Five years on into a war we never wanted
By: Michael Fields
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Opinion & Viewpoint
The invasion and occupation of Iraq began on March 20, 2003. A day that changed more lives than the horrific events of September 11th. In the five years we've been at war, we've lost 4000 American soldiers and spent 500 billion dollars with no end in sight.
The most significant part often overlooked is that this war was not a declared war, like the U.S. Constitution specifically says it has to be. Since World War II, we've gone into foreign lands by enforcing U.N resolutions rather than following correct constitutional protocol. By granting the president authority to use force, we are simply giving away the power congress is entrusted with in maintaining the checks and balances.
After September 11th, we had one mission: to find and kill the ones responsible. There were many targets but the most crucial and important was Osama Bin Laden along with his cohorts in Al-Qaeda. Most of the enemy was in Afghanistan siding with the Taliban. He was believed to be hiding in Afghanistan's mountainous terrain. After the dismantling of the Taliban, the U.S. lost track of Osama and now it is believed he is hiding away in the mountains of Pakistan. One problem: since Pakistan is an "important" ally, we cannot follow pursuit into the region fearing repercussions from a nuclear armed nation on the brink of chaos.
With the public eagerly wanting someone to pay for the terrorist attacks on our soil, the public was led on what seemed like a connection to Saddam and Iraq.
Administration officials deny they connected the two but the evidence abounds. In October 2002, playing on the fears of the American public, the president gave us a line of another possible attack on our soil,
"Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." Saddam did in fact earlier gas his own people while committing other atrocities but he was in no way a threat to the United States. Those weapons of mass destruction were never found albeit there is some debate whether he secretly got rid of them.
The most significant part often overlooked is that this war was not a declared war, like the U.S. Constitution specifically says it has to be. Since World War II, we've gone into foreign lands by enforcing U.N resolutions rather than following correct constitutional protocol. By granting the president authority to use force, we are simply giving away the power congress is entrusted with in maintaining the checks and balances.
After September 11th, we had one mission: to find and kill the ones responsible. There were many targets but the most crucial and important was Osama Bin Laden along with his cohorts in Al-Qaeda. Most of the enemy was in Afghanistan siding with the Taliban. He was believed to be hiding in Afghanistan's mountainous terrain. After the dismantling of the Taliban, the U.S. lost track of Osama and now it is believed he is hiding away in the mountains of Pakistan. One problem: since Pakistan is an "important" ally, we cannot follow pursuit into the region fearing repercussions from a nuclear armed nation on the brink of chaos.
With the public eagerly wanting someone to pay for the terrorist attacks on our soil, the public was led on what seemed like a connection to Saddam and Iraq.
Administration officials deny they connected the two but the evidence abounds. In October 2002, playing on the fears of the American public, the president gave us a line of another possible attack on our soil,
"Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." Saddam did in fact earlier gas his own people while committing other atrocities but he was in no way a threat to the United States. Those weapons of mass destruction were never found albeit there is some debate whether he secretly got rid of them.
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