Social Impacts of the War in Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Social Impacts of the War in Iraq - Essay Example The psychological effects associated with war are far-reaching and still felt today. War is generally depressing and brings with it devastating repercussions especially to the children of war. The politics of war has brought with it more division in the country along the lines of pro and anti-war campaigns. This coupled with the already prevalent gap between the rich and the poor has expanded the social and economic inequalities in the society. The Bush Administration justified this war by claiming that there was evidence that Iraq had developed and been planning to use weapons of mass destruction. This claim was strengthened by the country’s history of aggression towards its neighbors such as the use of poison gas against Iran. The fact that the country had previously sponsored international terrorism caused the US government to intervene as a precautious measure. The government took it upon itself to enforce international law since the Iraqi dictatorship under Saddam Hussein had violated UN Security Council resolutions (DeFronzo 2010). The Iraqi war brought with it a lot of mixed reactions with civilians having different opinions on the need for this war. Anti-war activists considered this war to be an ill-conceived lunge for control of Iraqi oil by the US government. Advancement towards the long-standing US policy of gaining control of the world’s oil reserves onto which the country’s power, industry and consumerism rely on. This was a colonial war opposed by the rest of the world because of the previous experiences either as the conquerors or colonialists. This was seen as an imperialistic move aimed at securing the control of oil and by doing so, achieving global dominance.