The Iraq War

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The Iraq War began in 2003 and lasted until 2011, and stands to be among the most controversial conflicts of modern times. It was a war that proceeded without the approval of the United Nations (UN) and was said to be a failure on all counts, for despite managing to end Saddam Hussein’s regime did not lead to an improvement in the situation in Iraq, and instead led Iraq to becoming a failed state and being on the brink of a civil war. According to then Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Iraq War was “not in conformity with the United Nations charter (and) from (their) point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal” (BBC News, 2004). This essay will first aim to identify the arguments given to justify the Iraq war, followed by an analysis on how the war was depicted by the United States (US) media and why it was done in such a way. Following that, this essay will attempt to identify alternative reasons as to why the war was started and why the alternative reasons remained as such.
This part of the essay will identify the US government’s argument and justifications for its war on Iraq in 2003 and examine the evidences presented to support the given argument. Officially, the US brought forth the argument that war on Iraq in 2003 was a pre-emptive strike responding to the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the belief that the Iraqi government had ties to the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization which was responsible for the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York during the 11th of September in 2001. This argument carries significant weightage in present times for modern wars must only be fought in self-defence, as stated in the BBC's Ethics Guide on war (2014). Furthermore, a ‘just cause’ is also ne...

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... 12th January 2014].

The Independent (2007). Blood and oil: How the West will profit from Iraq's most precious commodity [online]. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/blood-and-oil-how-the-west-will-profit-from-iraqs-most-precious-commodity-431119.html [Accessed 12th January 2014].

Weisman, S. R. (2005). Powell Calls His U.N. Speech a Lasting Blot on His Record [online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/09/politics/09powell.html?_r=0 [Accessed 12th January 2014].

WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications [online]. Available at: http://carnegieendowment.org/files/Iraq3FullText.pdf [Accessed 10th January 2014].

Wokusch, H. (2006). How the Bush Family Makes a Killing from George's Presidency [online]. Available at: http://www.heatherwokusch.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=86 [Accessed 12th January 2014].

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