by Todd Lang

Created on: July 01, 2008   Last Updated: November 19, 2011

Every person in the world has their own opinion of the war in Iraq. This is a freedom that can not, and will not be taken away. We are all entitled to our own opinions, even if we can not express them. I am writing to provide the facts that have influenced my opinion on a very sore subject. This does not make me un-American. The intent of this paper is to show the reader that the war in Iraq was never worth, both monetary and otherwise, what we have given up. I will be stating the reasons given, to the people of this country, to justify this war. The reader will also find that the cost in money, economy and lives is not worth the reasons.

It is common knowledge that the original reason for this war was because of the possibilities of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's). These WMD's weren't found in Iraq. The blame for this folly went to faulty intelligence. A few years later the reason of this war was changed to making Iraq a democracy. Due to these excuses, we are in a war that is costing our country more than anyone can imagine.

According to the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), we spend 434 million dollars for every day that we have our military in Iraq. That is 160 billion dollars per year that we are there. We have lost over 300,000 jobs in the past six months and our unemployment rate has risen 5.5 percent in the past six months. Our economy has gotten worse due to the war in Iraq and there is no end in sight (JEC, 2008).

We have lost things far more important than in the monetary or economic sense. According to iCasualties, we have lost more that four thousand U.S service members since the invasion of Iraq. A total of 436 U.S contractors have lost their lives during the same time period. These statistics do not count/include the countless Iraqi civilian lives lost (iCasualties, 2008). This has caused negative public opinion of the war.

According to Gallup polls, "opposition" to the Iraq war has reached a new high. According to their report, sixty-three percent of Americans feel that invading Iraq was a mistake. This opposition comes to a close second to a 75 percent opposition of Vietnam, The highest percentage of opposition to any war. On the other hand, says Gallup, only about 1 out of 5 Americans feels that an immediate withdrawal is necessary (Gallup, 2008).

In conclusion, I have adequately proven that the war in Iraq is way more expensive to the United States than it is worth. The war is not worth what we have given up. The countless lives lost since the occupation of Iraq and the jobs lost should have never happened. I agree that we can't pull out right now. It would be devastating to both countries. I also believe that a person can be against the war but still support the troops fighting in it. Supporting the armed forces in your country is not un-American. Supporting them is patriotic.

References

Gallup (2008). Opposition to Iraq War Reaches New High. Retrieved from www.gallup.com on June 25, 2008.
Joint Economic Committee (2008). Fight Now, Pay Later: The Future Costs of Paying for the Iraq War. Retrieved from http://jec.senate.gov on June 25, 2008.
Icasualties (2008). Icasualties: Iraq Coalition Casualties Count. Retrieved from http://icasualties.org on June 26, 2008.

Learn more about this author, Todd Lang.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.