Was It Worth It? - Schechter

Alex Schechter

International Relations

Blog Post #2

10/5/15

Was It Worth It?

In 2003, when I was in first grade, the United States began an armed conflict with Iraq. The Bush Administration sent troops to Iraq to determine if there were any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) being produced. This invasion became known simply as the, “Iraq War.” Surprisingly, I can remember the actual night that our army began the, “shock and awe” bombing campaign in Baghdad. In first grade, I didn’t really have an understanding as to why we were invading and bombing innocent civilians. In class, we briefly discussed if we thought the war was worth it. As outsiders, in the future, it is easy to say the war was not worth it. Was it worth it to lose 4,500 American soldiers? Was it worth it to spend over $1.1 Trillion? Was it worth not finding any weapons of mass destruction? In the early 2000s, many people had a very different outlook on the idea of invading Iraq. Looking back though, I’m not sure one could find many people that would say that the Iraq War was, “worth it” although at the beginning of the war, I’m sure this number was much higher.

On September 11, 2001 four separate planes were hijacked and crashed in multiple locations of the United States. Most notably, two of the planes hit both of the Twin Towers in New York City. This resulted in the loss of more than 2,000 Americans in a matter of hours broadcasted on national television.  Although this did not immediately start the war with Iraq, I think that it is fair to say it was one of the major deciding factors for the Bush Administration to begin the Iraq War. Although there was no direct correlation between 9/11 and the Iraq War, the United States was incredibly war hungry. In my opinion, the Bush Administration potentially used 9/11 as a scapegoat to invade. I know it is hard to assume such things, but I believe that without the attacks on 9/11, the Bush Administration would not  have had a scapegoat to search for WMD in Iraq.  

In March of 2003, about one week before the invasion of Iraq began, Dick Cheney, the Vice President at the time, gave an interview and explained how the Iraq war would cost about $80 billion within the first year, and $100 billion for being involved for two years. It is hard to know if this estimation was purely wrong, a lie to the entire nation, or maybe if that is what the Bush Administration believed the war would actually cost. The most recent report states that the United States spent $1.1 Trillion. That number is incredibly hard to fathom especially when related to the amount of money spent on a war which was not even, “successful.” My definition of successful may be different than yours, but losing $1.1 trillion while not finding any traces of weapons of mass destruction seems unsuccessful to me. On the other hand, we did manage to take Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader at the time, out of power. I do think that it was appropriate for us to help take Saddam out of power based on the way the government was treating its people. Was this alone enough to say the Iraq War was worth it? I wouldn’t say so.

When is it appropriate for the United States to step in with another nation’s turmoil and when is it not? That is a question that many Americans have found themselves asking one another. In the case with the Iraq War, we helped overthrow Saddam Hussein and his government, but we were unsuccessful in the main goal of the invasion, which was to find any weapons of mass destruction.