War in Iraq: Is It Really Worth It?

We all know that we have been at war for years and what we are there for. But the question is that is it really worth the risk to be losing so many soldiers? Past posts of mine have given the cost, and the problems with the economy and families, and to sum it all up, none of that is worth losing one life. Though the soldiers choose to take the risk that they know is ahead of them, they know what may result in the end. To many people, fighting is not the answer and solves nothing. Do we really have to fight just to show that we can defend our country. Isn't freedom just supposed to be free? No one ever said we had to fight for it, so we should not have to. Some say the soldiers that died are gone and killed in battle for something they loved or for the freedom that we are fighting for. Is that really true? Or did they just die fighting for something that comes naturally?

At the end of all this are we going to look back and say "We finally got our freedom" or are we going to say "We fought that war for nothing and lost many lives in the process?" Everyone has a different opinion about the war, why we are fighting, and if it is right to be fighting or not. Though we cannot change some one's opinion and we cannot prove anything, we can go on what we believe. So like I said at the beginning...IS IT REALLY WORTH IT???

Do you think that it is worth losing the lives that have been lost or do you think that it is for nothing?

War in Iraq: The Children.

Everyday not only are random men and women from our country leaving for the war, some of them are also parents. Whether their children or young or old, it hurts them all to see their parent leave. Though most children at a young age have no idea what is happening around them, they are still hurting inside because after so long they notice their parent is not around. The worst moment comes when someone has to leave, and the people around them are devastated.


Many children cry when their parent leaves, while others put a smile on their face and try to be brave. Many of the children who do understand what is happening wonder if they will ever see their parent again. They wonder if the will be able to hug them soon and welcome them home. While many children and their families do not get to do this, there are some who cherish the moments of their parent and loved one coming home. It is hard for all children to be left alone, growing up for so long with both parents, then narrowing it down to one.



What about the children who are not born yet, only still inside their mother? They never get to see their dad when they are born, they do not know who he is or know what he looks like and sounds like. They only have the comfort of their mother and other family members, no father to love and hold them. Some parents do go to certain extreems to say goodbye to their children. Many parents will go to the child's school when an event is happening to suprise the child. Though this does help some children to know that their parent really loves them, it is still upsetting to know that they are leaving for a long time and you do not know when they will be coming back.




How upset would you be if your parent left for Iraq?
How would you want them to say goodbye?

War in Iraq: The Casualties.

Since the war has begun there have been many lives lost of soldiers. As I said in one of my previous posts, the death toll for 2008 was lower than the death toll of any other year. The death toll for the year 2008 was between 8,315 and 9,028. With the death toll falling and rising year after year it is sometimes hard to keep up with it and have an exact number. But does the number really matter? Isn't it only that we are losing loved one's and family members? The number should really never matter, though it is in our minds, it is not in the front, only the back, we worry more about the people who we have lost.

Yes, everyday is a struggle hearing on the news that another soldier has died, hoping that is not anyone we know, but feeling pain for other people who have lost that person. If the death toll was between 8,000 and 9,000 in 2008, what will it be like at the end of this year? What will it be like when we get out war and finally come home? The numbers are devestating and our hearts are broken, but we have to stay strong and hope for the best.

Do you think the numbers really matter?

War in Iraq: The Whole History.

Since the war began there is something on the news everyday about the death of a soldier or the rescue of a civilian. On March 19, 2003 President Bush declared war on Iraq. Since this day on our country has never been the same. We always worry what will happen next and worry about our family. After being at war for almost a month the Saddam Statue was pulled down on April 9, 2003. This was to show that he was no longer in power, what he had done to our country was not right, and that we would fight for our freedom no matter the cost. On May 1, 2003 President Bush stated that our mission was accomplished and we had achieved what we went to war for, but did we really? We are still at war today even though he told us we had finished what we were there for in 2003. Two months later Saddam's sons were killed in a raid. Though they were not the people we were looking for it did bring us closer to him, with his loss and devastation. At the end of 2003 we finally caught who we had been looking for. On December 14, 2003 we caught Saddam.

In 2004 the only thing that happened were many car bombings, more deaths of soldiers, and videos and pictures released of people who had been captured and killed. The year 2005 was close to 2004. More car bombings, deaths, and pictures, but this time we lost money. The CPA lost $9 billion dollars in war funds. How do you lose so much money? How can you not keep track of it? With careless things such as this America felt betrayed, people felt that they stole the money and were keeping it for themselves. America lost confidence in many people, causing debates among many.

