Transisiton of Forces

Iraq was a mistake, blah blah blah. Thats all we heard for the longest time during the elections. Many see it as mistake and waste of resources. The public outcry for withdrawal has increased as the days go by. Then, the new president, Mr. Obama, comes to the stage and preaches change, change for the American people! However, which direction is his change going? Is history going to repeat itself, only time will tell. However we can get a glimpse of the future by looking into history and noting the patterns.

Many people are unfamiliar with the actual start of the Iraq war and the reasoning behind it. Many say that it was retaliation of the events that took place on 9/11 and others say it had to do with oil. To correct those untruthful assumptions, 9/11 was related with Osama Bin Laden, a terrorist who wasn’t directly affiliated with Iraq. Also if the main point behind the Iraq invasion was oil, then why did our oil prices skyrocket to record highs?

The main reason that jump started the Iraq Conflict was Iraq’s inability to cooperate with UN inspectors during inspections for weapons of mass destruction. Iraq was non-compliant with UN orders and was very shady when it came to the inspections. Thus, the conclusion that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction arose. Another reason behind the war was the radical dictator Sadam. Testing many of his weapons on the “Kurds” or northern Iraqis, as well as using immoral techniques in his correctional facilities. Yes, the job was finally complete, but with much criticism. Obama said that Iraq was a mistake as well as others and criticized the Bush Administration for the was we invaded Iraq and so forth.

Now, Obama wants to allocate all of our middle eastern military to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He says that we are to pursue and take down the terrorist leader, Osama bin Laden, with or without the help of Paki or Afghani forces. He tells us we will work with Paki and Afghani forces to help take down this leader or terror. However, if they fail to cooperate we will take whatever steps necessary to bring Osama down. Invading Pakistan could become a real possibility if cooperation fails with that government. Now how exactly is this any different than the efforts done by the Bush administration when they were trying to apprehend a leader that is believed to have weapons of mass destructions.

There is hardly any difference in the tactics used for the Iraq war, but criticism overflowed. Sadam failed to cooperate with UN inspectors and gave reason to believe that they were in possession of weapons of mass destruction. How is that any different that Pakistani forces failing to cooperate in the capture of Osama Bin Laden, who is BELIEVED to be there, not ACTUALLY there. Then, us invading Pakistan. Obama is following the same footsteps as the Bush Administration, only in a different territory. However, nobody criticizes Mr. Obama for his decisions to take action on the Pakistani government. Is it a double standard, thats for you to decide.