1. The Iraq War
By: Jeremy Scott

2. Thesis
The brash and reckless nature of George W. Bush's actions involving the U.S. in the Iraq War led to a massive increase in national debt, an incredible swelling of terrorism, and a significantly more strained relationship with the Middle East, all resulting in the negative disposition towards Middle Eastern countries and aversion to war that Americans hold today.

3. What Happened?
Began on March 20, 2003, and officially ended December 18, 2011.
The main reasons for going to war was to locate any weapons of mass destruction, to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and to counter terrorism.
Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003, and was executed on December 30, 2006 for crimes against humanity.

4. What Happened?
The power vacuum left by Hussein's absence and the general chaos of the invasion led to soaring rates of insurgency which only grew over time.
By 2007, Iraq was declared to be in an all-out civil war, and Bush decides to escalate U.S. involvement by increasing the number of troops present in Iraq by 21,000.
This trend of escalation and civil war
continues for a couple years, but Iraq
slowly starts to get a hold of itself again
with the institution of a new government,
and the U.S. withdraws its forces.

5. Controversy
As the war went on, it became apparent that the decision to go to war was rushed, based on faulty information, and was warned against by many of Bush's advisers.
Many human rights abuses were committed by both sides during the war, such as the U.S.'s use of depleted uranium and white phosphorous shells.

6. Controversy
Despite Saddam Hussein being captured, the other goals of the war were either not met ended up being worse off than before:
Terrorist groups swelled in numbers
after the U.S. invasion, and terrorist
activities increased accordingly,
leading to civil war.
Weapons of mass destruction were
never found and proven to have never
existed in the first place.
Even as early as November 2003, it was acknowledged by numerous academics and officials that the U.S.'s presence in Iraq was in violation of international law.

7. Lasting Effects
Spurred on the growth of al-Qaeda and the creation of ISIS.
Incredible debt growth (between $767 billion and $1.7 trillion) and strain on the army (roughly 5,000 casualties and PTSD for survivors).
This is a casualty rate roughly equal to that of Vietnam, although the size of the U.S.'s army was roughly 1/10th that
of its size during the Vietnam War.
Took focus off of Afghanistan, who needed
the military assistance much more; allowing
for a Taliban resurgence.

8. Lasting Effects Obama was guaranteed the presidency due to his
anti-war sentiments, whether he would have won
otherwise or not.
With Obama as president, even though foreign
policy remained largely the same, domestic
policy changed immensely.
The left wing became significantly more active and
the right wing grew defensive and reactive.
Predisposed Americans against unnecessary wars
even more than before.

9. Sources
"A TIMELINE OF THE IRAQ WAR." Think Progress. CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND, 17
Mar Web. 20 Mar
Brown, Hayes. "5 Reasons The U.S. Is Worse Off Because Of The Iraq War." Think Progress. CENTER FOR
AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND, 18 Mar Web. 20 Mar
Burkeman, Oliver, and Julian Borger. "War Critics Astonished as US Hawk Admits Invasion Was Illegal." The
Guardian. Guardian News, 20 Nov Web. 20 Mar
Condon, Stephanie. "10 Years Later: The Iraq War's Lasting Impact on U.S. Politics." CBS News. CBS, 19 Mar.
2013. Web. 20 May 2016.
Curry, Tom. "10 Years Later, Iraq's Impact Still Pervades Republican Party." NBC News. NBC, 19 Mar
Web. 20 Mar
Douthat, Ross. "The Iraq War and Domestic Politics." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Mar.
2013. Web. 20 Mar
Filkins, Dexter. "Did George W. Bush Create ISIS?" The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 15 May Web. 20
May 2016.