The War in Iraq: How it is affecting us

The War in Iraq

By: Audrey

War. Something this world does to solve our problems. Weren’t we taught in school to not start violence for our problem, but talk them out instead? What ever happened to this theory? All of this violence between these two countries is unbelievably outrageous, and the United States has done nothing but fuel how we feel about Iraq. The United States and Iraq have been at war for eight years. Soldiers are wounded, killed, and threatened everyday, even at this second. The United States attacking Iraq was a huge mistake on our part, and people’s lives have been taken because of it.

We send our soldiers out with that one thing in mind: war. Something none of us want to go through in our lifetimes. The Iraq war is really all just about oil; the United States is running out of fossil fuel that we have been getting from other countries, and we need a new resource. When Iraq did not agree to this, we declared war. This war has been causing many lives to be lost, on both sides, all for oil. The government has deliberately been putting innocent lives out into this war to fight for them.

The people that come back from the war are usually traumatized. Think about it, what if you came back from a place that was filled with gunfire, death, and just your worst nightmare. One veteran from the war went to see the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and had to be taken out of the movie theatre because he had a panic attack, since the movie was very similar to what it is like in the war. Even veterans have been suffering, we don’t need or want any more marines in pain, depression, and being traumatized by the smallest things. This needs to stop.

The families of this war are in depression. What would you do, when you know that the next day a loved one could be gone? Knowing they could be out your life and every ones forever? Going through each day having to deal with that person not there for you, or you for them, having them gone for a minimum of 8 years. Only coming back for just a little while can truly be heart breaking. (http://www.wikianswers.com) Having a loved one in the war is hard; not seeing them everyday, and not knowing if they have died or not. Sure, the majority volunteer, but do they really know the outcome this war can bring?

This was has cost millions, billions, even trillions of dollars that we could have used on different, better things. The war in Iraq has cost us up to this point about $1 trillion, mostly coming from the tax payers, not the government. All of that money could have been used for homeless people, people that don’t have enough money to support a family, even animal shelters. Instead, this money, about $300 million, is used on the helicopters, the tanks, fuel to keep them running, the salary we pay these soldiers, and the rebuilding of Iraq. Over time, ONLY on the war, we’ve spent over $700 billion. (http://www.nytimes.com) But the question is, where did the other $300 billion go to?

Another reason why the US attacked Iraq was because of Saddam Hussein. Him planning and having a major part in the 9/11 massacre was a tragic event, and turned our relationship with Iraq sour. Yet, the majority of the Iraqi population had nothing to do with this bombing, and the United States educates and acts like it was the whole countries’ fault. We have involved the whole country there, killing even innocent people that might accidentally step on the battle field. What if this war was in America? Would the government here think the same way about it?

All the government cares about is power. When they want more of something, and they just have to have it, not caring what the outcome is to the other countries. People on our side could even die, and they wouldn’t care, as long as they got what they wanted. People are even going into foreclosure, not being able to pay their own bills, yet we are spending all this precious money on a worthless war that we don’t even need to be fighting.   

People can prevent the war from getting any worse than it already is! I mean sure it’s great if you volunteer for wanting to serve your country, but do you know the effects that could have on you and your family? I, on personal experience, was scared to death when my brother came home from the war. Every little ‘pop’ or ‘bang’ he would hear, he would freak out, thinking that someone was in our house, trying to attack us. Therefore, in the name of the people in Iraq and the soldiers there, stopping this senseless war would put families back together, prevent tragic events from happening, and finally put us at a sense of peace.