by Aaron Conor

Created on: February 13, 2007   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

Can we win the Iraq war? No, it doesn't appear that we can. Unfortunately, this seems to be an unwinnable war.

Why did we invade Iraq? Well, there are a number of reasons why. One of the main reasons though was because of fear. The United States feared that Iraq was or was becoming a home base for terrorists. Then, Bush told us that Saddam was seeking large quantities of uranium from Africa. Mixing uranium, terrorists, and Iraq together only increased our fear. Fear should never be a justifiable reason to invade another country. Even if the president of the country is a tyrant.

Another reason we invaded Iraq was because of pure rage. We were still incensed over 911, and we wanted justice or revenge. And a target for that rage. Unfortunately, our rage overpowered our common sense and this has led us to another Vietnam type of war. The death toll may not be as high as Vietnam's was, but don't forget about the injuries. There are thousands upon thousands of soldiers who have been injured through loss of limbs, burns, diseases; etc. And don't forget about the mental problems some of these soldiers will have to deal with. Very sad.

A third possible reason for invading Iraq is because of oil. Rumor has it that there could be quite a large amount of oil that has yet to be tapped in Iraq. If this is true, then it could explain why the Bush administration is so determined to win in Iraq. If the oil production in other parts of the world were to start slowing down, then having Iraq's oil under US control could be vital to maintaining our economy.

Why can't we win in Iraq? The people seem to be against us, for the most part. The Iraqi people probably feel that we are occupiers instead of saviors, and that they would be better off without us. Meanwhile, terrorists continue to spread their hatred across the country.

This hatred continues to slowly infect the populace until the majority begin to believe in it. This is not to say that progress has not been made in some areas, but overall it is unlikely to be enough. Also, the terrorists are using gorilla style warfare techniques, which are extremely difficult to counter. And they're zealots. Zealots who are not afraid to die always present an arduous challenge.

What if Saddam had been left in power? From what has been written, Saddam was very brutal in his tactics to control the populace. If he had been left in power, the Middle East today would probably be a bit more stable. We would still have Afghanistan to worry about, but

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