The War Against The Islamic State

When the United States seized control over Iraq, many Iraqi citizens were left without a job. As a result of this widespread unemployment, recruitment for Muslim extremist groups thrived. Lt. General Michael Flynn, a key figure of the War, has admitted “As brutal as Saddam Hussein was, it was a mistake to just eliminate him.” Flynn went on to say. “The same is true for Moammar Gadhafi and for Libya, which is now a failed state. The historic lesson is that it was a strategic failure to go into Iraq. History will not be and should not be kind with that

When one thinks of Iraq war, the two key players are perceived to be George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein. As leaders of the opposing sides, they are also perceived as the decision makers. In the individual and sub group levels of analysis, toppling of the Hussein’s regime in Iraq was a success. This success

In the weeks immediately after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, the nation watched anxiously as the Bush Administration declared war on terror. Following the invasion of Afghanistan to hunt down those responsible for this horrific incident, the U.S. swiftly changed its priority to invading Iraq and overthrowing its government by capturing its president, Saddam Hussein. In this mission, the U.S. scrambled to find a connection between Saddam Hussein and the terrorist organization al-Qa’ida. Since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, many scholars have focused on the effects of the Iraq War, speculating on the Bush Administration’s motives for the decision. While some within scholarly circles have attributed the invasion

Since the war on Iraq began on March 20, 2003, at least 1,402 coalition troops have died and 9,326 U.S. troops have been wounded in action. This is no small number and the count grows daily. One would hope, then, that these men and women were sent to war with just cause and as a last resort. However, as the cloud of apprehension and rhetoric surrounding the war has begun to settle, it has become clear that the Bush administration relied on deeply flawed analyses to make its case for war to the United Nations and to the American people, rushing this country, and its soldiers, into war. This is not to say that this war was waged against a blameless regime or that our soldiers have died

In his article, “Why Has American Stopped Winning Wars?” Dominic Tierney discusses some of the topics in his recent book, “The Right Way to Lose a War: America in an Age of Unwinnable Conflicts.” The book, unlike the article, provides recommendations for how America can adapt to a new era of warfare. Having said that, Tierney’s article published in the The Atlantic, provides no such recommendations nor does it provide adequate reasoning to support his argument, rather he leaves the reader emotionally charged and unable to make an informed judgement concerning the validity of his claims. Specifically, the author commits the fallacies of appealing to emotion, followed by the presentation of glittering generalizations and a false dichotomy. Therefore, the purpose here is to analyze his argument as outlined in the article, “Why Has American Stopped Winning Wars?”

While almost the entire Iraq war was mired in controversy, no one moment was more inundated with it than the Second Battle of Fallujah, a two month knock down drag out fight between coalition forces and radical Jihadists, it was the war’s magnum opus with urban combat rivaling what Marines faced in 1968 on the streets of Hue city Vietnam during the Tet offensive (Head, 105). While many debate the war overall the focus of this essay is on the battle itself and how the US government created the circumstances in which the insurgency in Fallujah could flourish as well as the ideology and motives of the Jihadi fighters and US forces and why the battle was necessary for US forces to wage so they could begin the process of bringing western

It has now been fourteen years since the tragic event of Sep 11 in New York, when hijackers struck two planes into the northern and southern building of the twin towers. Unfortunately two thousand and nine hundred and ninety six people lost their lives that day including over five hundred Muslims. Few days later it was concluded that alqeda terrorists in Afghanistan under the leadership of Osama bin laden were responsible for the deadly attack. Less than a month after the attack the U.S invaded Afghanistan in order to capture those who were responsible and a short time after Iraq was also invaded for the same purpose. For the next decade the U.S spent an annual of one trillion dollars towards the fight on terror. Fourteen years later it is

On September 11, 2001, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. This was the very first contact that the United States of America had with the terrorism that went on in Iraq. March 20, 2003 marked the day that President George W. Bush announced the start of the war against Iraq (1). This was the beginning of a very costly war on both America and Iraq. The cost of the Iraq War was not just the amount of money spent, but the impact of war on the soldiers and the toll that it took on the families of those who were involved, as well as the amount of time and dedication of resources put into the war by the Government.

