not good to have one's husband or son killed or wounded in a war. War is cruel and harmful because it would not only kill people but also drains the country's wealth and resources, especially when it is prolonged indefinitely.

There are some wars that are justified and some that are not. On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The United States is justified in defending itself against the Japanese aggressors. America entered World War II because they had to help the Allies recover the European countries that were occupied by Hitler's armies. There were two wars that America got involved in that did not result in decisive victories. They are the Korean War and the Vietnam War, both against Communist regimes. These are also justified wars.

Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 and so the United States led a coalition force of 34 nations mandated by the United Nations to invade Iraq. This war resulted in driving the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait and there was a Ceasfire and the war did not come to a final conclusion because the dictator Saddam Hussein continued to rule Iraq with cruelty and impunity.

After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. the United States got involved in the War against Afghanistan. The whole nation supported this War because it was waged against Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and Al Qaeda that attacked America.

The War against Iraq has different causes from the War against Afghanistan. Since Iraq did not attack America so many Americans think that U.S. should not have invaded Iraq in 2003. Here are several reasons why the United States got involved in the War with Iraq.

The United States stated that the intent of the War with Iraq was to remove "a regime that developed and used weapons of mass destruction that harbored and supported terrorists, committed outrageous human rights abuses, and defied the just demands of the United Nations and the world".Additional reasons have been suggested: "to change the Middle East so as to deny support for militant Islam by pressuring or transforming the nations and transnational systems that support it."For the invasion of Iraq the rationale was "the United States relied on the authority of UN Security Council Resolutions 678 and 687 to use all necessary means to compel Iraq to comply with its international obligations".

In the lead-up to the invasion, the U.S. and UK emphasized the argument that Saddam Hussein was developing "weapons of mass destruction" and thus presented an imminent threat to his neighbors, to the U.S., and to the world community. The US stated "on November 8, 2002, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1441. All fifteen members of the Security Council agreed to give Iraq a final opportunity to comply with its obligations and disarm or face the serious consequences of failing to disarm.

Unlike the Gulf War in 1991 there was no official support from the United Nations for the 2003 War with Iraq. However, in October 2002 the U.S. Congress approved the Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing the Iraq War. It is called "Iraq Resolution" and "Iraq War Resolution" that are popular names for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

• Iraq's noncompliance with the conditions of the 1991 cease fire, including interference with weapons inspectors.
• Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, and programs to develop such weapons, posed a "threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region."^{[citation needed]}
• Iraq's "brutal repression of its civilian population."
• Iraq's "capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people".
• Iraq's hostility towards the United States as demonstrated by the alleged 1993 assassination attempt of former President George H. W. Bush, and firing on coalition aircraft enforcing the no-fly zones following the 1991 Gulf War.
• Members of al-Qaeda were "known to be in Iraq."
• Iraq's "continu[ing] to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations," including anti-United States terrorist organizations.
• The efforts by the Congress and the President to fight terrorists, including the September 11th, 2001 terrorists and those who aided or harbored them.
• The authorization by the Constitution and the Congress for the President to fight anti-United States terrorism.
• Citing the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, the resolution reiterated that it should be the policy of the United States to remove the Saddam Hussein regime and promote a democratic replacement.

The authorization was sought by President George W. Bush and passed the House by a vote of 296 - 133, and passed the Senate by a vote of 77-23.It was signed into law by President Bush on October 16, 2002.

"Mission Accomplished", a military phrase associated with completing a mission, is in recent years particularly associated with a sign displayed on the USS Abraham Lincoln during a televised address by United States President George W. Bush on May 1, 2003.

Reviewing the quick progress of the 6-week-old Operation Iraqi Freedom, Bush said it "was carried out with a combination of precision, speed and boldness the enemy did not expect -- and the world had not seen before."

"With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve military objectives without directing violence against civilians. No device of man can remove the tragedy from war. Yet it is a great advance when the guilty have far more to fear from war than the innocent."

The president said the United States and its allies fought to bring peace to the world.

"The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September 11th, 2001, and still goes on."

Bush said that in the 19 months since the attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, "nearly half of al Qaeda's senior operatives have been captured or killed."

Bush described al Qaeda as "wounded, but not destroyed" and said the United States would continue to hunt down members of the terrorist network.

He also said removing Saddam from power would make other nations less vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

"We have removed an ally of al Qaeda, and cut off a source of terrorist funding. And this much is certain: No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime, because that regime is no more."

Associated Press - Updated 3:41 p.m. CT, Tues., April. 8, 2008

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. commander in Iraq told Congress Tuesday that hard-won gains in the war zone are too fragile to promise any troop pullouts beyond this summer, holding his ground against impatient Democrats and refusing to commit to more withdrawals before President Bush leaves office in January.

In testimony that featured questioning by the major presidential candidates, Army Gen. David Petraeus painted a picture of Iraq as a nation struggling to suppress violence among its own people. In order to move toward the political reconciliation that President Bush said a year ago was the ultimate aim of his new Iraq strategy, which included sending more than 20,000 extra combat troops.

Security is getting better, and Iraq's own forces are becoming more able, Petraeus said. But he also ticked off a list of reasons for worry, including the threat of a resurgence of Sunni or Shiite extremist violence. He highlighted Iran as a special concern, for its training and equipping of extremists.

The Petraeus plan, which President Bush is expected to embrace, reflects a conservative approach that leaves open the possibility that roughly 140,000 U.S. troops could remain in Iraq when the president leaves office in 2009.

Answer: There are good and bad points about the U.S. involvement in the War in Iraq.

The good points are (1) Hugh U.S. Military Success within a few short weeks, (2) Change of Iraq's Regime from Dictatorship to Democracy (3) Capture, imprisonment, trial and execution of Saddam Hussein (4) Reduction of Al Qaeda influence in Iraq.

The bad points are (1) Fighting amongst Iraqis continued, (2) More than 4,000 Americans dead and about 30,000 wounded. (3) It costs the U.S. $9 Billion a month to let the troops stay in Iraq.

Since the United States started the War in Iraq it must end it with dignity and with the assurance of stability in that region. Early U.S. troop's withdrawal from Iraq will embolden Iraq's hostile neighbor Iran to continue its nuclear program in defiance of the United Nations' sanctions. Besides, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to annihilate Israel.

For the peace of the world, if not only for the stabilization of the Middle East, the United States troops may have to stay in Iraq for a much longer period of time than what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have promised they would do if one of them were to be elected as the president of the United States.

John McCain had made a statement that the United States military could stay in Iraq for "maybe a hundred years" and that "would be fine with me." He later explained what he meant. McCain noted that the United States still maintains troops in South Korea and Japan. He said he had no objection to U.S. soldiers staying in Iraq for decades, "as long as Americans are not being injured, harmed or killed."

The truth of the matter is that all the three presidential candidates Hillary, Obama and McCain, do not have any clue about what the final conclusion in the Iraq War will be. Only God knows and He has it written in the last book of the Holy Bible - Revelation which we shall study later.