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| The
Iraq War -- One Year Later |
Posted:
03.22.04 | |
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March 19 marked the first anniversary of the start of the U.S. war in Iraq,
a war that toppled the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, but also appears
to have opened a rift between the United States and many of its allies. Printer-friendly
versions: HTML / PDF | |
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As part of the anniversary, President Bush spoke to a delegation of international
leaders whose countries supported the U.S. by sending troops to Iraq.
The president used the anniversary to comment on international efforts to combat
terrorism, saying the former Iraq regime provided an environment for harboring
and aiding terrorists. He called on countries to continue supporting Iraq's reconstruction
and the fight against terror.
 "Any
sign of weakness or retreat simply validates terrorist violence and invites more
violence for all nations. The only certain way to protect our people is by united
and decisive action," he said.
The anniversary has also been an
opportunity for Americans and the international community to reflect on whether
the war was a success or failure. U.S. officials say they consider the
war a success - Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Thursday called it
a "victory." However, the administration's critics have said the fact
that investigators have not found weapons of mass destruction -- one of the main
reasons given for launching the invasion -- has made other countries lose trust
in the United States. Current security conditions in Iraq, where deadly
attacks on Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops continue, have also led to charges
that coalition leaders underestimated the task of rebuilding the war-torn country
and created a more dangerous situation.
"Terrorism didn't exist
in Iraq before," said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, whose
government was one of the most vocal critics in the months leading up to the war.
"Today, it is one of the world's principal sources of world terrorism."
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| Reasons
for going to war | |
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In February 2003 Secretary of State Colin Powell made the case for war with
Iraq at a special presentation to the U.N. Security Council, the United Nations'
peacekeeping body. Powell told member nations that Iraq was in violation of U.N.
Resolution 1441, which was designed to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction.
Powell's presentation
was the culmination of President Bush's case against the Iraqi leader. President
Bush argued that Saddam was a cruel dictator who tortured and killed thousands
of his own people and who had launched chemical attacks on Iranians and ethnic
Kurds. Saddam's presence in the region, he argued, posed a risk to the
world.
"The risk of doing nothing, the risk of hoping that Saddam
Hussein changes his mind and becomes a gentle soul, the risk that somehow, that
inaction will make the world safer is a risk I'm not willing to take for the American
people," Mr. Bush said at the time.  The
United States tried to pass another U.N. resolution authorizing force against
Iraq, but it was blocked by France, Germany and Russia, which wanted to try to
disarm Saddam peacefully.
So, on March 19, 2003, after giving Hussein
multiple chances to step down, President Bush ordered the invasion of Baghdad.
Joining American troops was a coalition of British and Spanish soldiers.
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| The
war | |
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Active fighting lasted six weeks. During that time more than 100 U.S. soldiers
died and many more Iraqis. The Pentagon has refused to divulge its estimates of
how many Iraqi civilians died during the bombing, but unofficial estimates from
Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, stand at over
1,000.
 One
of the key days of the war was April 9 when U.S. soldiers, surrounded by hundreds
of Iraqis, toppled a 40-foot statue of the former dictator, an image seen around
the world.
President Bush announced the end of major combat operations
on May 1, but warned that challenges lay ahead. Areas of Baghdad lay in ruins
because of the bombings, the country had no electricity and little running water,
oil fields were destroyed and no leadership existed.
"We have difficult
work to do in Iraq. We are bringing order to parts of that country that remain
dangerous. We are pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be
held to account for their crimes," the president said. | |
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| Rebuilding
Iraq | |
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Since the end of the major combat, there have been many successes in the effort
to rebuild Iraq. The coalition has restored many of the country's services
including water and electricity, according to U.S. administrator in Iraq Paul
Bremer, and has reopened schools and clinics and begun building an Iraqi police
force.
U.S. officials have also formed the Iraqi Governing Council,
a group of Iraqi leaders who will oversee the creation of a new constitution and
democratically elected government. And in December, American soldiers captured
Saddam Hussein hiding near his hometown of Tikrit.
But along with the
successes have come major challenges. According to the U.S. Department of Defense,
277 U.S. soldiers have been killed in attacks on coalition forces since the war
ended, and nearly 3,000 have been wounded since it began.  Bombings
-- including one at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad -- have left hundreds of
civilians dead and have led to questions about the coalition's ability to provide
security for Iraqis.
Most controversially, the failure of U.S. inspectors
to find weapons of mass destruction has caused critics to question whether President
Bush misled the American public by purposely using faulty weapons intelligence
to justify going to war. A congressional committee has been formed to investigate
the charge.
President Bush's Democratic rival for president, Sen. John
Kerry of Massachusetts, criticized the handling of the conflict in a statement
released Friday. The failure to find biological and chemical weapons in Iraq shows
the president "misled" Congress and the nation about the reason for
invading Iraq, Kerry said.
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| Going
forward | |
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Administration officials hope to turn over leadership to the Iraqi people by
July 1. Elections have been scheduled for December.  According
to Gen. John Abizaid, head of military operations in Iraq, the United States will
stay in Iraq until Iraqi security forces are capable of defending themselves against
terrorist attacks. About 130,000 coalition troops remain in Iraq.
--
Kristina Nwazota, Online NewsHour | |
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This [teen] is an immigrant from Mexico, and he works long hours at a local farm milking dairy cows, five hours per milking, twice a day.
