American elites, not the people, drive military intervention in Iraq

AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE PEACEFUL, IT IS AMERICA'S LEADERS AND ELITES WHO MAKE WAR

It is the objective of this study to examine the statement that American people are peaceful, it is America's leaders and elites who make war.

The statement that the American people are peaceful and that it is the American leaders and elites who make war is a true statement because the normal everyday American individual has no say in the starting of any war and the majority of wars started by the United States are not condoned by the American people.

Public Opinion

The work of Dugan (2013) reports that on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War 53% of Americans view the war as a mistake. Specifically Dugan states "Americans initially supported the war, with substantial majorities in 2003 saying the U.S. decision to get involved in Iraq was not a mistake. However, attitudes changed relatively quickly, and by the summer of 2004, a majority of Americans called the war a mistake." (2013, p. 1) The work of Holsti (2011) reports according to Michael Schneider in his review of the work entitled 'American Public on the Iraq War" that there have been "few conflicts [that] have so engaged, or enraged, American public opinion as the war in Iraq." (p.1) This is clearly evidenced in a report published by CBS News reporter Jeff Roberts in a 2005 report which states "Public support for U.S. involvement in Iraq continues to fall. By two to one, Americans reject financing the war through an increased federal deficit, and 62% would finance paying for the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast by cutting spending in Iraq, More than half of Americans think Iraq is not secure enough to hold its constitutional referendum in just under a week, and many doubt that country will ever become a stable democracy." (p.1) The fact is that everyday normal Americans were not supportive of the war in Iraq and even the military itself did not see that the war in Iraq had anything to do with life in the United States. It is reported by the website Iraq Veterans Against War located online at www.ivaw.org that members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) "were disgusted to witness the Republic party engage in acts of cynical political maneuvering." (p.1) The fact is that the Veterans who participated in a war driven by the government and the elite are not even being taken care of or compensated properly for their service to their country during wartime.

The Economist reported on August 31st, 2010 that the view of the Iraq War by Americans has significantly changed and specifically stated is

"When George Bush prematurely declared an end to major combat operations in May 2003 most Americans were behind the war, with only a quarter saying it was a mistake according to Gallup polling data. But the public's mood turned when allegations of torture by U.S. soldiers came to light in early 2004. The bloody terror campaign by Sunni militia groups, which began in earnest in 2006 and killed Iraqis by the thousands and American troops by the hundreds, also had a profound effect on opinion." (The Economist, 2010, p. 1)

The following image published by The Economist and adapted for this work in writing clearly shows the progression of the American public opinion during the Iraq War.

Figure 1: The Iraq War and Its Progression in American Public Opinion

Source: The Economist

III. Reason Number Two

It is reported by CNN News that the real reason that the United States started the war with Iraq was 'for oil'. In fact, it is reported by CNN News specifically as follows:

"Yes, the Iraq War was a war for oil, and it was a war with winners: Big Oil. It has been 10 years since Operation Iraqi Freedom's bombs first landed in Baghdad. And while most of the U.S.-led coalition forces have long since gone, Western oil companies are only getting started.

Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq's domestic oil industry was fully nationalized and closed to Western oil companies. A decade of war later, it is largely privatized and utterly dominated by foreign firms." (Juhasz, 2013, p. 1)

Juhasz reports that oil companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell "has all "set up shop in Iraq. So have a slew of American oil service companies, including Halliburton, the Texas-based firm Dick Cheney ran before becoming George W. Bush's running mate in 2000." (Juhasz, 2013, p. 1) While oil is not reported as the "only goal of the Iraq War…it certainly [was] the central one, as top U.S. military and political figures have attested to in the years following the invasion." (Juhasz, 2013, p. 1)

Summary and Conclusion

It is clear that the reasons for starting the Iraq War on the part of the U.S. Government and elites all boiled down to two primary goals and those two goals being: (1) money (in the form of oil); and (2) power (in the form of kicking someone's ass). It is clear that the American people were terribly misled as to the reasons that this war was started and it is just as clear that the American people are not stupid nor are they too blind to the lies of government to understand that these types of wars are not what they desire, not what they choose to stand for, and not what the American government should be utilizing the military and their lives in pursuit of. This is not the American Dream.