The Iraqi Mistake

As the last U.S combat brigade left Iraq on August 19, 2010, I guess it was understandable that America would try to justify The Iraq War (also known as the Occupation of Iraq). I mean no one like to admit they made a mistake, much less a proud country like United States of America.

However as I see the news on CNN, I can’t help but feel an urge to laugh. I mean the news on CNN were touting the “success” of the occupation! The new “freedom” and “reconstruction” of Iraq by the American forces!

I don’t know if it’s just CNN or do other American news agencies do the same thing, but America need to be serious about The Iraq War. The war is a failure. America went in on the claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which were a threat to the security of the region. They ignored international opposition to the war, and invaded Iraq even when the United Nations says they found no evidence of WMD. To the surprise of America (for some reason), no WMD were found.

7 years after the war started on March 20, 2003, months after the last Iraqi elections, the Americans are leaving and there is still no Iraq government in place in Iraq. What freedom is CNN talking about when there’s not even a government in place in Iraq?

As for the reconstruction? I hope the Americans had reconstructed Iraq as they were the ones who broke the country in the first place. There’s the Gulf War, the sanctions, and then The Iraq War. As Colin Powell once said, “You broke it, it’s yours.”

The Iraq War is a mistake. The cost to America in finance, manpower and prestige has been greater than any gains America got from the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Despite what spin America put on it, those are just facts.