Political Science

Since the first day the United States and the United Kingdom governments started planning to attack Iraq and Afghanistan, people have had different views about the idea. Some people opposed the move because they thought it could be very costly to the economy of the United States, while others thought that it was the right step to take due to the ever increasing threat of terrorism from Middle East. However, several years after the attack, there are many observable impact of the war some of which are positive while others are negative.

In the recent past, many positive events have taken place as a result of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, some people are not satisfied with the justification of the attack but some believe that the positive changes in the Middle East are directly as a result of the war and therefore it was justified. One of the greatest achievements of the war is the restoration of democracy in Iraq. The Iraq dictator was removed from power, arrested and prosecuted for his abuse of office. Following the end of dictatorship regime in Iraq, the people have held a successful free and fair election where a good number of people voted. Although not all parties were involved, the elections were peaceful and this has been seen as the greatest step towards the attainment of democracy in the country. The open general election in Egypt is also argued by many as a result of the war in Middle East although indirectly. More parties were involved in the elections and harassment of opposition parties leaders have reduced although other factors have also contributed. Therefore the greatest achievement of the war in Middle East has been promotion of democracy.

Other than liberating the people of Middle East from Saddam dictatorship, the international threats of terrorism have reduced although it is not possible to assess it with certainty. Today, Americans feel more secure than they would feel if the invasion was not carried out. Regimes which supported international crimes have been forced out office as a result of the war with many suspected terrorists being arrested and tried. No one can imagine the threat of terrorism that would be in the world today if the attack was not affected.

On the other hand, the war has had negative effects on both the United States and Middle East. One of the most published negative effects of the war has been the increased military spending by the federal government. The war has been a big burden to the economy of the United States. The war has had serious direct and indirect impact on the United States economy. Some of the economic effect has been related to the increased prices of fossil fuels which affects all the economies of the world. Another negative impact of the war has been the big number of casualties where innocent men and women have lost their lives. American solders have also died in the operation as a result of suicide bombers and attack by terror groups (Teslik, 2008).

In conclusion, the war in the Middle East has positive and negative effects. People have criticized the attack based on the economic cost of the operation but the cost cannot be compared with future threats that could have resulted from the growth of autocracy that supports international crimes in Middle East.