Understanding If The Iraq Wars Justified Politics Essay

Understanding If The Iraq Wars Justified Politics Essay The American war campaign against the military troops of Iraq began on 20th March 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by international troops led by United States of America and the United Kingdom. Then, the governments of the United States and United Kingdom and other European countries claimed that the possession of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq posed a threat to the international security. This assertion informed the invasion of Saddam Husseins Iraq by the United States and its allies. This invasion has proven to be an unjustified act after it was confirmed that the regime of Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. In fact it was alleged that Saddam Hussein only bragged of possessing weapons of mass destruction so he could prevent the neighbouring Iran from ever considering invading his country. Why would the United States invade Saddam Husseins Iraq instead of going after the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorists groups? After the 2001 September 11 terrorist attacks, the Al Qaeda extremists admitted to being responsible for the bombings and Osama Bin Laden himself admitted to giving the directive for the bombing. It was only logical that the United States of America would pursue the extremists groups directly and swiftly. However, President Bushs advisers were wrong in going after Saddam Hussein instead of Osama Bin Laden. By then, Osama was still at large and offering more threats and so it would have been easier to find him and bring him to book for atrocious mass killing, than going against Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein in fact had no direct ties to the Al Qaeda or Taliban. The war in Iraq was pushed by the general objective of making the world a better place. The objective of the war was to convey a warning to other axis of evil nations to stop their uranium enrichment programs. The United States feared that if the Islamic Republic of Iraq enriched itself with uranium, this would spark a nuclear arms race. President George W Bush coined the term axis of evil, in January 2002 State of the Union Address in an apparent reference to nations that were sympathetic to the Al Qaeda terrorist group and other international terrorist organizations. After that address, the United States embarked on a war campaign that as at 22 August this year has cost the administration 743 billion dollars  [1]  . The cost of the war has been especially difficult to manage given the existent global economic climate. The effect of the Iraq war on the economy needs no advertising. The United States spends at least 200 million dollars on the Iraq war daily. In 2002, when President George W. Bushs economic adviser Larry Lindsey inferred that the war would cost approximately 200 billion dollars in the long run, people thought he had overestimated the costs. It is now clear that his estimation was a gross underestimation. The Iraq war has costs the United States taxpayer a whooping 730 billion dollars as at August 2010. President Bushs economical advisers anticipated a quick and reasonably inexpensive war, but instead the war dragged on and resulted in the deployment of more than 125,000 American soldiers. These American soldiers need food, shelter and at time entertainment and the only place they can derive these human wants is from Iraq. These soldiers have therefore been supplied by products made in Iraq and this has only helped build the Iraq economy while the United States economy continues to la nguish in budget deficits. Sustaining the large troop base in Iraq has meant the United States spent more and thereby accruing more debts. The major casualties of the Iraq war have been the innocent civilians caught in the cross fire between American forces and its allies against the insurgent. Data available indicating the death toll from the invasion is varied, but critically indicting of the war. Different groups have given different information regarding the actual or even projected figure of Iraqi casualties. The Associated Press gave its figure of civilian casualties at approximately 110, 500 deaths as at April of last year. Another organization called the Iraq Body Count, which collects a database of Iraqi civilian casualties, released a report in April this year indicating that around 105, 000 innocent residents lost their lives from the American offensive  [2]  . War, if absolutely necessary, is meant to deliver humans from suffering and not create suffering instead. The staggering number of civilian casualties makes the war in Iraq more harmful than helpful. This war has ravaged family units, displaced per sons from their homes and left millions living in perpetual fear of imminent death. In the aftermath of the war, America attempted to assist Iraq in managing their country and fighting insurgents, but this caused more harm than good to the general stability of the United States. There are growing doubts in the mainstream America about the administrations capability of winning the war. It is clearly known that the United States of America miserably failed in the Vietnam War three decades ago, and that severely affected the confidence the Americans had on their government ability to successfully complete an overseas mission. The Iraq war is having similar effects on the American psyche. Vietnam made Americans to doubt the governments stand on issues of foreign policy. This confidence by the citizens is further is crushed by realization that their government could wage war on a country based on false intelligence reports  [3]  . When the environmental or ecological effects of the war are assessed, more harm can be seen. The weapons used excreted chemical substances that polluted air, soil and water. These substances contained toxic materials such as hydrochloric acid, asbestos, dioxins and other harmful metals. This polluted the soil as the uranium released by combat troops killed some plant species. During the shock and awe, in the initial launch of attacks, there was thermal radiation excreted by heavy artillery. This thermal radiation caused death by ionising the body of Iraq civilians and American soldiers. In the course of the protracted war, many innocent civilians and soldiers suffered mechanical injuries that left them without limbs. A lot of complications arose due to the mechanical and ionising radiation such as infertility, blood disorders like blood cancer, and cataracts formation. It caused adverse effects on body organs and tissues formation i.e. radiation poisoning. It also caused genetic effe cts and birth defects that might subsequently be passed from current Iraq generation to the next generations. Pressure from heavy artillery employed in the war meant Iraqi civilians chances of survival depended on buildings they were staying in as the buildings can survive 0.8 bar of the heavy blasts, while a human can only withstand 2.0 bar of blast. The increased pressure caused by the blast caused burns of different types to the innocent casualties of the war. Examples are thermal burns from infrared radiation, beta burns from beta radiation and gamma burns from gamma radiation. Radiation also caused hair loss, other effects on the skin like ulceration, itching, flaking, inflammation and blistering. The war in Iraq is associated with other grave ills in the society. There has been significant movement of refugee populations from Iraq to its neighbouring countries of Syria and Jordan. The war has intensified terrorism across the borders of Syria-Iraq and Jordan-Iraq instead of curtailing it. The overthrowing of Saddam Hussein from the Iraqi presidency has intensified separatism in the country and propelled sectarian violence pitting the Sunni and Shiite Muslims to another level. Prior to invasion of Iraq, Saddam had managed to keep the two factions in harmonious coexistence. With the withdrawal of the allied forces from Iraq, it will be interesting to see whether the sectarian violence, transnational criminal activities in the Middle East and the cross-border terrorism will subside or intensify. A safe bet would be on deterioration of stability and security standards. The seven year war in Iraq has damaged the overall credibility of the United States as a world leader. Images of roadside civilian bombings, video footages of American soldiers torturing suspected terrorists and shipment of the suspected terrorist to Guantanamo bay has compounded the already bad image of the United States abroad. It can be recalled that the United States made a unilateral Iraqi invasion decision, in total disregard of the United Security Council opposition to the war and this has installed the perception of arrogance from the Americans in dealing with diplomatic issues  [4]  . These and other reasons make the United States Iraq war completely unjustified.

