March 20 marked the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. A 2003 TIME/CNN poll showed that 70% of Americans approved of the war. By now, at least 2,318 U.S. military personnel have died. The war has cost close to $250 billion. Its price in both lives and dollars has proven too high for many Americans. In a recent Gallup poll, 60% of those surveyed said that the war was not worth it.
The U.S. has about 133,000 troops in Iraq. Last Tuesday, President George W. Bush vowed to continue the fight. "If I didn't believe we could succeed, I wouldn't put those kids there," he said.
Why We Went to War
The mission was to find and destroy extremely dangerous arms called
weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Another goal was to remove Iraq's
abusive leader, Saddam Hussein, from power. He was captured on December
13, 2003, and is now on trial in Baghdad. But no WMD were ever found.
Insurgents, or rebel fighters, are committed to driving the U.S. out. Last week, the rebels continued their deadly attacks. They targeted jail guards and set off roadside bombs.
Iraq is deeply divided. Most Iraqis belong to one of three groups: Kurds, Sunni Muslim Arabs or Shiite Muslim Arabs. They have a long history of violence. Last month, a sacred Shiite Muslim shrine in Samarra was bombed. Former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi fears that his country is coming apart. "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is," he says.
Iraqis have voted in democratic elections, and a new Iraqi parliament has met. If the country's leaders can put aside their differences to form a government that represents all of the people, there is a glimmer of hope for a stable Iraq.
U.S. leaders believe that a strong Iraqi security force would allow the withdrawal of U.S. troops. But when reporters asked Bush if there would ever be a day when there were no U.S. forces in Iraq, he indicated that it would not be anytime soon. "That is an objective," he answered. "And that will be decided by future Presidents."