Iraq War: Was it worth it?

[dragonrider]

This is the five-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, and I was wondering what poeple thought about it. Was it worth it? It's certainly not over yet, even after 5 years, so it is too early to say for sure if it was worth it --- it will definitely cost more lives and money before it's over, and the outcome could be better or worse than it is today. But at this point what do you think?

If you vote in the poll, please post something about why you think what you do. Something like this:

I don't think the war was worth it.

This is what it cost:

• 4,000 Americans dead
• 30,000 Americans wounded
• 80,000 to 150,000 or more Iraqi's dead
• Uncounted Iraqi's wounded
• Millions of Iraqi refugees
• $600 billion to US taxpayers for the direct war costs, plus whatever the economic cost of damage to our economy, high price of gas, damage to Iraqi infrastructure. Estimates of total direct costs before the end are between 1.2 trillion and 2.7 trillion, depending on how long it goes and eventual outcome. Estimates of direct and indirect costs together are about 3 trillion.
• Loss of credibility, respect and standing in the world
• Alienation of allies
• Internal division within our own country
• Increase in number of terrorists worldwide due to hatred and resentment over the war
• Creation of Al Qaeda in Iraq
• Ongoing instability in Iraq
• Increased instability in greater Middle East
• Exhaustion and depletion of our military, meaning decreased readiness for other threats

Here is what it got us:

• Got rid of Saddam Hussein

I don't think it was a fair trade. If we knew five years ago that this is what we would get and how much it would cost, I doubt we would have gone in.

Because of political reasons, Bush can never admit that this fiasco was a horrible mistake and not worth it, but sometimes I wonder what he REALLY thinks. Does he honestly think it was worth it like he tells us? Or does he personally regret it, but have no way to say so?

In addition to this question of whether it was worth it, there are the millions of questions of WHY exactly are we there at all. Was it really WMD? Was it security? Was it to free the Iraqis? Was it oil? Was it to scare the Saudis into line? Is it part of a broader secret plan to dominate the region? Was it personal between Bush and Saddam? Was it a Neo-Con fantasy? And there are the questions of what should we do now. Should we continue the "surge?" Should we fully pull out immediately? Should we stay 100 years? Should we begin a phased withdrawal? Should we wait until the Iraqi government steps up and can stand on its own?

Those are interesting questions, but they have been well covered in a lot of different threads (and someone could certainly start one specifically devoted to those questions if they wanted to), but the purpose of this thread is to ask "was it worth it?" without getting into why we are there and what we do now.

So, was it worth it?

dragonrider Reviewed by dragonrider on 03-20-2008. Iraq War: Was it worth it? This is the five-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, and I was wondering what poeple thought about it. Was it worth it? It's certainly not over yet, even after 5 years, so it is too early to say for sure if it was worth it --- it will definitely cost more lives and money before it's over, and the outcome could be better or worse than it is today. But at this point what do you think? If you vote in the poll, please post something about why you think what you do. Something like Rating: 5

[THClord]

Just the way I feel about it. And all of these were foreseeable. I really don't see why the war seemed like a good idea for anyone, except those who personally benefited from it.

[zeitgeist]

I think the war was started just to try to gain more power/influence in the middle east. It's the only thing that makes sense

The only reason we are still there though is to protect the oil in my opinion though. Our gov. couldnt give a rats ass about the Iraqis

[Psycho4Bud]

Hell yes it was worth it!

-We ousted an evil dictator and his two insane sons
-We created a place where it was easier to round up/or kill the bad guys
-We saved millions of Kurds/Shi-ites from genocide
-An enviroment was created where Muslims openly rejected Al-Quada
-We saved ourselves from a terrorist attack via Saddam
-We made the region MORE secure by ousting Saddam
-We made the region MORE secure by sending the trash to Allah
-We've gained respect with the people of that region by NOT running out on an obligation...cut an run would be considered a loss
-We've have been rebuilding a failing infrastructure left by a tyrant and expanding it's benifits to ALL Iraqis instead of a "special sector" therefore creating a new allie in the region

Because of political reasons, Bush can never admit that this fiasco was a horrible mistake and not worth it, but sometimes I wonder what he REALLY thinks. Does he honestly think it was worth it like he tells us? Or does he personally regret it, but have no way to say so?

I honestly believe that he feels that he has done the right thing on this one.

