Invasion of Iraq 2003Aqsa Khan and Keith Stamer

Our stance/thesis

• The invasion of Iraq should not have taken place and the war cost many lives that could’ve easily been saved in many ways.

Background information

• In 2003, President Bush mentioned the possibility that Saddam Hussein may have been acquiring weapons of mass destruction, thus posing a threat to the US and it’s allies• It was also believed that Saddam Hussein had

connections with terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda, founded by Osama Bin Laden • Also known as the Second Persian Gulf war, in

which the United Kingdom was an ally of the US along with France, Germany, and Russia

Why the war was unfair

• No WBDs were found when US troops went to Iraq and Saddam Hussein had no links with terrorist groups, like President Bush claimed• President Bush was paranoid ever since 9/11• The Iraqi citizens were innocent and they actually welcomed the US

military, until they realized the intentions of the US military

Counter-argument

• The Iraq war was justified • Iraq was a threat because it was believed to have many weapons of

mass destruction (WMDs)• Bush claimed at one point that Iraq was “axis of evil”

Details, stats, quotes

• loss of 4,488 American lives and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives• The “shock-and-awe” tactic was used, which means that the US

military bombarded and invaded Iraq• By September 7,2004 the death toll of US Soldiers in Iraq reaches

1,000

Statistics

visuals

• The Us started the invasion from the North of Iraq and from Kuwait

• On November 28,2003 President George W. Bush makes a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Iraq in which he poses with a fake turkey

• A famous portrait of a prisoner, Ali Shallal-Al Qasi, being tortured by US• In late April 2004, photographic evidence of

the abuse and torture of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison done by American military personnel are made public, this creates a huge uproar around the world, especially in the Middle East

Aftermath of Iraq war

• Saddam Hussein was hanged to death on December 30th, 2006• Many stick with the idea that the war

was not worth fighting because of the many lives lost and the very basis of the war was false (WMDs and terrorist group connections)