Who is Responsible for the War in Iraq?

Neo-Conservativism

Marcus Faith
Donald Rumsfield? Well he's gone and the war remains. Who is responsible for the war in Iraq? President Bush? That's the easiest answer. Yet, no one can say why he's doing it. We can say but the answer does not satisfy. Bush thinks this is the work of God. He doesn't just think it, he believes it. This war is a mission from God.

God is not responsible for the war in Iraq. Who convinced him, who manipulated his faith with their ideas and who planned this war out from the beginning? Donald Rumsfield, Paul Wolfowitz, William Kristol, and others who call themselves Neo-Conservatives. Neo-Conservatives derive their political ideology from the philosopher Leo Strauss. Strauss was a somewhat enigmatic figure who taught political philosophy throughout the 1950's and 1960's. Strauss believed that liberal democracy was rotting from the inside out. Strauss believed that the core of liberal thought, the free individual, would lead to the destruction of society. Liberalism, taken to it's logical end, led to relativism and hedonism. It is necessary, according to Strauss, to lie to the public because they cannot understand why they need to be lied to. Great leaders must create "myths" to keep society from falling apart. This is the seed of the War on Terror, which is a lie; an exaggerated threat, meant to keep us pliable and under control.

Strauss is the Intellectual force behind Neo-Conservatism, but can't be blamed. He was just a scholar, a man with a pen and some books. It's the men of action, who harden their hearts and soften their minds, who push the buttons, pull the triggers, and dance. We need to see them for who they are. Be they women or men, they want power. Power comes from you, the citizen. Whatever they want, they want to take from you. When those hungry for power are given new tools for the acquisition of power, they can be sure to use them to further that aim only.

What do we loose in Iraq? Our freedom, our compassion, our reason, our respect and admiration, tons of gold, tons of blood.

Once this war is over and it fails, and it must fail for us to remain free, there will be a greater problem to deal with. What should we fight for?

Published by Marcus Faith

I have lived in Texas my whole life and I'm currently an undergraduate at UT-Edinburg.  View profile

1 Comments

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  • JHRamos4/29/2008

    As an adult, I have always felt that a good performance (I am a violinist) stems from three factors: composure, confidence, and conviction. Maybe the same can be said of writing? Your writing does not get carried away, it is confident, and it possess expressive power (conviction). Just keep it up. Bravo!!!

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