In addition to this question of whether it was worth it, there are the millions of questions of WHY exactly are we there at all. Was it really WMD? Was it security?

Various reports stated that Saddam had WMDs...now I know that the usual place for a country to hide nuclear secrets is under a rose bush but hey, no excuses right? There were also reports of WMDs crossing the border into Syria. Like the 9-11 people would state, "PROVE that he didn't move the material". Also, security reports from Russia stated that Saddam had planned on hitting us like 9-11 not to mention the assassination attempt on Bush Sr. .

Was it to free the Iraqis?

Another good reason considering that the Kurds/Shi-ites were being killed off for sport

Was it oil?

ONLY if your Canadian.....

Was it to scare the Saudis into line?

We showed the region exactly what we could do in little time...with these people we gained respect.

Is it part of a broader secret plan to dominate the region? Was it personal between Bush and Saddam? Was it a Neo-Con fantasy?

ONLY in the minds of the blind Prison Planet followers.

Should we continue the "surge?" Should we fully pull out immediately?

Pull out and let Iraq turn into a hell hole; we'll just be back in cleaning out the same areas with a higher risk to our troops. Once ya get into a big job it's easy to walk away...alot harder to finish it correctly.

Should we stay 100 years?

IF the Iraqi government desires for us to have a base there, fine...if not, that's fine too. How many years have we been in Japan, Germany, etc.....?

Should we begin a phased withdrawal? Should we wait until the Iraqi government steps up and can stand on its own?

DEFINATELY wait untill the Iraqi government and it's forces can stand on their own. Instead of millions in the region stating, "I told ya so, they'd run out on ya!", we'll gain all that much more respect across the entire region.

Have a good one!:s4:

[zeitgeist]

Although Saddam was an evil person he kept shit in check. His people and especially the Iranians. The Region definately is not more secure becasue we have created even more enemies. We cant say that it prevented attacks becasue there is no way to prove that. It would be extremely easy for anyone to attack the US with our wide opens borders. Its just fear promoted by the government.

The only people that have benefited from this war are the big businesses that are rebuilding Iraq. Look where the country is as the result of this war
But hopefully this does end well

[420_24/7]

The difference between dragonrider and psycho's arguments is that, while dragonrider is stating the bad that has happened to our own country, psycho is stating the good that has happened for the iraqi's.

I don't think that it was worth the loss our country has suffered for something we really didnt have much business getting into in the first place.

[Dutch Pimp]

I consider the war in Iraq.....Nam II.

[killerweed420]

McCain says we'll stay there for 100 years if thats what we have to do.
I think that pretty much says it all. Buy a shit load of more body bags for our soldiers. We're going to need them.

[thcbongman]

McCain says we'll stay there for 100 years if thats what we have to do.
I think that pretty much says it all. Buy a shit load of more body bags for our soldiers. We're going to need them.

He's simply telling the truth. We still have bases in Germany and were allies. If you think that Obama or Hilldog are magically going to pull forces out of Iraq all the sudden, I'll tell you that Bush will legalize marijuana. It's unrealistic to expect a major troop withdrawl in the next 5 years. You have to ensure the security situation is fully operational in Iraq. There many psychological barriers that have to be overcome before the US can leave so Iraq can be prosperous.

My opinion on the Iraq war is divided. One hand, I morally oppose it. We should not use conventional warfare as a tool to ensure economic security, rather engaging in social responsiblity while maximizing the US economic potential. With the economic pressure from India, China, Russia and the EU, it's necessary for the US to maintain it's superpower status and securing oil and a new place to invest, the perfect opportunity came up with a dictator that should be gotten rid of anyway. In the long-run, it'll be the first step of bringing a normalized, prosperous middle east. It should not be given up, why throw away an entire investment on a war before it pays off? The damage has been done.

[dragonrider]

Here is a benchmark after a day of polling:

2 say "Yes, the war it was worth it" (15.38%)
11 say "No, the war was not worth it" (84.62%)

With this very small sample of canncom respondents, the results show less support than a CBS poll found among Americans in general: Poll: Most Americans Say War Not Worth It, 64 Percent Say Results Of War Not Worth American Lives Lost - CBS News

According to that CBS poll, 29% think it was worth it, and 64% think not. This is actually up form March 2006, when only one in four Americans said the war was worth the costs --- that was surprising to me.

Anyway, I hope a few more canncom members chime in on this important question.