The War in Iraq

This piece was our take on what we thought about the war in Iraq. It isn't one of my stronger pieces, but I thought I would share it anyway.

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We, as Americans, lost what was bonding us together after 9/11 to the war in Iraq. It’s as simple as that.

Thomas Friedman mentions this in his column, “Grapes of Wrath”. He said that, “It appears we are on the verge of going to war in a way that will burst all the national solidarity and goodwill that followed 9/11, within our own country and the world.”

Our chance at maintaining solidarity came crashing to a halt when we invaded Iraq. We don’t belong there. We never belonged there. We need to get out and go home.

Americans are lucky. 232 years ago, a group of unsatisfied citizens under British rule decided to say, “To hell with this! Let’s start over and do this thing we call life on our own terms.” Now, we live in a country where freedom is the number one priority. Not everyone else in this world shares that luck.

Surveys back in 2002 said that almost two-thirds of Americans supported President Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq. It’s after a statement like this that I’m tempted to wonder this: If we had realized that the war in Iraq was the poorest possible decision considering the fact that Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks on 9/11, then could we have prevented the mess we’re in now? But, there’s no use in wondering about an “If … Then…” scenario.

This country has stood on its own ground and stood for what it’s believed in for over 200 years. And only now have we waged our first aggressive war (according to a Nick Clooney article from 2002)? Something is off here.

There are other ways to solve the Iraq conflict. The best one I can think of is packing up and leaving. We need to focus on America, not the rest of the world. We’ve got our own problems and we have to look out for ourselves first and foremost. Then, and only then, can we worry about fixing the rest of the world.

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