Mark Danner's "The War of the Imagination" and Iraq

Iraq

The war in Iraq is one of the most prominent political American issues today. In addition to its prevalence on international news networks, it is also prominently on the minds and lips of many a critic. Mark Danner's article, "Iraq: The War of the Imagination" is a manifestation of this. In the article, the author addresses the discrepancy between the ideals upon which the war in its initial phases were built, and the reality of thousands of American dead today. At its core, the title, "The War of the Imagination" can be said to refer to the initial American, and particularly the governmental, idealism of the war.

Specifically, such idealism concerns the governmental ideal to build a democratic world by means of war. The "war on terror" is built upon two basic ideals: the American drive towards revenge on the one hand and democracy on the other. According to the article, the initial war focused very much on Sadam Hussein, and the eradication of the terrorist force. When this was accomplished, the ideal of democracy was used to justify further war. After several years of ongoing death and destruction, this ideal is increasingly shown as a product of a very idealistic imagination.