War Vs Peace

         In a coalition of forty-nine  countries, led by the United States, invaded Iraq and overthrew the government within three weeks. On December fifteenth, 2011, although some military personnel and security contractors remain in Iraq as members of the United States diplomatic mission, the United States declared an official end to the war. Over 4,000 United States soldiers, as well as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died in the war. many believe the war in Iraq made the United States safer from terrorism, post 9/11, by liberating the people of Iraq from Saddam Hussein, spreading democracy, and finding suspected weapons of mass destruction. Personally, I believe we should have never gone to war in Iraq, and the proof is in the pudding.

        With the planned invasion of Iraq, the United States hope to have helped bring hope and progress into the lives of millions, by showing the power of freedom to transform that vital region. More than 10 years after the liberation of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has not seen the improvements we expected. With an annual average of 200 billion dollars of revenue every year  from oil, Iraq has an opportunity to transform its future prospects. With that said, the population has not seen much of that 200 billion dollars in the forms of jobs and services. twenty three percent of the population lives in extreme hunger, with and unemployment rate at 15 percent; and youth unemployment at 30 percent. Although the number of civilian deaths per year has fallen since the United States invasion, many Iraqis still suffer from acts of terror and sometimes even from their own environment.

        Despite the massive numbers added to the country’s security forces, and the removal of Saddam Hussein, Iraq remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world. John Stuart Mill said it best, “to go to war for an idea, if the war is aggressive and not defensive, is as criminal as to go to war for territory or revenue.” This statement was made in 1859, and is just as prevalent now as it was then. The dangers of promoting democracy in an undemocratic international system, can be clearly demonstrated throughout Iraq. Although democratic states tend to protect their own citizens and tend to be more peaceful, does that mean that democratic systems should be imposed on communities by the use of military force? Sounds completely wrong to me. Democratic systems are led by the people to preserve the rights of the people and should be imposed by the people not some military regime.