YES

Sharanth Kumarasivan
Opinions Editor

With the eight-year long Iraq war, it would seem that history has repeated itself.

Just like the Vietnam War in the 1960s and ’70s, the U.S. invaded a foreign country with the hope of spreading democracy and ended up being hated by many Americans and the people it was trying to help.

Like Vietnam, people clamored violently for its end, but our leaders just ignored them. Both wars were also never officially declared by Congress. Instead, in their infinite wisdom, Congress handed the power of war entirely to the president, so he could raise armies to do whatever took his fancy.

In the last decade, the only clearly thought-out action by our government was to effectively end our involvement in Iraq and fully withdraw all troops by Jan. 1, 2012.

The war began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq under then-President Bush, who claimed the country was housing “weapons of mass destruction.”

But even this rationale was illegitimate, as the United Nations inspectors found no trace of weapons in Iraq, according to The New Yorker magazine.

In fact, the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity said the Bush administration made over 930 alleged reports in its “campaign of misinformation” to lull supporters for the war, according to the Washington Post.

Although, the U.S. purportedly invaded to dissolve despotism in Iraq, America incurred nothing but hate. The Iraqis hated us for intruding in their lives, and other nations were angry America was trying to expand its global influence. We lost the support of many longtime allies, such as France, who refused to join in on our raiding party.

The war is being waged against loyalist groups of Saddam Hussein. But these groups as well as terrorist organizations are forming and drawing support only because of what the U.S. is doing.

According to Reuters, the total costs of this war and the one in Afghanistan is $3 trillion, $2 trillion from actual military costs and interest payments on foreign loans, plus $1 trillion in future benefits to all soldiers.

The war is a main cause for the current national debt, considering that during President Clinton’s years before the war, the U.S. actually boasted a financial surplus.

If we let the war continue any longer, our debt will just pile up more and more.

Obama’s opponents say that pulling out of Iraq would mean collapsing all the infrastructure we’ve helped construct.

But at this point, we’ve already developed Iraq’s infrastructure and security forces well enough. Even the new Iraqi government we’ve constructed won’t give legal protection to the U.S. soldiers who helped in their country’s development, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Obviously this is a telltale sign that Iraq wants the opportunity to take care of itself now.

The U.S. has also killed Osama bin Laden, our primary enemy. If we pull out of the Middle East, the chances are that al-Qaeda will be less mad at us, and not stage as violent offensives as before.

Like its failed bid in Vietnam, the U.S. has once again tried to spread its ideals in a different country. Though noble in its aims, this plan has backfired on us and it’s the right call for President Obama to pull our troops out of Iraq for good.

NO

Alec Bandler
Staff Writer

Recently President Obama announced that all 40,000 troops in Iraq will be withdrawn by Jan. 1, 2012. Many Americans have not realized the serious consequences of this decision.

If the current Iraqi government collapses after the United States withdrawal, we will lose an important ally in the Middle East, which continues to be a very dangerous region that should concern not only Americans, but the world.

After the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks, the Bush Administration vowed to keep Americans safe at home. So when it was believed that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. While nuclear weapons were never found, Hussein, the ruthless dictator, was captured and a democracy was born in Iraq.

But this democracy was unstable and we have continued to maintain stability in Iraq. In 2006, the rebel attacks peaked and they seemed to be winning the war. Many

Americans questioned why we were even there. But the U.S surge ultimately succeeded, attacks declined and the Iraqi democracy has held up.

The Iraqi government is still fragile. Without the presence of American troops, it is possible that its current government could fall and the war will have been a total loss.

“I fear that we won the war in Iraq, and we’re now losing the peace,” Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) told The National Review website.

Having a stable Iraqi government is essential in these scary times because it is important to have Iraq as an ally in the Middle East, a region very unfriendly to the U.S.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) told Fox News Sunday, “Pulling troops out is a serious mistake. The U.S. Commander said he needed “15,000-18,000 troops” to be secure against Iran.

Iraq’s neighbor, Iran, has been a huge threat to America and the rest of the world because it has sought weapons of mass destruction to attack Israel and other countries.

James Clapper, director of national intelligence, told the Heritage Foundation, “Tehran’s new two-stage solid-propellant missile may soon be able to reach Eastern Europe and U.S./NATO bases, enabling it to hold governments hostage simply by threatening to launch its missiles.”

Iran also sponsors many terrorist groups in the world, including Hamas. Iran has been waiting for the day American troops leave Iraq so Iran can influence Iraq for its own means. Having occupied Iraq as an ally would keep Iran at bay.

“It once seemed that Iraq could be a strategic ally and base for our influence in the Middle East; it now may become both those things for our foremost enemy in the region,” according to an editorial in the The National Review.

The Obama administration claims the reason for removing the troops is that Iraq wouldn’t grant the American soldiers immunity from prosecution. Really, it’s just a pathetic excuse to exit the war.

“The administration’s lack of commitment to Iraq was the crucial backdrop to its poor handling of inherently difficult negotiations with the Iraqis,” according to The National Review editorial.

Obama’s decision to pull the troops out is one that Americans will likely regret.

According to Antiwar.com, more than 4,400 Americans have died in Iraq since the start of the war. To see all of these soldiers die in vain would be a tragedy. We owe it to those who lost their lives to keep fighting in Iraq to ensure peace, not only in Iraq but in the region.

It may take more time to make Iraq completely stable, but in the long run, it will be worth it.