Reasons To Oppose The Iraq War
This is in no order. The idea of this post (aside from just trying to get myself to keep posting) is to detail why the Iraq war needs to end now.
1. The Tremendous Civilian Casualties
And, as an extention, the lack of interest Americans show in the death of non-Americans. A good number can name the number of dead Americans (over 2100 and rising) but few can name the number of dead Iraqis, or even approximate. Part of this is the lack of media interest in it. There has been little effort at all to calculate the number of dead Iraqis, though, lest we forget, they are just as human and important as Americans. The numbers I have been using are from a Lancet report that compared the death rates in regions of Iraq and extrapolated it to the country, and then compared it to the previous year's death rates. It was actually a very conservative study, since they took a smaller number of months since the war started (14) and compared it to a larger number of pre-war months (17), and, furthermore, excluded Fallujah, where much of the heaviest fighting took place. They found that in the first 14 months of the war, 100,000 Iraqi civilians were killed, most by American airstrikes. Since then, it is probably the number is approaching 160,000. But of course, no one here cares. Some may even try to justify the deaths in light of all the positive things that the administration has brainwashed people into thinking this war will create. Let us assume that the war will make America safer (though it obviously has not and will not). The question then is, "If 160,000 Iraqis must die to prevent a terrorist attack in America, would you support killing 160,000 Americans to prevent a terrorist attack in Iraq?" Few would answer "yes."
2. The Diminished American Image
Which has been deteriorating since Bush came into office, especially after his refusal to sign onto the Kyoto Protocol because it would be "bad for business." The idea that the most powerful country would buck the United Nations, generally recognized as the moderator of international conflicts, and invade a country posing little threat to anyone without provocation is disturbing indeed. Furthermore, the negative image of American actions in Iraq has further tarnished our image abroad (think Abu Ghraibh - thats misspelled...).
3. The Diminshed American Military
In peacetime, the military is able to maintain proper recruitment numbers, field large forces for exercises, train officers in specialized programs, and update battalions with new equipment. None of this is able to occur in a state of war. Because we are busy fighting a futile guerilla war, which is costly in men, money, and material, the military is unable to maintain the state of readiness required to prepare against actual threats to this country. The National Guard was unable to deploy enough troops to enforce order in New Orleans after the hurricane - how could we ever hope to invade and occupy Iran or North Korea if the situation with either began to seriously sour? My rough estimates are that, for a proper invasion and occupation of Iran, 800,000 soldiers would be needed, which are nowhere to be found, and could only come from a conscription program. Those soldiers, of course, would not be properly trained and equipped, and casualties in such a war would be much higher than those in the invasion of Iraq, which was conducted with an optimal military force.
4. The Moneyhole that is Iraq
$225 billion and counting. What would you do with $225 billion? Check this website for a good look at some alternatives. Maybe we could have even tried to pay down the national debt....
Those are the main reasons. There are many, many more that could be mentioned.
1. The Tremendous Civilian Casualties
And, as an extention, the lack of interest Americans show in the death of non-Americans. A good number can name the number of dead Americans (over 2100 and rising) but few can name the number of dead Iraqis, or even approximate. Part of this is the lack of media interest in it. There has been little effort at all to calculate the number of dead Iraqis, though, lest we forget, they are just as human and important as Americans. The numbers I have been using are from a Lancet report that compared the death rates in regions of Iraq and extrapolated it to the country, and then compared it to the previous year's death rates. It was actually a very conservative study, since they took a smaller number of months since the war started (14) and compared it to a larger number of pre-war months (17), and, furthermore, excluded Fallujah, where much of the heaviest fighting took place. They found that in the first 14 months of the war, 100,000 Iraqi civilians were killed, most by American airstrikes. Since then, it is probably the number is approaching 160,000. But of course, no one here cares. Some may even try to justify the deaths in light of all the positive things that the administration has brainwashed people into thinking this war will create. Let us assume that the war will make America safer (though it obviously has not and will not). The question then is, "If 160,000 Iraqis must die to prevent a terrorist attack in America, would you support killing 160,000 Americans to prevent a terrorist attack in Iraq?" Few would answer "yes."
2. The Diminished American Image
Which has been deteriorating since Bush came into office, especially after his refusal to sign onto the Kyoto Protocol because it would be "bad for business." The idea that the most powerful country would buck the United Nations, generally recognized as the moderator of international conflicts, and invade a country posing little threat to anyone without provocation is disturbing indeed. Furthermore, the negative image of American actions in Iraq has further tarnished our image abroad (think Abu Ghraibh - thats misspelled...).
3. The Diminshed American Military
In peacetime, the military is able to maintain proper recruitment numbers, field large forces for exercises, train officers in specialized programs, and update battalions with new equipment. None of this is able to occur in a state of war. Because we are busy fighting a futile guerilla war, which is costly in men, money, and material, the military is unable to maintain the state of readiness required to prepare against actual threats to this country. The National Guard was unable to deploy enough troops to enforce order in New Orleans after the hurricane - how could we ever hope to invade and occupy Iran or North Korea if the situation with either began to seriously sour? My rough estimates are that, for a proper invasion and occupation of Iran, 800,000 soldiers would be needed, which are nowhere to be found, and could only come from a conscription program. Those soldiers, of course, would not be properly trained and equipped, and casualties in such a war would be much higher than those in the invasion of Iraq, which was conducted with an optimal military force.
4. The Moneyhole that is Iraq
$225 billion and counting. What would you do with $225 billion? Check this website for a good look at some alternatives. Maybe we could have even tried to pay down the national debt....
Those are the main reasons. There are many, many more that could be mentioned.
posted by Jimmy at 8:29 PM
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