The Iraq War Continues..

Arguably the most contemplated and debated political issue to date is whether or not the
U.S. troops should be redeployed (withdrawn) from Iraq and when. As we approach the four year anniversary of the war on Iraq the questions still loom over whether the U.S. should have a continued presence in that country. March 20, 2003 was the official date of the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force (also known as The Coalition) which was comprised of all of the nations whose governments had military personnel in Iraq as part of a United States led war effort. It has been widely reported that over 90% of the troops that inhabited Iraq were American personnel. This infamously dubious date was the day President George W. Bush stated that the objective of the invasion was "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support of terrorism, and to free the Iraq people." In the advent of the findings that disavowed the Iraqi government from having weapons of mass destruction, the implementing of a new Iraqi government, the capturing and execution of Saddam Hussein America still continues to send more troops to the country. It bodes the question what exactly is the current United States administration trying to accomplish.

The American led Coalition consisted of over 40 countries in 2003. Since then many of the countries that supported the invasion of Iraq have withdrawn. Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces on December 13, 2003. After a long tumultuous trial under the Iraqi interim government set up by U.S. led forces Hussein was sentenced to death. On November 5, 2006 he was convicted of charges related to the executions of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites suspected of planning an assassination attempt against him. He was executed on December 30, 2006 by hanging.

The Iraqi insurgency or resistance was formed shortly after the 2003 coalition invasion of Iraq and before the organization of an independent Iraq government. Initially, insurgents targeted coalition forces and interim government also known as the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). The CPA established and ran a military occupation which consisted mainly of U.S. troops, United Kingdom, Poland, Japan and 29 other countries which later appointed and granted limited powers to an interim Iraqi government council. As the climate in Iraq became exacerbated by the extraneous inhabitants the insurgents focus shifted gradually to rival dissidents. This dynamic eventually lead to asymmetrical warfare which is where at least two opposing groups exploit each others strengths and weaknesses by any means necessary. This usually leads to non conventional warfare which involves the use of chemical, biological and nuclear tactics which ultimately affected not only military forces, local police but civilians as well.

Iraq's current state of affairs appears to be what could be defined as a no holds barred civil war between Sunni's and Shi'ites. Al-Qaeda which is Arabic for "the base" are international militant Sunni Islamic organizations formed in the late 1980's led by Osama Bin Laden. Al-Qaeda's objectives appears to be the elimination of foreign influence in Muslim countries, the eradicating of those deemed to be 'infidels' which is translated as "one without faith" and the creation of the new Islamic caliphate. Caliphate is the system of political leadership in the Muslim world. The Caliph is the head of state and the title for leader of the Islamic nation. Caliph also translated as Khalifah which means "successor" or "representative". Al-Qaeda was labeled a terrorist organization by the United Nations Security Council because of multiple attacks on various countries and most prominently the September 11, 2001 attack on New York and Washington D.C. In response to these attacks the United States launched a military and intelligence campaign known as "The War on Terrorism". The goal of this campaign was to dismantle Al-Qaeda and kill or capture its operatives. To this day Osama Bin Laden recognized to the world as the leader of Al-Qaeda is at large.

The well documented fact that the United States didn't find weapons of mass destruction (WMA) in Iraq has been the nucleus of the growing anti-war sentiment of Americans. This sentiment continues to be fueled by the prolonged military occupation of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over 80% of the American public support ending the U.S. involvement in both these countries and bringing home of the troops. As congress attempts to develop an appropriate timetable to redeploy troops; legislation is moving forward to give the Bush administration $100 billion to continue the war. It would appear that the U.S. government is experiencing it own sought of political "civil war".

Since the war began American deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are now over 3500. Iraqi casualties are now over 660,000 notwithstanding the devastating numbers of those wounded physically and mentally from all countries involved. The cost to build Iraq will exceed $1 trillion. The estimated cost of the war is approximately $2 trillion. As the casualties and expenses of the war rise the tolerance of all the individuals directly and indirectly involved lessens. The pain and despair that this war has wrought is incalculable. One can't help but wonder in light of the many different agendas colliding into this horrific conflict what ultimately will be the recourse of the American government today as we approach the four year anniversary of this war.