...The Iraq war wasn’t justified The 2003 invasion of Iraq (March 20 – May 1, 2003), was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War or Operation Iraqi Freedom in which a combined force of troops from the United States, alongside the United Kingdom, and smaller contingents from Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations. This phase (March–April 2003) consisted of a conventionally fought war which concluded with the fall of Baghdad that marked the beginning of the second phase, the current Iraq War, and was a continuation of the Gulf War of 1991, prior to which Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait, and after defeat by Coalition Forces had agreed to surrender and/or destroy several types of weapons, including SCUD missiles and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). According to then President of the United States George W. Bush and then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, the reasons for the invasion were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's alleged support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people. According to Blair, the trigger was Iraq's failure to take a "final opportunity" to disarm itself of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace. Although some remnants of pre-1991 production were found after the end of the war. US government spokespeople confirmed that these were...
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...Justification of the War in Iraq In 2003 the United States of America invaded the country of Iraq in an effort to stop the production and take custody of the weapons of mass destruction that were believed to belong to the Iraqi government. Today we take a look at the actions taken by the United States government and analyze if there was truly weapons of mass destruction and if the invasion was justified in taking place. There are many opinions on this matter. Some throughout the world believe that there was just cause to invade. We ask ourselves if Iraq’s past actions which included genocide may have gave weight to the supporting opinions. If you look at the opposing side there are just as many, if not more, that disagreed with this military conflict and the actions taken by the United States government. Non supporters thought that the risk may outweigh the benefits of the invasion and also voiced doubt on the existence of weapons of mass destructions. In researching the issue and being a witness to the actions taken by the United States I am eager to believe that the war was justified. There are many reasons that I believe and other believe that it was just or not just. In support of the invasion of Iraq by the United States there are many reasons that are well apparent in supporting this notion. Prior to the invasion Iraq has proven that it supported terrorist and also supplied a haven for the terrorist that attacked and were planning to attack America and its...
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...The Iraq War was Unjustified The Iraq War was Unjustified There are many reasons why the war Iraq was unjustified. Until today, Iraq has not been found to have weapons of mass destruction. There are beliefs that former President George W. Bush simply waged war on Iraq because of their oil. Iraq as a country and the former President Saddam Hussein had no link to al-Qaeda terrorist group. The United States congress, based on wrong intelligence from the Bush’s administration agreed unanimously to go to war with Iraq, despite the fact that the Unites Nations disagreed with the decision. Because of the decision to wage war on Iraq, The United States lost most of its allies. “A war on Iraq for the purpose of “regime change” would not be a legal war under international law. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter states: “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purpose of the United Nations.” (Miller, 2003). On September 11, 2001, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. Many Americans died because of the deadly attack. It was one of the deadliest attacks on U.S soil. One plane crashed into part of the pentagon, and the another plane crashed into an open field. Based on these attacks by the al-Qaeda terrorist group, President Bush declared war on the Taliban in Afghanistan in an attempt...
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...Capstone final project Student’s name Course Title Instructor Date submitted Is United States justified to adopt a first-strike policy against independent nations in war on terrorism? The attack on United States on September 2001 brought the truth and reality of terrorism to the land of America in a way that most people had not imagined. Over three thousand people lost their lives. With that several innocent lives lost, America and other friendly nations joined to condemn terrorism. United States accused Taliban government of Afghanistan of harboring perpetrators. The accusation led the United States to begin military operations in Afghanistan. Many nations accepted the military operations as a justifiable response. The Taliban became an easy target because they were sympathizers of terrorist. After a short successful military operations in Afghanistan, United States turned attention to Iraq. They began to build a case against the regime government of Saddam Hussein. The United States suggested that Iraq had also been supporting terrorist and developing nuclear weapons. It was after those inflammatory suggestions about Iraq that a different debate surrounding military operations in that country started to emerge. In September, 2002, American government published a document titled The National Security Strategy. The President, George Bush, pointed the enemy of twenty century as a shadowy network of individuals who were out to harm the society with inexpensive weapon...
