Scammed into War

Recent polls have shown that approximately sixty-one percent of Americans are opposed to the war in Iraq. This number is not surprising. When a war is started on the basis of false information, deceptive practices, and outright lies, America is going to end up with a disaster on its hands.

I have been strongly opposed to the war in Iraq since its beginning because I am a Christian, and the philosophy of my religion states that taking a human life is reprehensible. Innocent human lives must be protected, whether they are American or Iraqi. Our leaders are quick to impose their moral beliefs on others, and anyone who disagrees is labeled "terrorist- loving" or "anti-American."

While the administration in charge of our country calls itself Christian, I find this difficult to believe considering the choices they have made regarding this war. War is not a means of national policy, and by engaging in an unprovoked war our so-called
Christian leaders have put innocent lives in peril. This war was not justified according to any of the teachings of Christ.

Our President would like for us to believe that a strike against Iraq was a pre-emptive measure meant to fight terrorists and to keep another attack like that of September 11, 2001. However, at a press conference held on August 21, 2006, when he was asked what Iraq had to do with the World Trade Center attacks, his response was, "Nothing." So now we have an admission from the Commander-in-Chief that we were lied to three years ago about the reasons for going to war.

The President, Vice-President, and Secretary of Defense had their own agenda and that was to depose Saddam Hussein and complete the job that was left unfinished by George H.W. Bush when he was in office. Oil production within Saddam's regime was driving oil prices in the U.S. down and causing big oil companies to lose profits. To control oil production, they had to get Saddam out of the way.

To accomplish this, they needed to play upon the fears of the American people and September 11, 2001, provided them with the perfect opportunity. They used faulty intelligence to claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when in fact there were no such weapons. After the invasion of the country, no nuclear or biological weapons were found.

The war in Iraq cannot be validated under any circumstances. War should be undertaken only in cases where self-defense is called for or to retaliate for an act of aggression. Neither of these is applicable where Iraq is concerned.

Saddam Hussein did not amass troops on any U.S. border. He did not gather troops at the border of any neighboring nation and none of those nations asked for assistance from the United States. There was no provocation on the part of the Iraqis toward America that warranted an attack against their country.

American troops face difficulty in distinguishing combatants from innocent people in Iraq, and more than 50,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed during the war. Instead of being liberated, they are dead.

Fatalities among coalition forces are nearing 3,000 which is more than the total of people killed in the World Trade Center attacks. More soldiers have died fighting not for the defense of their country, but for the defense of the big oil companies.