The Iraq War: Three Years Later

This was a short essay I had to write in March of 2006. For the assignment we had to write about statements John Murtha, a Pennsylvania politician, had made on NBC's Meet The Press.

Things change over the course of time. It’s a common thing in life, no matter what we are dealing with. When dealing with the Iraq war, you can throw that thought out the window. Since America has engaged in the Iraq War, three years have passed, and according to Pennsylvania Representative John Murtha, not a lot has changed with the American governments plan for the Iraq War.

 

            According to Murtha, a Vietnam War veteran, this is President Bush’s war. Murtha says “he went against the advice of others.” But had you asked Murtha where he stood on the issue of war with Iraq three years ago he would have been in favor of it. Murtha voted for the war in 2002, but since then has changed his views drastically. In fact, Murtha thought he had made a bad decision not long after he voted in favor of the war. Murtha feels that no progress is being made in Iraq despite what the American government, mainly the Bush Administration, have been saying. As soon as Murtha decided he had a change of heart, he wrote a letter to President Bush explaining his new views and told President Bush that he thought he should not involve America in the Iraqi conflict. Murtha feels that this is President Bush’s war and he also added that President Bush went against the advice of other prominent political figures when they tried to offer their advice to him.

 

            Murtha feels that today in Iraq, the Americans are involved in a civil war. He feels that they should withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. The Iraqis have held their elections and Murtha feels that American troops are just occupiers during the Iraqi civil conflict. Right now sixty percent of people feel that Iraq would become more stable if American troops would withdraw. On top of that almost $450 billion will be spent in Iraq by the end of this year. Murtha also voiced his opinion saying that both Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Rumsfeld should resign for not handling the war well enough. As for his view on how the American government should handle the withdrawal, Murtha said that America and Iraq would be better off if it were done in six months. Murtha feels that the sooner America withdraws from Iraq, the better.

 

            As for my opinion, I never really agreed with the war in Iraq in the first place. So I am in favor of John Murtha’s stance on the war. Where are all of those weapons of mass destruction anyway? That’s what I thought. I was infuriated when America became involved in Iraq, while they were fighting in Afghanistan. There was no point to piss somebody else off, when you can’t even find the guy that flew two planes into American buildings. I guess President Bush just wanted to take out his frustration on an old rival. The Iraqis didn't even want American troops in Iraq in the first place. So, three years later American involvement in Iraq has increased and the American people are still being lied to by the Bush Administration. And for the record: I wasn't one of those who voted for President Bush in the 2004 election.