INTERNATIONAL NEWS, OPINION: My Observation on Iraq War
by Angie Zhang
Sometimes it’s quite difficult to define a war as just or unjust. Putting it another way, we might be blinded by the abundant flow of news coverage concerning the war by various media without knowing what is true and what is false. Many reports claimed that it was a must to go into Iraq to eliminate the threat of WMD, for they insisted Saddam possessed such weapons and was obviously a potential menace to the rest of the world, particularly the United States. Even if Saddam was innocent at that moment, it was argued that there was no way to assure the world that he would not develop WMD at some point since many experts were quite positive that he held a strong ambition of being a military power.
Most found the war inhuman because it caused great casualty. Up to a point, I am on their side. This war has already claimed thousands of precious lives, not only soldiers but women, children, old people, hostages, officials working for the UN, and so on. Life is to be respected and treasured, not to be spoiled and wasted. We learned that the U.S. sent its troops to Iraq without permission from the UN and the support of the international community. Numerous protests against the war and eager cries for peace didn’t change Bush’s determination to punish the evil by his own will. Unexpected but inevitable, a war in name of liberating the Iraqi people from tyranny of the brutal dictator started.
Nevertheless, what Americans did in Iraq carried the message that they didn’t do things on behalf of the Iraqis but pushed the poverty-stricken country into a more deadly abyss. For Iraqis, peaceful lives were ruined by people who promised a better future for them, but instead their kin were killed by so-called righteous bombs and legal guns. Bush declared he would always put freedom, liberty and human rights above all. Did he mean it? Before the war, Bush had ensured the public there would be few casualties. It was a lie. When children appeared with blood-covered faces on the television, I felt a sudden pang of grief and remorse. The war was driving poor souls out into the unfeeling world to suffer and die and we couldn’t help them.
Having put Saddam in jail, Bush then established a brand-new government whose responsibility was making Iraq function in an orderly fashion. With terrorist attacks against mainly American-led forces happening throughout the country, the coalition failed to gain control of the daily-worsening political situation. Constant fighting, blood and corpses, ate into Iraqi hopes. How was it possible to make Iraqis believe the unfriendly intruders were working for them? In this sense, it’s really hard for me to concede that what the Americans have done in Iraq was just.
Sometimes it’s quite difficult to define a war as just or unjust. Putting it another way, we might be blinded by the abundant flow of news coverage concerning the war by various media without knowing what is true and what is false. Many reports claimed that it was a must to go into Iraq to eliminate the threat of WMD, for they insisted Saddam possessed such weapons and was obviously a potential menace to the rest of the world, particularly the United States. Even if Saddam was innocent at that moment, it was argued that there was no way to assure the world that he would not develop WMD at some point since many experts were quite positive that he held a strong ambition of being a military power.
Most found the war inhuman because it caused great casualty. Up to a point, I am on their side. This war has already claimed thousands of precious lives, not only soldiers but women, children, old people, hostages, officials working for the UN, and so on. Life is to be respected and treasured, not to be spoiled and wasted. We learned that the U.S. sent its troops to Iraq without permission from the UN and the support of the international community. Numerous protests against the war and eager cries for peace didn’t change Bush’s determination to punish the evil by his own will. Unexpected but inevitable, a war in name of liberating the Iraqi people from tyranny of the brutal dictator started.
Nevertheless, what Americans did in Iraq carried the message that they didn’t do things on behalf of the Iraqis but pushed the poverty-stricken country into a more deadly abyss. For Iraqis, peaceful lives were ruined by people who promised a better future for them, but instead their kin were killed by so-called righteous bombs and legal guns. Bush declared he would always put freedom, liberty and human rights above all. Did he mean it? Before the war, Bush had ensured the public there would be few casualties. It was a lie. When children appeared with blood-covered faces on the television, I felt a sudden pang of grief and remorse. The war was driving poor souls out into the unfeeling world to suffer and die and we couldn’t help them.
Having put Saddam in jail, Bush then established a brand-new government whose responsibility was making Iraq function in an orderly fashion. With terrorist attacks against mainly American-led forces happening throughout the country, the coalition failed to gain control of the daily-worsening political situation. Constant fighting, blood and corpses, ate into Iraqi hopes. How was it possible to make Iraqis believe the unfriendly intruders were working for them? In this sense, it’s really hard for me to concede that what the Americans have done in Iraq was just.
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