U.S. can learn from Iraq mistakes with Iran

Katie Plourd


Leadership. The term is something that is beginning to lose meaning in the country today. As the nation’s leaders are in the news squabbling over how to guide and direct America in the right direction, the concept has gone morbidly astray.

It has been three years since U.S. troops invaded Iraq to fight Operation Iraqi Freedom. The moment President George W. Bush declared we would invade Iraq remains clear in my mind.

Despite my premonitions about the war, it is the job of those “leaders” to justify it. All I could think was, “Holy crap, we’re going to war.”

Three years ago patriotism was to blame. Being so soon after terrorists attacked on American turf, politicians and other leaders neglected to question the motives and legitimacy of claims behind the reason to invade Iraq. Vengeance and restitution had to be saught.

But what troubles me as well are the actions America’s chief executive is now making toward Iran.

Last week’s news with Iran has conjured the same feeling I felt three years ago and I hope that as a nation we do not atrociously wage warfare on such terms as previously happened.

Last Monday, Bush claimed Tehran was directly linked to roadside bombings against American troops in Iraq.

These claims have already been proven false by American military forces that have said they have no proof Iran’s government was behind the bombings of American forces.

Although military leadership has taken a stand to accurately assess the situations Bush attempts to frame, I’m scared Americans will support a war based on framing issues in a political sense.

Whether it is to draw up Bush’s approval ratings or sell the position of a Congressperson running for re-election, American leaders need to think about the job they serve. The leaders Americans elected to guide and direct the proceedings of our country are caught up in childish partisan babble and are forgetting what Americans elected them to do.

For the American public, it is easy to accept what the president and other political leaders say. It is their job to guide and direct us. Hopefully as a nation those leaders will learn from past experiences and refuse to jump the gun. The well-being of a nation, lives of its citizenry and the way the world perceives America must have priority over boosting approval ratings.

Katie Plourd is a senior journalism major and managing editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.

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