Machieavelli’s Values of a Successful Ruler

â€Å"Cruel to be kind† is a cliche often used in modern society. It suggests using rather harsh means in order to accomplish benevolent ends. For example a parent grounds his or her child for a month after the child is caught smoking. The child thinks the punishment austere, but the parent inflicted the penalty to show the child that smoking is unhealthy and that he or she is breaking the law. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince† to demonstrate how a ruler should rule and be successful doing so. He asserts that the prince (or ruler) must use questionable means to be an effective ruler and that a successful ruler exhibits questionable or nearly corrupt qualities. Three of these qualities are making one's only profession war, miserliness, and deceitfulness. Machieavelli's values of a successful prince (or ruler) sound remarkably similar to those equated with modern day politicians. The values he praises, however, are seen as faults and would not lead a politician to success presently. A prince, therefore, must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession but war, its institutions, and its disciplines†¦ (Jacobus 35). † Machiavelli first states that war is very important in finding success. Having an overwhelming army is how most princes come into power and how most regain power when it is lost. In present day America, all public officials are elected. Although, the process prior to being elected may very well be likened to war, no physicality is employed. One may decide to campaign on a platform of war, but is not likely to prove prosperous as the vast majority of American citizens are opposed to war unless absolutely necessary. There are instances, however, where war is necessary. Were America being invaded, the public would cry for war in order to defend the country. But, using war to gain power in America would be considered a substantial offense, and the perpetrator could be sentenced to life (likely at the very least) or even be deported. Thus, we see an unnecessary concentration will not lead a politician to prosper. War expends a country's resource. One of those resources is money. â€Å"In our times we have not seen great deeds accomplished except by those who were considered miserly†¦ (Jacobus 39). † Thrift is considered a virtue while miserliness a fault. Being thrifty means being more efficient with one's money while miserliness refusing to spend it. Thrift is an excellent quality for a politician to have. That means he or she is good at managing money and that is an exceedingly important quality for one to have, especially in this age of foreign debt, inflation, and stock mark instability. Miserliness, on the other hand, denotes bad money management. If a politician is unwilling to spend money, no government- funded programs would get off of the ground; those programs already established would die. Machiavelli comments that in the practice of miserliness the ruler need not impose taxes. As much as any American citizen hates even the thought of taxes, they are absolutely necessary in order to keep our economical system functioning. Perhaps what the average American hates more than miserliness is deceit. One sees from the experience of our times that the princes who have accomplished great deeds are those who have cared little for keeping their promises and who have known how to manipulate the minds of men by shrewdness; and in the end they have surpassed those who laid their foundations upon honesty (Jacobus 43). † The most common stereotype with which we label politicians is that of having two faces or being deceitful. Politicians are well known for being liars and there is nothing they can do to escape this designation. They are always seen as saying one thing and doing another. He or she makes their platform tax breaks, but when he or she gets into office, they sign a bill to raise taxes. Deceit can only take one so far. After the population learns of the deceitful ways of their elected official, that official will not be re-elected. Machiavelli presents compelling arguments as to the success of his qualities. However, presently each of those values are despised by the majority of the American public. It scorns war, it detests miserliness, and it abhors deceit (perhaps this one above all). Therefore, we see that Machiavelli's qualities would not lead a present day politician to success. The ideal leader is an honest and thrifty man who can fight his battles without the use of force. These characteristics apparently lead few men to successful leadership in the time of Machiavelli. However, One cannot expect things to be the same in this era as they were when Machiavelli lived, but there are some interesting parallels that present themselves when his words are analyzed.

