Timid President-Futile War - Essay Example

The wars are considered futile because of the many expectations the Bush administration intended to achieve that did not come to pass, the reason why President Obama decided to withdraw the U.S troops from Iraq after almost a decade of occupation. President George Bush’s decision to attack Iraq was based on unfounded beliefs in the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Saddam Hussein administration granted the UN and the Americans permission to inspect their weapons artillery to ascertain if they were indeed developing weapons of WMD and even though nothing was found, Bush and his administration believed Iraq did not reveal everything and that formed the basis of American’s invasion of Iraq and the subsequent execution of Saddam Hussein.

George Bush’s decision to convince congress to allow America attack Iraq was based on fear that terrorists were likely to attack America again and not necessarily because of WMD that were never found after they subdued Iraq. Another factor that led to American invasion of Iraq was interest in the Middle East oil resulting from the fear of uncertainty in the future of American energy security. For this, he saw Saddam Hussein as a major impediment to the benefit they would receive from Middle East oil.

They had prevailed upon the United Nations to put economic sanctions on Iraq with the food-for-oil arrangement but this did not deter Iraq, so he believed the best way to achieve their objective was by deposing Saddam Hussein from power. It was therefore an embarrassment to the bush administration when the WMD were never found and nothing could justify the military expenditure on the war (McClellan & McClellan, 2008). President Bush’s fear just before and after the invasion of Iraq began showed up immediately.

The United Nations, led by Kofi Annan, opposed the war and proposed a peaceful way of resolving the American suspicion but the administration disobeyed because their fears. It is this very fear that led to interference in the war by civilian commanders based in Washington, which left soldiers on the ground very indisposed. There was also the misconception by the administration that Iraqi soldiers could provide reinforcement and military support. Some Iraqi soldiers did not support the war and posed a great risk to Americans as they ganged up with insurgents to cause trouble to the American troops.

In fact, many American soldiers died and had injuries more than the administration had anticipated. As a result of fear, the Bush administration overlooked the process of reconstruction; they did not foresee the magnitude of destruction that resulted from this war. The destruction was so vast that it needed the participation of European bloc, the UN and other international bodies to help in the reconstruction exercise. Although the three segments were interested in participating in the reconstruction, American stubbornness in its interest to lead the reconstruction exercise after causing destruction made them develop cold feet and some eventually withdrawn.

President Bush then made it appear like no country or organization was willing to participate in the restoration exercise. Toward the end of the Bush administration, there was panic both in Washington and Baghdad when it became apparent that there was a political and military vacuum in Iraq. The Iraqi government apparatus collapsed and the institutions that provided basic services like water and electricity could no longer coordinate because staff could not come to work. The Bush administration in its panic started doing things in haste to fill in the vacuum.