Then in November 2006 Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging, and the war had the deadliest attack to that date, where 114 people were lost in one day. Months later in December, Saddam was hung. This caused relief to many people, though it is not always the best way to cause death to a person, people were relieved to know that their country would be a little bit safer and they would not have to hide and worry any more. With every year passing, we still stay at war and every year has the deadliest attack. Though President Obama has promised to withdraw the soldiers, can we really do such a thing? We have been there for so long that it would be hard to just walk away. Though these are not all of the events because there are so many I would have to write for days to put them all on here, everyone should understand the point of all of these. Every year gets harder and harder, more deaths occur, and new problems emerge.

Do you think with all the events that have happened that we made the right choice getting into this war?

War in Iraq: Fight To End War.

Everyday there are people fighting to bring their loved ones home. Whether it be protesting by yourself outside, protesting with a group of people in the streets, or going to Washington, D.C. to request a meeting with the president, it is fighting for your loved ones to come home to see them and be with them. Many times the protests do not start until months after a person goes off to war or after they return only to be buried. Families then commit themselves to help bring all the other soldiers home because they don't want other families to experience what they had to go through. There was a woman a few years ago, though I do not know her name, who protested the war after her son left for Iraq. She went to Washington, D.C. to request a meeting with President Bush. She did not succeed the first day, so the next day she went back and did the same thing, every day was a failure. Any where the president went she followed, and though she never got her meeting with the president she made a point to many people. She put an impact on many peoples lives and showed them that even if you can't get what you want you have to fight for it, in the end whether you get what you want or not you know that you tried your hardest and made a difference in someone' s life.


Every day there are many people trying to do this, every second of every day there is someone protesting the war. Whether they be in front of the White House, outside their house, or in the streets of a city, they will be noticed, even if they make no difference in what is happening. Sometimes protests can get very violent and out of hand, but some people feel that they are worth it. Many times police officers are called out to break up the protest or to calm the protesters, and sometimes the protesters will fight back. Some of these protests can be very deadly, or others can be just calm and reserved. No one should have to lose their life during something as simple and uncomplicated as a protest, but it does happen, and it doesn't solve anything. But many people feel that even when something like this happens the person who lost their life died for something they believed in and were willing to fight for.












Do you feel that the protests are necessary? Do you feel that they help in anyway or impact any one's life? Why?

War in Iraq: Helping them with their economy.

As I said in my last post, many people argue the fact that we are fighting this war for nothing. All we are doing now is to help Iraq establish a government and new economy. But should we really do this? After 9-11 people feel that we should not help the people who caused us so much pain. Why should we help other people with their economy when our economy is hurting too? Many people support this decision saying that they need it more than we do, but is that entirely true? Yes, we are over there due to the fact that we were looking for the people who started the 9-11 attacks, but we should have been out of there after we found them and got the freedom that we were fighting for. Troops are expected to be pulled from Iraq by the end of 2012, but will that date stay the same or change?

Do we really need to still be in Iraq at this moment? Are we really fighting for nothing or is it something? How long will it last? When will it end? Why are we fighting? Everyday people are bombarded with questions like these. None of which we know the answers for. All we know is that we can hope for the best and watch the news to seen new updates.

Do you feel that we are fighting this war for nothing? Do you have any inputs or ideas that you would like included in future posts?

War in Iraq: The Cost.

Have you ever wondered how much the war in Iraq was costing? Many people think everyday about how much they are paying in taxes and everyday expenses to keep our troops at war. The website zfacts.com has a clock of how much money we are spending for the war in Iraq. If you go to the link http://zfacts.com/p/447.html you will see a graph of the year 2008 and how much we spent for the war. On the graph there is a clock that continuously counts up the money that we are spending today for the war. The last time I checked this website the amount was $653,658,695,787. To many people that is way too much money to be spending when all we are doing over there is to help them build their economy up right.

Many people argue that we are spending too much money for nothing. Maybe we are, and maybe we aren't. But not everyone is entirely sure. Yes, we are helping them with many things and it is costing tax payers billions of dollars, but if we were in the same situation wouldn't we want the financial support and the support of other people?

Do you feel we are spending too much money for nothing?