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...involvement in war on some occasions. The Just war theory deals with the justification of how and why wars are fought. The justification can be theoretical. The theoretical aspect is concerned with justifying war ethically. The role of ethics is used to examine whether war is justified and if so can the aspects be changed. The just war tradition also considers the thoughts of various philosophers through the ages and examine their philosophical visions of war’s ethical limits and whether their thoughts have contributed to the justification of war. The just war theory was firstly developed by Saint Augustine of Hippo. Looking back at the Bible he realised that although older generations sided with the more peaceful aspects of the Bible (New Testament) the aspects which included violence (Old Testament) could not be ignored. In Mathew 5 it Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers” however he did not oppose those who crucified him. This links to how war can be justified because Jesus Gods only son did not punish those who purposely killed him without reason. So to punish those with to an extent have a valid reason could be seen as hypocritical. Augustine believed that justified wars were commanded by God in the bible and split his theory into two parts they are; jus ad bellum-just reasons for going to war, and jus in bello-just practice in war. This was then further developed by Aquinas. Jus ad bellum contains seven key points. If these points are met then war can be justified. The points...
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...context of politics, militarism and war it is often associated with authoritarian governments, but it is used in democracies as well. Although the practices of propaganda contradict democratic ideals, many propaganda techniques are more easily utilized in a liberal society that encourages freedom of speech. When propaganda is used in a liberal society, it is especially effective because in a liberal society people assume they are thinking and acting freely, without recognizing the subtle manipulation of propaganda. Although it may seem unethical, the American government and its military officials often use deceitful tactics of propaganda to hide the truth about...
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...Munich and Vietnam: The Lacking Prevalence of Historical Analogies In recent wars, the Vietnam analogy has been forgotten and the Munich analogy has justified large scale interventions. Appeasement was the key regret of World War II and the Munich analogy was formed to prevent it from ever occurring again. The National Review explains that “’Munich’ and ‘appeasement’ have been among the dirtiest words in American politics, synonymous with naïveté and weakness.” This analogy was used to justify the Vietnam War prescribing the destruction of appeasement and suggesting a military intervention to prevent Ho Chi Minh and communism from further expansion, the “domino effect” as most called it. However, the Vietnam War went off the rails and was...
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...In 1968, the Soviet Union along with several Warsaw Pact allies invaded Czechoslovakia with the intention of re-establishing a full communist government. The reason for the invasion was mainly due to “Prague Spring” – the period of great hope for the Czech people led by the reform movement against the hard-line policies of the Czech and Soviet governments. The main justification given by Soviet Premier Brezhnev regarding the attack was that the USSR, a communist nation itself, had an obligation to stop anything that poses a threat to established communism in any country. This came to be known as the “Brezhnev Doctrine”, and was seen as a clear warning to other eastern European countries. This example is one of many in history that has raised the issue of whether or not great nations are justified in exerting influence over the affairs of lesser states. The issue of whether or not great nations are justified in exerting influence over the affairs of lesser states is extremely complex. Some people believe that powerful nations are not only justified but obligated to play an important role in the affairs of states that do not measure up in status or power. The main reason being that these states do not have the capabilities to handle their domestic and foreign policies without external influence of some kind. Others believe that every nation has the sovereign right to formulate domestic and foreign policies without external influence. Both groups of people are right to an extent...