The Effect of Biological and Nonbiological Material

The Effect of Biological and Nonbiological Material on the Reaction to a Changing pH Level This experiment was conducted to learn exactly how biological material responds to rising or dropping pH levels in comparison to how nonbiological material does. The dependent variable in this experiment was how the different materials react, and the independent variable was the type of material, biological or nonbiological. Tap water was the selected nonbiological material, and the generally known pH level for water is 7, or neutral. Potato homogenate, liver homogenate and egg white solution was used as the biological material. A buffer solution that serves as a model of a biological material’s chemical that helps it carry out homeostasis was also used in the experiment, being tested in the same manner as the other materials. This topic was tested in order to confirm a tissue’s biological chemical processes, presence of buffers, and their ability to maintain its needed pH level for normal function. For actually conducting the experiment, each material was measured out into 25 mL and put into a beaker to be measured for its pH level with pH paper. Then five drops hydrochloric acid was added to the beaker with a 0. 1M dropper, and then the pH level was measured again. This process was repeated until a total of 30 drops of HCl was added to the beaker. Each material was tested in this way, and then the same was done with each material, only adding sodium hydroxide with five drops at a time as well, measuring the pH level each time in between with pH paper. If both biological and nonbiological material are treated in the same way with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide to raise or lower the pH level, then the biological material will have less of a change in its pH level, because its biological tissues have natural chemical processes that regulate the pH level. If a chemical solution that is a model of a biological buffer is treated with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide to raise or lower the pH level, then it will stay generally the same pH level as its start, because a buffer’s purpose is to regular the pH level of a biological material.

In “The Masque Of The Red Death,” Edgar Allen Poe Describes

In â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death,† Edgar Allen Poe describes how people fear death even though it is inevitable. Fear is a strong emotion where he taps into those feelings through his powerful creation of suspense. This short story took place in Medieval times. The author describes how Prince Prospero encounters death and thinks he can win the fight. His thoughts were concerned with death and show how metaphorically it’s inescapable, but people continues to behave as if they are immortal. Poe’s short story â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† reveals fear and terror and demonstrates how time never stops, and no one can escape death. Poe is known for his poetries, and short stories; his tales of horror and mystery fascinated people to want to read†¦show more content†¦He describes it in detail using long, confusing words where sentences become into paragraphs. Next, in every story there is always a main subject discussed in a piece of writing, otherwise known as theme. The story is about death unable to be avoided. The guests and Prospero itself tries to escape or hide from the plague by having a ball and trying to focus on living life at the fullest. According to Poe, â€Å"all art works inevitably reflect life, one cannot escape, even within the artwork, the inevitable implication of process and thus mortality† (Enotes.com). It proves that no one understand how it is impossible to avoid mortality just like it is impossible to stay alive forever. Every individual will one day face the end of their journey but trying to hide from it, will never be an option. In his story, many vivid details symbolize what he means. For instance, the seven floors represent the stages of life, going from east to west meaning from birth to death. The seventh floor which is the black room where the revelers do not enter since it is scary and terrifies them. The clock symbolizes death’s final judgment reminding of their lives is ticking away. Prince Prospero indicates prosperity and wealth. Lastly, the Red Death means death itself that it is coming after you. Poe’s story gives people a fright since he knows what it is to go through a difficult time. He lost three women in his life because of a bacterial diseaseShow MoreRelatedSymbolism in the Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe1655 Words   |  7 PagesSymbolism in The Masque of the Red Death The Masque of the Red Death is a short story written by acclaimed literary author, Edgar Allen Poe. The story is an emphasis on the fact that there is no avoiding death, no matter how hard you try, which is the overall theme. The text tells the story of Prince Prospero whose town is being plagued by the dreaded Red Death. 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He lived in the era of westward expansion, slavery laws beginning to become an issue, and most influential to Poe, Tuberculosis was a major issue. There was not yet a cure for people with TB, in fact, there wouldn’t be a known cure for another 100 years after his life. He lost many people during his life, his father left before Poe was 3 years old, his mother died from TB when Edgar was three. He was force d