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Iraq Review: Extreme Violence Forces another Look at the Conflict

On Election Day 2004, just hours before millions of Americans went to the polls, a car bomb exploded in Baghdad and another in Mosul, killing a total of 16 and wounding as many as 29 people.

Violence in Iraq is persisting and perhaps escalating. The last days of October were especially bloody, and American forces are on the verge of invading Falluja, an insurgent stronghold.

The November 2nd car bombings were preceded by a kidnapping the day before in which an American, a Nepali, three Iraqis, and a Filipino were taken hostage. And earlier on November 1st, gunmen killed the deputy governor of Baghdad Province.

Taking hostages and killing government officials have been effective strategies for Iraqi insurgents.

The kidnappings of more than 160 foreigners since April have hurt reconstruction efforts and provided a source of funding for rebel groups, who are often paid large sums in exchange for their captives.

Assassinations are draining the country of capable administrators who are needed to organize rebuilding and help execute the elections scheduled for January. Keeping Iraq unstable affords insurgents more power, so they are unlikely to stop committing acts of violence unless something in the equation shifts. But what should that change be?

The ongoing Iraq problem requires us to ask ourselves some hard questions in order to fine tune our perception of the situation and then come up with solutions.

Hard questions

Question #1: Is the U.S. military occupation of Iraq provoking violence or controlling it?

Some believe U.S. troops are essential to Iraq reconstruction. Many analysts say that without U.S. armed forces to keep order, Iraq would decline into complete chaos. This point of view, which is held by both George W. Bush and John Kerry, maintains that U.S. forces have a stabilizing effect.

Others believe that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is the cause of, not the solution to, the volatility that has followed the invasion. Some view battles between U.S. soldiers and Iraqi insurgents as a reason to remove troops, not maintain or add them. From this point of view, the military presence is a major cause of Iraq’s instability.

Question #2: Are Iraqis better off?

The common perception is that Iraqis are better off without the dictator Saddam Hussein, who has committed countless human rights violations.

Many consider Hussein’s defeat to be justification for the war. They believe that Iraqis’ and Americans’ hardships are worth an eventual, functioning democracy in Iraq. From this point of view, Iraqi liberation is worth the high cost.

Others argue that Iraqis are worse off than before the invasion. Thousands of Iraqis have been killed, and many deal with the threat of violence every day. Many Iraqis have fewer resources than they did before the war; they have little access to electricity and running water, and some experience food and medicine shortages. Women and girls are far more restricted than they were under the rule of Saddam Hussein and they face a greater threat of physical and sexual assault.

Question #3: Are Americans better off?

Are Americans safer today than they were before 9/11?

Many say yes and feel that the absence of a terrorist incident since 9/11 is proof that we are safer today than we were four years ago. While the terrorist threat remains, security and awareness have increased substantially. During the debates, Bush maintained that the world is safer today thanks to the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that have disbanded terrorist networks.

Others say no and feel that invading Iraq has made us more vulnerable to terrorism. Critics of the war explain that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has helped Al Qaeda to recruit new members. Al Qaeda uses U.S. aggression against Iraq as a pretext for retaliation and an excuse to wage a holy war or "Jihad" on the U.S. and its allies.

Further, many believe the Iraq war has made the U.S. economically insecure and internationally unstable. This year’s federal deficit will reach upwards of $420 billion. Many nations sharply criticize U.S. policy in Iraq and eight have already left the international coalition there.

What do you think?

How do you answer the above questions? Does your opinion of the Iraq war shift over time? If so, how?

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Update Posted on: 11/04/2004