Example Essay on War in Iraq
Should a citizen be allowed to support the soldiers in Iraq but oppose the war itself (or should we adopt a “love it or leave it” mentality)?
The warfare in Iraq remains a controversial issue. Lots of people think that the launch of the war was the gravest error of the Bush administration. Does that mean that our soldiers should be deprived of the support of the public they so desperately need now? I believe that citizens who are willing to show their sympathy with the US troops in Iraq should feel free to do so.
In fact, despite Bush’s re-election, the majority of the Americans do not support the warfare, as is shown by the results of the Washington Post/ABC News poll (Washington Post). The pollsters have found that 55% of Americans think that the war was not worth fighting, and only 44% of the respondents believe the opposite. Similarly, the data revealed by the USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll demonstrate that 52% of the respondents think the war was a mistake, against 47% who approve of the decision (Financegates). “Iraq was cited most often as the president’s highest priority, according to the poll conducted for AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs”, reports the New York Post (New York Post). From this we can infer that if we forbid the opponents of George W. Bush’s decision to start a war in Iraq to offer support to the soldiers, we will put the majority of the nation on the other side of the barricade regarding the troops.
Besides, there is no internal inconsistency in offering support to the soldiers while opposing the war itself. A lot of Americans realize that the war that was started on dubious grounds has to be continued in the form of security operations that aim at establishing peace and stability in the country. Iraq has to be made safe for its citizens now that the US troops have overthrown Saddam Hussein’s regime for which few Americans have any sympathy. In addition, people understand that the troops are not decision makers. The vast majority of those fighting in Iraq did not go there by choice, and did not initiate the warfare. It would be unfair to withdraw support from the young soldiers who are forced into risking their lives in order to secure peace and stability in a strange country where the population is often unfriendly and in any way remains for the most part separated from the US troops by cultural and linguistic barriers. The prisoner abuse scandal concerning interrogating practices in the Abu Ghraib prison does not contribute to the promotion of positive image of our soldiers. Thus, they will most definitely need emotional and practical assistance coming from their home country. The fact that the fate of the soldiers is different in the citizens’ minds from the politics that condition the war is further evidenced by the massive indignation demonstrated by Americans as US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tried to rebuff soldiers’ complaints about inadequate equipment by saying the notorious phrase “You go to war with the army you have” (CNN.com). People were frustrated about the stance of the top military official on the conditions under which US soldiers live and work, even amid slipping approval for the decision on Iraq invasion adopted by the Bush administration in 2003.
Thus, the citizen should definitely be allowed to support the US troops in Iraq even if he/she does not deem the war itself worth fighting. In this way we can draw a distinction between the attitude towards the state policies and the attitude towards common soldiers who have to bear the brunt of the hostilities, often in adverse conditions, standing up to the challenge of the procurement of security, stability and welfare in a strange country. In my view, it is vital that we extend our help and support to those people who are working to promote the image of our country and affect the way the world thinks about common Americans. Even with the majority of the citizens opposing the war, the US troops in Iraq can still feel that their compatriots at home think of them and support them.
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