Elections In Iraq
As you guys know, I have published quite a few Iraq related articles I wrote on the site. I found this article as I was looking through my old papers. This article was done for my ENG 3010 class in college, and since my topic at that time was the war in Iraq, I wrote numerous articles related to the topic. The article was written back in 2005. The one covered in this article is about Iraqi National Elections. One thing I would like to make very clear, I DON'T REMEMBER IF THIS ARTICLE IS FICTION OR TRUE. After reading the first few paragraphs, it appears to me that the article may be one of the fiction articles I was supposed to write. My English class along with regular research papers also required me to write articles on stories that aren't true, haven't happened, or opinion's of the "other side". I believe that this article maybe one of the false articles I wrote similar to the fictious Military Coup in Iraq article I published a while ago on the site. Although, the "reasons Iraq War was Waged" by the Bush Administration in this article ARE based on FACTS.
Date Written: 1/24/2005
My Course Topic: Iraq War
Paper Topic: Iraq Elections
Iraqi National Elections
The Iraqi National elections have become an utter failure. According to UN Election watchdog, the voter turnout was one of the lowest in the world. According to current polls, only an estimated one percent of the eligible voters cast their votes in the elections. According to our correspondent in Iraq, the elections have become a complete disaster. The majority of citizens of Iraq chose to remain indoors out of the fear of attacks by militant organizations.
This latest situation creates a huge problem for the Bush Administration as it was hoping that elections would help put Iraqis on a road to democracy. The latest elections have set a serious setback for Bush Administration. To make things worse, the latest polls predict that the Shia-led United Iraqi Alliance will fail to grab power, and instead a coalition of radical Islamic Parties will be elected to power.
This even clearly puts the present administration at odds with the new Iraqi Governing Council. President Bush and his Cabinet hoped that the elections would pave the way for a much more moderate and tolerant Iraq that would be a beacon of stability in otherwise heavily troubled Middle Easter Region.
The current administration invaded Iraq over two years under the pretext of preventing Saddam Hussein from developing weapons of mass destruction. The situation in Iraq has not only worsened but also made the elections a prime target for terrorist attacks. Recently the administration called off for the search of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, as it found no evidence of such weapons. WMD's were one of the major reasons for the Bush's administration to go to war with Iraq.
President Bush and his cabinet have insisted that the Iraq War has waged due to engaging of rogue activities by the Iraqi regime. Some of these include cooperating with terrorist organizations including Al-Quaida to target American interests, production of weapons of mass destruction to intimidating neighboring nations, and practicing genocide against its own populace.
Once of the first reasons for the invasion of Iraq was that the nation was producing weapons of mass destruction. According to CIA's intelligence reports, Iraq had stockpiles of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. UN Weapon's inspector, Hans Blix, told the Security Council that he found no evidence that Iraq resumed its nuclear program on January 27, 2003 and on June 5, 2003, discrediting this intelligence report. To further discredit CIA reports, U.S. weapons inspector, David Kay himself told congressional intelligence committees that his team did not find any WMD's in Iraq on October 2, 2003.
Another popular reason for the invasion of Iraq was that the governing regime was closely associated with terrorist organizations such as Al-Quaida. This view was strongly advocated by President Bush, as he personally believed that there was a connection between them. President Bush felt that Saddam Hussein was in some way responsible for the 9/11 attacks on World Trade Center, Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. The 9/11 Commission, which was strongly opposed by President Bush, discredited his beliefs. According to the 9-11 Commission, there was "no collaborative Relationship between Saddam Hussein and the Al-Quaida terrorist network responsible for the attacks." In fact, the Commission found that it was Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that gave safe have to Taliban and Al-Quaida.
The third popular reason for the invasion of Iraq was to free the people of Iraq from tyranny of Saddam Hussein and his Baath party. Unfortunately, the invasion has made the lives of Iraqis far worse than before. The invasion made people of Iraq feel incapable of solving their own problems, thus severely hurting their national pride. The invasion has also made Iraqi's view the Coalition Government as a mere stooge of America, and American troops as their occupiers. The day-to-day life of an Iraqi is filled with fear, as he cannot work for the Coalition Government due to the fear that he maybe seen as a traitor by terrorist organizations. The policemen and the newly created Iraqi National Guard are prime targets of terrorist attacks, as they are seen as co-conspirators who have betrayed the Iraqi people.
The Iraq war has severely hurt the image of United States worldwide. The world see U.S. not as a beacon of hope, and freedom but rather a nation that arrogantly forced its beliefs on other nations and vigorously expands its national interests at the expense of other nations. The Iraqi elections have made this view even stronger. The elections have offered no hope as they were conducted in full fear of terrorist attacks.
Works Cited
(2004, February 04). CIA Website seeks Iraq WMD information. CNN. Retrieved on January 24, 2005:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/02/12/iraq.usa.reward.reut/
Bill Nichols & Mimi Hall. (2004, March 23). 9/11-panel spreads blame. USA Today. Retrieved on January 24, 2005: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-03-23-911-panel_x.htm
(2005, January 24). A Strategy for Success in Iraq. John Kerry for President. Retrieved on January 24, 2005: http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/iraq/
(2004, June 5). US experts slam WMD 'delusions'. BBC News. Retrieved on January 24, 2005: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3778987.stm
Michael Elliot. (2003, October 06). So, What Went Wrong? Time. Retrieved on January 24, 2005: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/subscriber/0,10987,1101031006-490595,00.html
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