Voter Ignorance and the War in Iraq essays

Voter Ignorance and the War in Iraq essays The war in Iraq is viewed as being one of the most controversial decisions of the US foreign policy of the last decade. There have been numerous discussions over the morality of the intervention on a sovereign territory, without the agreement of the United Nations and, in the end, without a plausible reason for attack. Nonetheless, by 2003, the US led coalition had entered Iraq under the argument of the existence of the weapons of mass destruction. Still, to this day, it is a rather questionable issue the actual existence of the weapons; therefore, there is no full legitimacy of the intervention in a sovereign country. In relation to the military reason invoked by the proponents of the war in Iraq, the terrorist threat was also a disturbing aspect that had to be dealt with at the time. Therefore, the quest against the Al Qaeda network became the centerpiece of the military and political endeavors since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Nonetheless, in the American democratic system, the approval of the public opinion is essential for accepting a certain policy. In the matter of the Iraqi war however, it can be argued that the public opinion was somewhat mislead and there was a limited accuracy in the presentation of the actual facts related to terrorism in general and to Al Qaeda in particular. An important part was played by the voter ignorance which allowed politicians to use the public opinion to their own advantage. Thus, it can be said that the general agreement of the war in Iraq presented a distorted image of a public opinion ill informed and misled caught in the middle of a political battle betwe en the Democrats and the Republicans. In order to have a proper understanding of the way in which the public opinion and especially the low interest in politics from the American voters was used in the wider equation of justifying the war in Iraq and the fight against Al Qaeda, it is important to take into account several issues that play...