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WAR IN IRAQ War in Iraq Starting from the 21st century, there was no such ambivalent military conflict as the War in Iraq. Indeed, there are a lot of implications nowadays regarding the War in Iraq, which basically stress different points of view on the American-British incursion. Different approaches create various suggestions and thoughts. That is to say, the actuality of this topic is still very high. For instance, it is very useful to analyze the actual reasons of starting the war in Iraq in the eve of the current events in Afghanistan. After a death of Osama bin Laden, the world community is expecting the USA to quickly withdraw its military forces from Afghanistan. However, it might not happen due to the real reasons of American incursion in Afghanistan to pose a geopolitical and geoeconomic control in the region, which is very rich on natural resources. Therefore, one may suggest that such things as the control of the oil rigs and geopolitical strength might be the real reasons of the American incursion in Iraq. Moreover, the analysis of the real reasons of the American invasion of Iraq could help better understand the current events in Afghanistan. The most fruitful way to dissect the above mentioned issue is lying in drawing a comparison between the standpoint of Bush administration and probable reasons, which appeared at media outlets and different research papers. For this reason, the essay will be divided into several parts. The first part will shortly underline the basic events of the war due to the fact that one should know the most important data regarding the war. The second and third ones will draw a comparison between the official and unofficial standpoints. Finally, the comprehensive conclusions will be given. Events of war The official time of military invasion of Iraq began on 20th March, 2003 at 5:34 a.m. (Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2005). Although the U.S led coalition against Iraq was

WAR IN IRAQ represented mostly by British and American military forces, other 40 countries took participation in warfare by providing military equipment, services, and special military forces. The main objectives of the military operation were: to end the rule of Hussein regime, to eliminate weapons of mass destructions (which were not found lately), to vanquish Islamist insurgency and secure Iraqs oil networks. The invasion itself proved to be a decisive and significant one, though the U.S. forces faced sometimes strong resistance from the Iraqi military forces. Due to the fact that Iraqi regime had prepared to fight using both methods conventional and irregular ones, the U.S.-British attacks were intractably irritated by small scale attacks from the Iraqi fighters who wore civilian and paramilitary clothes. Nevertheless, by dint of conducting quick military operations coalition forces launched air and amphibious attacks against the Iraqi forces on the Al-Faw Peninsula two huge achievements were gained. Firstly, the U.S.-British military forces, along with support of the Polish Special Forces GROM, secured the oilfields, thus, preventing the economic collapse of the Iraqi economy, which could have had influence on the situation in the worlds oil market (Smith, 2003). Secondly, having used tactics which was used in Afghanistan a year early, the coalition forces outpaced Iraqi ones by speed and effectiveness of each military operation. That is to say, it is not a surprise that a big Iraqi army was relinquishing and could not rebuff the attacks of the invaders. On 9th April, Baghdad was conquered by the coalition forces, thereby, ending 24-year rule of Saddam Hussein. The facilities of the ruling Baath party were seized by the U.S.British forces. The final stage of the invasion ended with the fall of Tikrit, Husseins home town. Broadly speaking, the incursion ended on 15th April, 2003. According to the Pentagon, 9,200 Iraqi soldiers were killed, along with 7,299 civilians, whereas coalition lost 139 U.S. military personnel (A Look at the U.S. Deaths in the Iraqi War, 2005). Comparison of the two standpoints official and unofficial one

WAR IN IRAQ The most significant reason of invasion of Iraq, according to the official Bushs standpoint, was lying in assuming that the Iraqi government had or was going to produce the weapons of mass destruction. The issue reached its turning point in 2002-2003 when Bush administration demanded a complete investigation in compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions. Those resolutions were adopted after the end of the Gulf War and they prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing weapons of mass destructions. One must notice that Iraqi government, though reluctantly, agreed to new inspections in late 2002 in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1441. The inspection did not find any weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, after the War in Iraq started, the leading weapons inspector Hans Brix, stated that Iraq was eager to cooperate with the UN and the confirmation of the disarmament could have been achieved in several months (Pincus, 2007). So, this example and quotation undermines Bushs main argument Iraq had the weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, after Iraq was conquered and Husseins government was toppled, the American investigation, conducted by Pentagon and UN advisers, did not find not only weapon of mass destruction itself, but also even a trace which could prove that Iraq was going to produce it. The second official reason of invading of Iraq was accusations, which alleged that Husseins administration harbored and supported Al-Qaeda. Notwithstanding these allegations might have looked like trustworthy, no evidence of a strict connection between the Iraqi government and Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was ever found. In addition, the American government found other minor reasons for defending its invasion. The most popular among them are: Iraqs financial support for the insurgents in Palestine, especially families of suicide bombers, the abuse of human rights by Iraqi government, and aspiration of spreading the democracy in the Middle East.

