Iraq's Possession Of Chemical And Biological Weapons example essay topic

The United States could not have stood idly by while the proletariat's suffered under the vindictive Iraqi regime. The coalition's invasion of Iraq was justified. Iraq brings suffering upon its own people. Hundreds of thousands died unnatural deaths as an outcome of Saddam's actions. Many of these were Shi'a Muslims.

Although they represent the majority of the population they are banned from practicing many of the pillars of their religion. (Life Under Saddam Hussein) The brutal oppression of the Iraqi regime has triggered sporadic uprisings with gruesome results. Saddam Hussein's government also posed a threat the free world. Iraq's system of government engendered the terrorist groups that continuously threatened American lives. As Benjamin Netanyahu says "from its inception totalitarianism has always been wedded to terrorism -- from Lenin to Stalin to Hitler to the ayatollahs to Saddam Hussein, right down to Osama bin Laden and Yasser Arafat". Iraq two most threatening characteristics were an array of chemical and biological weapons, and an army of manipulated persons willing to use them against anyone, at any time.

Iraq's course of voluntary disarmament "could not offer a starker contrast" (Rice) to that of previous countries. Iraq was not open with the inspectors searching for weapons, and they submitted no more information to them than they had to. Iraq's compliance, or lack there of, in the issue of disarmament demonstrates their unwillingness to make the world a safer place. Force was necessary to remove the Iraqi regime from power. Saddam could have continued to appease the paltry demands of the UN for many more years if military action had not been taken. Iraq's disclosure of weapons information was never forthcoming.

Saddam may have allowed inspectors, but he could easily stall or remove them if they got too close to sensitive information. It was proved time and again that there was simply no diplomatic way of dealing with a despot like Saddam Hussein. Hitherto the Iraqi people were subordinated to the cruel and oppressive leadership of Saddam Hussein. The majority of the population, Shi'a Muslims, has been forcibly suppressed by the empowered few.

Hussein displayed his brutality during many attempted insurrections throughout the course of his leadership. In the late 1980's Iraqi campaign against the Kurds Hussein used chemical weapons such as mustard gas and nerve gases. More recently: "Over the past five years, 400,000 Iraqi children under the age of five died of malnutrition and disease, preventive ly, but died because of the nature of the regime under which they are living". (Prime Minister Tony Blair, March 27, 2003) Iraq has also been the scene for the execution of thousands of prisoners, both political and criminal. Many of these executions took place in a "prison cleansing campaign" during the late 1990's.

The execution of women in Iraq is practically barbaric. At least 130 were beheaded based on allegations of prostitution in a period of less than one year. Horrid reports of torture victims in Iraq have often surfaced. "victims of torture in Iraq are subjected to a wide range of forms of torture, including the gouging out of eyes, severe beatings and electric shocks... some victims have died as a result and many have been left with permanent physical and psychological damage". (2001 Amnesty International Report.) Iraq's totalitarian system of government allows for such abuses. Peaceful transfers of power are not possible. Reformers are corrupted and reduced to committing acts of terrorism, which is their only form of dissidence.

The very nature of Iraq's government fosters the development of extremist and terrorist groups. (Netanyahu) Until now, Iraq posed a serious threat to the free world. In democratic governments the oppressed can peacefully attain their basic rights. In the totalitarian government of Iraq the quest for civil liberties is skewed so that the people are so desperate that the ends can be justified by any means, including the murder of many innocent civilians.

The brainwashed soldiers of the Iraqi regime possessed both the means the will to wreak havoc upon the world. Iraq's possession of chemical and biological weapons was well known because of previous use of such agents by the Iraqi military. Iraq's refusal to acknowledge this fact was in a way an admission of their guilt. The examples of South Africa, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan set the standard for disarmament. Inspectors were given access to every site, and all persons currently and previously working there, at all times. The fact that they possessed weapons was known, and they were turned over.

(Rice) All documents pertaining to the weapons were submitted. Iraq merely hid the weapons and pertinent details about their manufacture and let inspectors play hide and seek only when absolutely necessary. This constant type of deception made the removal of Saddam from power necessary. And the use of force was the only way to accomplish this. N.W. Farris points out that "with a few minor concessions from Saddam that will make it appear that he is disarming when he is not, the international community will leave the dictator in power-and the Iraqi people at his mercy". Saddam Hussein would never resign from his strangle-hold over Iraq. And the people of Iraq, while under the rule of Saddam could never truly be free.

The coalition forces as well as most Iraqi's not benefited by the Iraqi regime had had enough of Saddam's lies. Diplomacy with a tyrant like Saddam was impossible. The Iraqi threat has been known for decades. A clause in the ending of the Gulf War was that Iraq destroy its weapons of mass destruction, but here we were; twelve years later and no proof has surfaced as to whether or not this condition was ever met.

Most evidence and inferences appear to be to the contrary. Common questions about an invasion of Iraq were "Why Iraq" and "Why now?" The previous unresolved conflicts in Iraq started to fall under the scope of the broader war against terrorism. Iraq had both the technological capability to unleash a terrible attack and the sadistic prepared to use his weapons of mass destruction again. (Bush) History had shown that civil war was not an option to remove Saddam from power.

If Saddam was going to be removed from power it would require coalition intervention. Saddam could crush any would-be internal insurrection quite easily and silence its message with propaganda. However foreign troops posed a much more dangerous threat. If Saddam had any chance of staying in power it was that no evidence of weapons of mass destruction could be found in Iraq. This meant that use of these type of weapons against coalition forces would result in UN support of the military operation. The goals of this war were simple; to remove Saddam Hussein from power and in the process liberate the Iraqi people.

Now that Hussein is out of power the civilians of Iraq and get the food and medical attention that they had been so desperately lacking. During operation Iraqi Freedom the U.S. did find bits and pieces of weapons of mass destruction. This is probably only a small portion of what Iraqi's managed to cover up, but it does offer some conformation about the threat they posed to the world. (Wilkinson) Saddam's years of cruel leadership were toppled rather swiftly. But this does not prove that he was merely a paper tiger. Saddam was as powerful and as ruthless as he was during the days of the Gulf War.

He used torture and execution to silence any opposition. The coalition's invasion of Iraq was therefore not only justified, but obligatory.