One year later, the fighting continues in Iraq.
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the
ground campaign in Iraq, and though President Bush declared the
conflict officially over 10 months ago, turmoil persists and
questions linger in the nation’s conscience.
American troops remain in Iraq and endure steady casualties as
Bush and his staff defend their decision to send the United States
to war. A number of questions loom in the aftermath of the war and
call into question the veracity of statements made by the Bush
administration to justify U.S. involvement in Iraq.
But Bush has also received support from the American public for
his aggressive stance on Iraq and the efforts to liberate the Iraqi
people from an oppressive dictatorial regime.
On March 21 of last year, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld took
to the podium to address the American public after U.S. forces
surged into Iraq as part of the “shock and awe”
campaign.
“Our goal is to defend the American people and to
eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and to liberate
the Iraqi people,” Rumsfeld said.
Rumsfeld said the imminent threat posed by Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein and the weapons of mass destruction he was believed to
possess forced the United States to take immediate action.
After one year, no weapons of mass destruction have been found
in Iraq, but the Bush administration nonetheless believes it was
justified in sending the country to war.
David Kay, the former weapons inspector for the United States in
Iraq, said the intelligence suggesting the existence of weapons of
mass destruction was wrong.
“Let me begin by saying, we were almost all wrong, and I
certainly include myself here,” Kay said of pre-war
intelligence in a hearing before the Senate on Jan. 28.
Since resigning from his post in January, Kay has urged the Bush
administration to admit their intelligence was weak and that there
is now little hope of finding any weapons in Iraq.
Bush holds a strong resolve in his stance, insisting
intelligence reports were solid.
To reaffirm the case for war and further shift the focus from
weapons to the threat of the former regime, Bush administration
officials have appeared on a swath of television and radio news
shows this week. Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleezza
Rice are among the aides defending Bush in the press.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press” last Sunday, Rice
said Hussein represented “the most dangerous regime”
and his removal from power justified going to war.
The capture of Saddam Hussein has served as a rallying point for
the Bush administration, which says the end of Hussein’s rule
marks a victory in the war on terror.
The president has also warned that the defeat of Hussein does
not equal an end to terrorism and the United States will not let
its guard down.
The terrorist attacks in Madrid last week have served as a
reminder of the persistent threat of terrorism in the world after
Hussein’s fall.
Last week the Iraqi Governing Council signed an interim
constitution to give specific rights to its citizens. Though an
important step in the rebuilding of Iraq, many still believe this
does not reflect a unified country.
Guerrilla warfare has gradually and consistently chipped away at
American forces abroad. In the past year, 566 American military
personnel have died in Iraq.
Forty-one soldiers have died each month on average since Bush
declared on May 1, 2003 that “major combat operations in Iraq
have ended.”
But the efforts of the United States have not been devoid of
results. According to reports by CNN, a recent poll shows 57
percent of Iraqis believe life is better today than it was under
the rule of Hussein.
That poll also shows the 71 percent of Iraqis believe life will
improve in Iraq within the next year.
But Bush has faced criticism from the American public over the
costs associated with going to war.
The federal budget proposal requests a $402 billion allocation
for defense for the budget year beginning Oct. 1. But this request
doesn’t include funding for current military operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan, which is estimated to be as much as $50
billion.
Bush has been criticized for not including this in the budget
proposal in order to make the budget problems for the United States
seem less severe.
According to the Associated Press, the Pentagon reported that
ongoing military operations in Iraq are costing the United States
$4 billion per month on average.