The war in Iraq is both good for america and the citizens of Iraq

People who look at the war in Iraq often think that it is a war AGAINST Iraq. This all in all is not true. Our war over in the middle east is against terror. Terrorists are housed in the northern part of Iraq currently. The coalition forces of our brave men and the humble men of Iraq are working together to fight against the threat of Al-Qaeda.

Ok, so thank you opponent for this debate. With that, lets begin.

So this will be rather short. My opponent argues that the war in Iraq is good for BOTH America and Iraqi citizens. So all I need to do is prove that it is bad for either America, the Iraqi citizens, or both. And both is what I will attacking, however I only need to win on one to win the debate.

Starting off with how it is bad for the Iraqi citizens....

Estimates for number of Iraqi civilians who have died because of the invasion range between 80,000 and 1.2 million people. Let us say that each person that was killed had only 3 friends and/or relatives that their death affected. (Most will probably be higher, but whatev, let us go with that) Let us multiply the low and high end of the estimates by 3 and then we see that between 240,000 and 3.6 million have been negatively affected by the war. That is somewhere between .88% and 13.3% of the population.

Estimates also say that 4 million Iraqis have been displaced since the invasion. Let us add that to the numbers we already have. 4.2-7.6 million have been negative affected by the invasion. You claim that the war is good for Iraqi citizens, tell that to somewhere around 5.5 million (median) Iraqis.

This is also not including that the Iraqi people also have less electricity and less water than before the invasion. Ya, sounds like they are doing just fine with us there..... (Sarcasm)

Now let us move on to bad for America.... I have about the same arguments. (I do not mean to devalue the sacrifice that American soldiers give this country, I very much respect and thank them for that. I do however, feel that we should never have gone into Iraq.)

The estimated number of deaths for American soldiers is sitting right around 4,000. The estimated number of injuries is somewhere around 30,000. Again, let us say their death only affected 3 people. (Again, quite and underestimate) 12,000 Americans have been negatively affected (in a very personal way) by the war in deaths alone. Let us do the same to the injury number and 120,000 people have been negatively affected by the war.

My next argument deals with a mindset.

Not only this, but America is less safe than it was before the war. Virtually no one in the world thinks we should be in Iraq, thus a lot of anti-American sentiment has grown. Many people have speculated that al qaeda was very small in Iraq, if there at all before the war. The anti-American sentiment has lead to thousands of new al qaeda members going into Iraq to defend what they see as their land. The US is less safe because of the war.

Finally, on to the money part.

The Congressional budget office estimates that we have spent just under half a trillion dollars on the war. Considering our national debt is somewhere around nine trillion, this one thing has contributed to 5.5% of the national debt. That is absolutely huge. And obviously bad for America.

With that, I have shown how the Iraq War is bad not just for Iraqi citizens, but for America too. I await my opponents response and do ask that either this debate is done speedily, or that the timeframe that we debate this in is done so that I do not miss a round, as I leave on Friday for a vacation where there is no electricity or running water much less a computer and internet. I get back on Monday. Thank you.

Deaths are a part of war my friend and our efforts in iraq are decreasing deaths. Our efforts over in iraq are also providing security for their citizens. Our military is effectivly training citizen iraqis to take care of themselves. Iraq has been also opening up trade with other countries and is effectivly expanding their economy. People without homes are getting those homes back. The reason they were displaced in the first place was to stop more deaths! Heck! Would you want to live in a warzone? As for people hating america that is a result of biased press. Not the war on terror.

So first of all, may I thank my opponent for his timely response....

He agrees that I only need to win one side of the debate to win the whole thing as he dropped this point.

The only real thing my opponent my opponent argued that is death is a part of war. However, this doesn't matter, what matters is his resolution "The war in Iraq is both good for america and the citizens of Iraq" Death is obviously not good for the citizens of Iraq, it doesn't matter whether or not it is a part of war, it is bad for them. Thus I have won on that point.

He then goes on to say that things are getting better for Iraq, however he fails to provide any evidence backing this up, or how this benefits the Iraqi citizens at all. I would also point out that death outweighs any good that could come, so I will win anyway.

On to the US...

He basically just says we are more unsafe, because of the biased meadia, not the war. However, he failed to attack my real points, there is no clash with this whatsoever! Thus my point will still stand that people who come and invade their country will get pissed and revolt. Would you be happy if the Iraqi guard was here in the US? Didnt think so. Because of the war, we are there, because we are there, they revolt, because they revolt, everyone including the US is less safe.

He almost completely dropped my economy argument. Thus he agrees that the war is paying a huge toll on the US economy, and that is hurting us.

The war in Iraq is bad for the citizens of Iraq as it kills them, and they are replaced. If the war had never happened, they wouldn't have had to be replaced in the first place, thus it is bad. And it is bad for America because it makes us less safe, kills our soldiers, and hurts our economy. Thus I have won on both sides of the topic.

Well you can extend EVERYTHING I said in my last speech as again my opponent failed to reply. The war is bad on both levels, and I have proven that.