Situation in Iraq worsens

It has cost upwards of one million lives, over one trillion dollars and an unbelievable amount of sacrifices; and yet, the gloomy shadows of this brutal war do not seem as if they will end any time soon. 
After the 2006 elections, in which the democrats won an overwhelming number of seats in Congress, the Americans sent a clear signal: that they are simply tired of this war. 

Despite the many disparities, the President continues to make speeches in which he emphasizes the importance of the Iraq war.  “This is a war that must and will be won,” stated Bush when asked why soldiers are not coming home.

“I think that every one is just really tired of the War,” said junior Iyann Mohammed.  “How many more Iraqi and American lives do we have to sacrifice before we can finally get the message: We cannot ‘fix’ Iraq.”

Recent polls reveal that Americans, from both party lines, are not satisfied with the war.  What seems to be most surprising is the increase of republicans that are beginning to disapprove of the war.  The poll found that 38 percent of republicans are opposed to the war.

“I am a Republican and even though I understand that Bush made many wrong decisions, I stand firm in my belief that the war is worth it,” said junior Samantha Romano.  “There are definitely flaws, but the fact of the matter is that countries such as Iran are gaining the capacity to produce nuclear weapons, and that cannot happen.

Originally, the Bush administration and other war supporters cited the fact that Saddam Hussein might have possession of weapons of mass destruction, which would be in violation of a 1991 accord. 

Although many inspectors found no evidence of WMDs and even cited that Iraq had stopped its weapons program in 1991, supporters asserted that Iraq was still a prominent threat to the US and many even claimed that Saddam Hussein cooperated with Al-Qaeda.  All of these claims have been disproved.  Other “rational” reasons for the invasion included the fact that Iraq provided support to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers, Saddam Hussein’s abuse of human rights, the spread of democracy, and control over Iraq’s oil reserves. 

 “The war started when we were really young, like in the seventh grade, so I really do not know much about it,” said senior Nudrat Sidiqi.  “Sadaam Hussein was a really bad dictator, so in that sense the war made sense, but it has really just gone out of control.” 

Simply put, Americans want to see troops pulled out of Iraq.
  Over 63% of Americans and 42% of Republicans believe that some form of withdrawal is necessary.

“I think it is necessary to pull out because we are not accomplishing anything.  Our original plan is not succeeding,” said junior Allison McConnell.

The cries of the American people are not being heard. 
President Bush, in an effort to decrease the current escalation in violence so as to allow for further political development, recently sent a surge of 20,000 troops to areas of Baghdad and the Al-Anbar Privince.  This plan, introduced on January 2007, is also called “The New Way Forward,” referring to how insurgency was increasing and a new strategy was needed. 

“I think we are wasting our time there. But seriously, we cannot pull out because we lost so many lives and if we pull out them out then all those deaths will have been for nothing.  We need to finish what we started,” said freshman Yen Gonzalez.

Although violence did take a plunge, as expected, the Iraqi government fails to show any progress.  In June 2006, the American government set 18 benchmarks for the Iraqi government to follow.  According to report published on September 2, 2007 by the US Government Accountability Office, the Iraqi government has only accomplished three, for a success rate of 16.67%.

“The Iraqi government is not doing its job.  To be honest, a democracy in Iraq will not really work because there is much opposition between the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds,” said Mohammed.  “The only solution would be for the U.S. to stand aside and let the people conquer their own problems because, as of now, they are not focusing on the government but on how to get rid of the US.”  

Although the American fatality rate is quite tragic, what seems to be forgotten about is the number of Iraqi deaths.  According to report conducted by Iraqi and US personnel along with other international representatives published in 2006, the war has directly caused the deaths of an estimated one millionIraqis.Bushrefuted this study, claiming that it was inaccurate because, according to his investigators, approximately 35,000 Iraqis died, 20 times less than the approximated figure.  No matter which figure a person refers to, the colossal number must be taken into consideration when discussing future plans for Iraq.  According to a survey of Iraqi households titled “The Human Cost of the War in Iraq,” about 2.5% of the Iraqi population has been killed.

“The number of Iraqi lives lost is just ridiculous.  How much more can we lose?” said Mohammed.

With a recession looming, the government is forced to question the current budget, and with Iraq costing over $600 billion, it is an obvious victim of budget cuts.  According to Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, authors of “The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True costs of the Iraq Conflict,” the cost of the Iraq war will reach three trillion dollars in the next decade, a bill that is being paid for by both the US and Britain.  This “conservative” estimate accounts for future spending, which is not very obvious, especially since a new President will be elected.

“The war should stop immediately because George Bush is spending a lot of money on the war that we could just use for other things.  Especially since gas prices are going up,” said sophomore Mohamed Kamara.

Currently, only one presidential candidate continues to support the Iraq war: John McCain.  Both Democratic candidates have stated that they will pull out troops immediately after being elected.

“It just does not make sense to pull out right now.  We caused the problem to occur in the first place, so now it would be in our best interest to fix it.  Also, what image would we send to our enemies if we just pull out?” said Romano.

However, their plans do diverge; for example, Barack Obama has already outlined a plan that would pull out one to two platoons a month. Hillary Clinton has only stated that she would pull out 60 days after attaining the Presidential position.  Pulling out is not as feasible as many believe because there are many Iraqis aiding the U.S. and if U.S. troops leave, then these allies will be put in grave danger.

“This is a really complex issue because we cannot just pull out; it has to be a prolonged process, one that ensures that all of our allies are safe.  At the same time, it definitely needs to take place soon, or else we will just waste more time, money and lives,” said Mohammed.

Almost every poll and survey that has been published so far proves that the American approval rate of  the Iraq War has plummeted.  This war has also made the U.S. unpopular in the Middle East and other regions in the world.  This complex situation is not progressing and it might just be the deciding factor in the upcoming presidential elections.