Democracy in Iraq

On March 20, 2003 America invaded Iraq stating to objectives. The first goal we wanted to accomplish was to make sure there were no WMD's and to shut down any programs to create WMD's. The second objective was to take Saddam Hussein, Iraq's dictator, out of power. Saddam Hussein had been the leader over Iraq from 1979-2003 and ruled with fear and power and attacked a number of surrounding areas such as in the Gulf War.

The problem that arises when trying to take a leader out of power is that someone needs to or is going to move in to that open support of power. We could have left Iraq right when we took Saddam out of power but someone else would have moved into that spot, most likely would be the most aggressive person. If we left this vacuum open we might be responsible for someone even worse than Saddam being in charge. The best solution seen would be to remain in Iraq and change their government into a democracy. If Iraq could be turned into a democracy the people would be more in control rather than someone controlling them by force.

This sounds like a good idea but good doesn't mean easy, we have seen it takes more than just elections to start a government. Even if we don't leave that doesn't mean that no one is going to try to move in to power. A second problem is there are a number of people that wish to attack Americans and anyone not against us even if they are not trying to take control. Many attacks on troops and anyone trying to help turn Iraq into a democracy make it very hard to accomplish anything. There is also the fact that many people have never lived with some control over their government, for their entire lives the government had control of them, this fact alone has many people resist the change.

A large reason why it is so hard to change Iraq government is because to create a democracy requires some amount of the people wanting to work together. In Iraq there are a number of religions and beliefs and most do not take kindly to the idea of working together or settling with something they are against. Before they might have been forced but now they will not sit by peacefully and watch another side gain power. They many random attacks and extremists keep Iraq disorganized and against each other so that no one government can be formed with most of the people agreeing to follow it.

As of recent American troops have gained more control and there are slightly smaller amounts of groups attacking each other. There are still extremists and the road toward turning Iraq into a democracy will be hard but we have seen progress and we must keep faith we will see it to the end. There are many people that say we should quit but then that means many of the sacrifices we have made will have been for nothing, as soon as we leave it will create a vacuum that will create chaos until one man can grasp enough power even if very few people support him. Even though it is a rough journey democracy is the best leadership they could have and as long as we can we should continue helping them try to achieve it.