The plan to send more than 100,00 troops home by September 2003 was now absolutely out of the question. As the war continued, thousands of Iraqis were swept up in raids. The reality became that you’d go into a village and just arrest everybody. Things were beginning to get out of hand, the Defense Department decided it wanted Iraq to be given back to the Iraqis as soon as possible. Soon after the discussion, the US Army captured Saddam Hussein and he shared that he was willing to negotiate. Many believed that this would lower the tension in Iraq, but they were absolutely wrong. Four American contractors were murdered and two of the bodies were hung from a bridge. This upset George Bush very much and he demanded that the Marines retaliate. The Marines took the order and moved into the city, killing people. Once the Marines were ordered to stop fighting, they were now ordered to simply surround Fallujah and contain the insurgents. Soon after this, Bremer formed a new government, and handed Iraq back to the Iraqis.

In a speech given by President Bush, he called the surge “A new way forward”, which indirectly confirmed to many that the White House was aware of the military shortcomings in Iraq. Although the Bush administration most likely had the best of intentions, there are a few key reasons the Iraqi surge did not have sustained positive results. The surge strategy was to increase the number of troops in Iraq by 20,000; these troops would be used in urban civilian areas where military forces have had a difficult time clearing out neighborhoods. The surge was initially a success, however, after several months it became clear the success was short-lived, and the overall strategy was short sighted. Members of Al Qaeda simply left the region while it was heavily occupied, only to return when the U.S. threat had vacated the area. There was a survey conducted by Iraq, and the overwhelming majority of Iraqi citizens felt that daily living conditions had not changed they were in favor of American troops leaving their country. Although the primary goal of improving the lives of citizens was not fully realized, there is a bigger flaw with the surge, it had aimed to reduce American and Iraqi casualties, as well as lower the number of Al Quad attacks. As already stated, these surges did have some fleeting success, which were able to produce statistics that briefly pacified many critics of the war,

The first battle in Fallujah during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) is known as Operation Vigilant Resolve. This battle is regarded as one of the biggest single defeats that the United States Military has suffered throughout all its campaigns during OIF. The United States and international media outlets exploited this defeat, which in turn, bolstered Al Qaeda recruiting in Fallujah. This offensive failure and retreat was backed by a huge public outcry for troop withdrawal and successful exploitation of recruiting propaganda by the insurgents.

According to Simon (2008), In January 2007, President George Bush declared a contemporary method to the war in Iraq. By that time sectarian and insurgent heating were accelerating far of any dominance. New Democratic in Washington was asking for ending the war in Iraq, but Bush refused that demanding and pushed for winning the war according to his policy that he promised to accomplish in Iraq (Simon, 2008). So, he made his decision not to retreat and go for concluding his mission with "The surge" in Iraq (Simon, 2008). According to Simon (2008), the administration of Bush, generally , is holding the responsibility of failing the surge in Iraq.

A young boy, Abu Musab, was so inspired by another man’s ideas, that he then decided to spread them to other Islamic states. Therefore, in 1999, Abu Musab moved out of Afghanistan to go to Iraq and laid the foundation of what eventually grew into the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). To start his vision of ISIS, Abu Musab started to kill anyone who opposed him, including local Muslims. ISIS, is also called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). They have terrorized Iraq and Syria to establish an Islamic state in the Middle East ruled by strict shariah law. The group is made up of Sunni Muslims and foreign jihadists.

After the events of September 11, 2001, the United States had a unique dilemma. America was engaged in what would be called a “War on Terror”. This new conflict was unlike any in American history. Previously, in the context of war the United States had always fought a nation or group that had defined boundaries as to where they resided. This new conflict went away from these rules of the past. Terrorist groups were not bound to a region, but were instead united by an ideal. September 11 marked the first time in which terrorism would rise to the forefront of the nation’s agenda. This emergent wave of conflict required a different strategy than the those of the past because of the unorthodox nature of the opponent. One of the major innovations fostered by the “War on Terror” was the expansion of torture. The dramatic rise in terrorism sparked the unethical advancement of interrogation techniques in order to more effectively acquire information. The emergence of the “War on Terror” required government officials acquire intelligence in a new way thus spawning the emergence of “enhanced interrogation” methods, however, the morality of these techniques would come into question as they were revealed to the public.

ISIS is a terrorist group threat that has grown within the subject of the War on Terror taking place within the nation of Iraq and surrounding areas.