Ending the Iraq War

War has been a constant element in society since the world began and human civilizations began to form. Peace is not easy to maintain and often, it appears to world leaders that one of the only ways to make amends to issues is to declare war. Wars are expensive, time consuming, and most importantly the cause of the demise of innocent lives.
Dr. Michael Babula, a candidate running in the 2008 election for Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, strongly opposes the war because it has directly led to the deaths of U.S. service members and as it stands right now, if the war continues it will cost the country more than one trillion dollars. The United States’ economy is already distressed due to governmental decisions to commence and prolong the invasion of Iraq and continuing the war will only lead to severe debt of the United States and a weaker economy. A journal article in Time titled “Memo to U.S. Presidential Candidates” written by Scott MacLeod discusses the factors that led President Bush to declare war and how barely, if any, progress has been made thus far in the Middle East. The Middle East is still no longer and no more democratic while both Middle Easterners and U.S. citizens are suffering financially for a war that has shown little progress.
Congressional candidate Donna Edwards strongly believes that the war in Iraq must come to an end because it is costing the United States financially and failing to show progress while service men are also dying. She believes that money allotted to the safety of the country should be strictly contained within national security and that the government should train their focus on these matters of national security before deciding to begin ventures that are halfway across the world. Edwards is considered a hypocrite in regards to the war because she is the executive director of the Arca Foundation, which holds $1.8 million in investments in multi-national oil and gas companies including almost $1 million in investments in Exxon-Mobil and Halliburton. These investments in Exxon-Mobil and Halliburton help aid with the invasion of Iraq and Edwards’ involvement with them is certainly debatable in regards to her anti-war stance in the election.
Congressman Wynn strongly supports President Bush in regards to the war in Iraq and according to Donna Edwards, “Congressman Wynn’s vote to give President Bush complete authority to wage war in Iraq began this deadly and costly debacle that continues to cripple us.” Wynn fails to recognize the economical aspects of the war that are slowly strangling our country and unless the government withdraws from Iraq and begins to focus on the problems within the country, the economical problems will continue.
Dr. Michael Babula strongly opposes the war and I must say that I have to agree with him. The devastation that a war not even fought on the home front has brought has been astronomical and our economy will continue to suffer if the presence of the United States continues to be in Iraq. An article written by Rick Hampson and printed in USA TODAY discusses the effects of the war on the American psyche and maintains that “After three years, the Iraq war has not hit the American pocketbook, diet or routine as much as the American psyche. It has changed what we do less than how we feel.” Despite peoples’ varying sentiments on the war, it is obvious that the war has lowered our country’s morale and the desire to fight in no longer as evidently displayed as it was when the war began in 2003. There are economical, psychological, physical, and emotional downfalls to the war in Iraq and the only way to begin to rebuild from these downfalls is to end the war and focus on what is at stake: an entire country on the brink of downfall if the war continues.