Why Democracy for Iraq?
...nishment. As per the U.S. Department of State Document dated October 2002, Iraq attacked the Kurdish town of Halabjah with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents, killing five thousand residents on March 16, 1988 (U.S. Dept. of State, sec. 4). His reasoning for this action was because the Kurdish people in Iraq did not like Saddam Hussein’s regime. This unspeakable and genocidal act on human life would never have taken place in a democratic society. In addition, Saddam Hussein repeatedly wanted to invade other neighboring countries in order to expand his territory of reign. In September 1980, one year after Hussein took power in Iraq, he attacked Iranian airbases that marked the beginning of an eight-year war with Iran. An estimated one million people were killed before a ceasefire monitored by the UN Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group came into effect on August 20, 1988 (U.S. Dept. of State, sec. 2-4). During these eight years, the international community was split because of the Cold War so no one intervened in this war. In 1990, only two years after the end of the Iraq/Iran War, Iraq invaded Kuwait under Hussein’s orders and managed to gain control of the entire nation within hours. The United Nations Security Council, under Resolution 660, condemns this action, and they call for Iraq’s immediate and full withdrawal from Kuwait. When Saddam ignores the UN’s request, the Security Council invokes Resolution 678 authorizing the states cooperating with Kuwait to use “all necessary means” to uphold UNSC Resolution 660. This sparked the beginning of “Operation Desert Storm” on January 17, 1991, which lasted until March 3, 1991 (U.S. Dept. of State, sec. 5). This attempt at world domination by invading less powerful countries and blatant disregard of world authority would not occur in a democratic government where the leaders would be elected by the people. The most obvious reason to install a democratic government would be the economy. The oil it produces and refines dominates Iraq’s economy (CIA-The World Factbook, sec. 2). Under a democratic state, the elected leaders would make all the important decisions regarding economic issues. This is definitely a more progressive and fair option for the Iraqi people, rather than having only one person, (a dictator); decide the entire fate of their nation’s economy and money supply. A dictator from an extremist regime is usually blinded by their own religious and political beliefs ...