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...international citizens and ultimately leading to changes in anti-terror approaches and operations in the U.S and around the globe. (www.fbi.gov). Before 9/11 occurred, the U.S was encountering a period of peace and economic boom. This fostered the illusion that International Relations were of no great significance in the wider arena. The American public and political classes were unconcerned with previous attacks on the World Trade Centre in 94, the attack on the USS Cole, and the attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Attacks of 9/11 and the fall of the World Trade Centre’s marked the beginning of the real 21st century. (Brown 04). 9/11 was not simply an act of terror but the most destructive single act of terror since World War 2. Many in the Islamic community saw the attack, as an attack on “the symbolic heart of global capitalism” (Brown 04). 9/11 galvanised the American people, and less then 12 hours after the attacks, president Bush formally declared a “war on terror”. Overnight America’s relationships with Russia, China and India improved. Britain and Australia were also seen as close allies. President Bush and his supporters stressed the need to go on the offensive against terrorists, to deploy the U.S. military, and to promote democracy in the Middle East. (Gordon 07). The U.S is fighting a war on terror and must remain on the offensive. The Bush administration feel, that U.S. power is the foundation of global order, and the spread of democracy and freedom is the...
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...Name: Course Name: College: Lecturer: Date: Frontline Introduction and Background The Bush Wars hold a significant place in the lives of Americans. There are some issues that are synonymous with the Bush Wars. In this case, the 9/11, scandal of Abu Ghraib, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, truth of WMD and the insurgency are the issues that are synonymous with the Bush Wars (Frontline, 1). The Frontline is the documentary that was produced during the 5th anniversary of the Bush Wars. The Frontline recognized that though part of this history is known, but the entire narrative is unknown hence there is need to fill the gap. Despite being referred as Bush wars, it should have been given Cabinet infightings title. Summary of the documentary The filmmaker is Michael Kirk while Will Lyman gives a signature narration. Ideally, the documentary seeks to develop information regarding how the war started, how fighting took place both the war front and insider critical analysis of the government. There seemed o be two battle lines, the war front at the ground and battle at the corridors of power within the government. In the fall of 2001 just when the Afghan war was ongoing, there were talks in government whether Iraq should be the next target. The perception was Saddam Hussein must have played a critical role in the 9/11. The was policy battle between Secretary of state, Collins Powell and director of CIA George Tenet on one side against VP Dick Cheney and Secretary...
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...#1.15) Iraq War Poll a.) ALL the populations of the United States. b.) The variable interest is to find out if the invasion of Iraq is justified and it’s a qualitative data cannot be measured by a numerical scale. c.) 2,000 individuals d.) Whether the population of the United States thinks the invasion of Iraq was justified. e.) Random-digit telephone dialing. f.) The most common way to satisfy the representative sample requirement is to select a random sample. #1.18) Extinct birds. Quantitative data =involves with numbers. & Ratio or Interval Qualitative data = no numbers & categories. & Ordinal or Nominal a.) Qualitative data – Nominal b.) Qualitative data – Nominal c.) Qualitative data – Nominal d.) Qualitative data – Ordinal e.) Qualitative data – Nominal f.) Quantitative data – Ratio g.) Quantitative data – Ratio h.) Qualitative data – Nominal #1.24) Gallup poll of teenagers. a.) The sampling of 505 teenagers selected of all the U.S. teenager’s populations. b.) ALL the populations of teenagers in the United States c.) Yes, the survey randomly selected 505 teenagers from all U.S. teenagers. d.) The variable interest is to determine the topics that teenagers most want to discuss with their parents. e.) The inference is expressed by applying the results of the sample to general populations of teenagers in the United States. f.) The purpose of the margin of error is to safeguard the results of the random sampling because it’s representative...
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...Afghanistan The War in Afghanistan, also called the Afghan war, or Enduring Freedom started for the United States on October 7, 2001. The United States went to war because of the attacks on the twin towers on 9/11 and the fact that the leader that orchestrated these attacks, Osama Bin laden, according to Intel, was hiding out there. The goal of this war was to up root the Taliban from power and create a stable democracy, and to hunt Osama Bin Laden down for his crimes against the United States. In this paper I will be elaborating why this war was justified by these reasons; the fact that Al-Qaeda killed and expressly aims to kill U.S. citizens and, the Taliban in Afghanistan have partnered with al-Qaeda, harboring a known United States enemy named Osama Bin Laden, threating other democratic countries of their freedom including their own. The different historical interpretations of the event, and the positive and negative outcomes of this event will be elaborated on also. On Tuesday morning on September 11 2001, 19 terrorists from the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger planes. These terrorists intentionally crashed two of these planes in to the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Another plane was purposely crashed into the pentagon and one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Roughly 3000 people lost their lives that day. These attacks were a direct attack on the United States. Believed to be behind these attacks was a terrorist named...
