Friday, March 11, 2011 By Adrian Hairapetian [ArticleImageHyperLink] Advertising The War in Iraq (March 11, 2011) -- The war in Iraq. Merriam-Webster defines war as a “struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end.” This impels me to ask: what end? It’s been almost seven years, and we still haven’t seen this end. In November 2002, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein gave permission to the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) to inspect biological and chemical facilities. According to the reports by the UNMOVIC, there was no presence of WMDs in the facilities. After this hearing, the United States sent its troops to invade Iraq. Why? Mainly because WMDs threatened the security of the people of Iraq. This is simply self-contradictory. However, President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair launched the military campaign  — also called the Second Gulf War or Operation Iraqi Freedom — in March 20, 2003, with the aim to locate Iraq’s employment of alleged weapons of mass destruction, or WMDs. United States troops were sent to protect the security of the Iraqi people due to the threat of these WMDs. Other reasons exist as to why the United States got involved in Iraq. According to the United States Department of Defense, Hussein possessed connections to terrorist organizations; thus, the department felt that Hussein and the remaining members of his regime needed to be overthrown. No evidence really supported Hussein’s liaison; this was simply an assumption. Eight months after the invasion of Iraq, United States troops captured Hussein on Dec. 13, 2003. In 2006, he was convicted of a killing he plotted in 1982, and, as a result, hanged. The war led to demolition of a notorious regime; however, it comes with a significant price. From March 2003 to October 2010, the war has taken the lives of approximately 177,989 civilians, according to a web-based program called Iraq Body Count project (IBC). Note that IBC only states the number of civilian deaths, and does not account for U.S soldier deaths. We need to witness the end of this war. I must admit that the United States has completed its missions, and thus, this war was somewhat necessary. But, there’s nothing else to do in Iraq. Let’s let the country rebuild and return to normalcy. Why are there still soldiers in Iraq? Why can’t these soldiers return back to their homeland, their families, their parents?

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