WAR IN IRAQ Finally, last but not least official reason of invading of Iraq was suspicion that Iraq had poison gas stockpile, which it had hidden among Sunni tribesmen. This information had been conveyed by the CIA agent, the former foreign minister of Iraq, Naji Sabri. Indeed, one should say that that data was true. However, apart from conveying this information about the gas poison, Sabri had informed Bush via CIA agent that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. Despite a very high reputation of Sabri as an excellent snitcher, Bush did not believe that data. Furthermore, he did not inform the Congress about Sabris information. Having analyzed the official reasons of invasion, i.e. the reasons which were supported by the American government and covered in the media outlets, one can say a few words about unofficial reasons. The Iraqi government decision to change petrodollar to petroeuro could be named as one of the most important unofficial reason of invading of Iraq (Clark, 2003). Indeed, there was some information which stressed the possibility of that decision. Saddam Hussein, who was a long-standing supporter of the American policy in the Middle East, decided to change the foreign course and conduct more independent policy in the region. Still, being unable to contest America in terms of political and military might, Hussein used its only weapon oil. By binding oil to euro currency, Saddam irrevocably humiliated the economic power of the USA in the Middle East region. For this reason, it was only a matter of time for the President administration to commence the military incursion. Secondly, Iraqs reconciliation policy concerning Iran could have created a situation when two mighty Muslim countries posed a dire threat to the American interests in the region. For instance, many contemporary historical scientists are arguing why the American government did not topple Husseins regime after the Gulf War (Cerf, 2003). In the authors opinion, the USA wanted to use Iraq as the main instrument of balancing the ascent of Iran. Verily, one must say that till the beginning of 21st century, Iraq relentlessly represented the opposition towards Iran. However, when both governments Iraqi and Iranian ones understood that

WAR IN IRAQ while they contended each other the new leader arose Saudi Arabia, the bilateral negotiations took place aimed at increasing cooperation and mutual trust. Finally, the USA was always very tentative towards the changes in the Middle East. To put it in another way, the American government ought to have interfered into the region with a view to stabilizing the political, economic and military relationships in its own favor. Conclusions Drawing a conclusion, one could underscore that although unofficial standpoints are represented only by the suggestions rather than by strong evidences, the official standpoints also lack robust proof. For instance, while the USA government envisaged that Iraq had the weapons of mass destruction, the latter was not found. Simultaneously, the suggestion concerning the petrodollars came into fruition because the USA seized control over the oilfields and did not allow the Iraqi government to conduct a free oil policy. It means that if one did not find the proof of the reasons which urged the USA to invade, one cannot get an acquittal of the legacy of the invasion. In other words, the military intervention was caused due to the American geopolitical and geoeconomic reasons rather than by the official statements of fighting against Iraqi nuclear program and human abuses. In addition, the War in Iraq caused unnecessary human casualties, great financial expenditures, ethnic contentions and the demolishing of the Iraqi state.

WAR IN IRAQ References Cerf C. (2003). The Iraq War Reader: History, Documents, Opinions. Touchstone Publishing. Clark W. (2003). The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War with Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of Unspoken Truth. Ratical.org. Retrieved 27-052011 A Look at the U.S. Deaths in the Iraqi War. n.a. The Washinghton Post. Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 27-05-2011. Operation Iraqi Freedom. Target Iraq. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 27-04-2005. Pincus W. (2007). Officials Key Report on Iraq Is Faulted. The Washington Post. Web. Smith R. (2003). The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division. New York: Bantam Books.