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... 27/2/2012 “The Blair Premiership was a bitter disappointment” discuss. The Blair government arrived in office in very favourable circumstances in 1997. The economy was doing very good and the party appeared more united than at any time since 1945. The Conservative opposition was demoralise and press coverage, even from traditionally Conservative newspapers, was positive. Expectations of the new Labour government were very high, but Blair’s government found it impossible to deliver on all of the promises. In fact, they were ended up doing very little; one of the reasons could be that they were scared to make bold moves that would make them unpopular. Blair’s government could be divided into two phases: 1997-2001 and 2001- 2007. Blair’s policies were only adventurous in the second phase that Anthony Seldon said “He was a late developer. He began with a whimper, finished with a bang” This essay will assess Blair’s achievements and failure as Prime Minister and give conclusion on whether his premiership was a disappointment. The economy in 1997-2001 seemed very healthy under Brown’s Chancellorship. He decided that interest rates and inflation targets should be set by the Bank of England, not the government. Some saw this as a masterstroke as this would reduce political interest in the setting of interest rates although others said it was a convenient way of avoiding blame. Inflation was coming down and employment continues to go up. The economy carries...
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...law. The idea of Western societies encouraging democratization of non-western societies is believed to be cultural imperialism, which abuses the power of states in the developing world. However for the purpose of this paper, I view the support of democratization by Western societies as a positive approach to achieving the core significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that is supposedly recognized by all states. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created on the notion of a common human race. It represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are naturally entitled. Of the fifty-eight countries that were members of the United Nations in 1948, forty-eight countries initially approved the document. Essentially all of the world’s states have approved it since then, which indicates that in any event its principle articles should be used by all states as an instrument in binding international law in spite of the presence of treaty ratification or state of war. Considering the fact that most countries have agreed to abide by the Declaration of Human Rights, it can be assumed that all states would have the intention to accomplish that in the best way possible. With the intentions of protecting essential human rights, the promotion of democratization is crucial and the most proficient way possible. The twenty second article of the Declaration of Human Rights states that: (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government...
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...al-Arab near Basra, Iraq. Origin Tigris–Euphrates confluence at Al-Qurnah Mouth Persian Gulf Basin countries Iraq, Iran Length 200 km (120 mi) Source elevation 4 m (13 ft) Mouth elevation 0 m (0 ft) Avg. discharge 1,750 m3/s (62,000 cu ft/s) at mouth Shatt al-Arab (Arabic: شط العرب, "Stream of the Arabs"; Persian: اَروَندرود, Arvand Rud, "Swift River"), is a river in Southwest Asia of some 200 km (120 mi) in length, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris in the town of al-Qurnah in the Basra Governorate of southern Iraq. The southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and Iran down to the mouth of the river as it discharges into the Persian Gulf. It varies in width from about 232 metres (761 ft) at Basra to 800 metres (2,600 ft) at its mouth. It is thought that the waterway formed relatively recently in geologic time, with the Tigris and Euphrates originally emptying into the Persian Gulf via a channel further to the west. The Karun river, a tributary which joins the waterway from the Iranian side, deposits large amounts of silt into the river; this necessitates continuous dredging to keep it navigable.[1] The area is judged to hold the largest date palm forest in the world. In the mid-1970s, the region included 17 to 18 million date palms, an estimated one-fifth of the world's 90 million palm trees. But by 2002, war, salt, and pests had wiped out more than 14 million of the palms, including around 9 million in Iraq and 5 million in...
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