April2008-WISP-Assg2: Is the "Just War" Just as Seen from every side?

http://geology.com/world/iraq-map.gif

Why Are We Interested in Looking at This Conflict

This war is a direct result from the 911 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, United States of America. After that attack, the US President at that time, George Walker Bush, vowed vengeance and swore he will launch a "Just War" to attack the 'EVIL" terrorists. As part of his "Just War", he launched two full scale military attacks on sovereign nations: Afghanistan and Iraq. Our point of academic interest here is the cause and effect of this "Just War". Is this war "Just" as seen by everyone else in the world? If not, what kind of challenge does this war create for our world?

Questions that You MUST Answer for Your Presentation

What happened in this conflict? You may wish to consider the following:

Historical timeline
Profile of the main players/parties involved in this conflict
Impact on the country, neighbouring countries in the region, and the world.
Or anything else you find significant.

What do you think are the KEY REASONS that led to this conflict becoming full-blown?
But this conflict wasn't triggered by race alone. What other forces have contributed to the creation of this conflict or helped to worsen it?
What are your group's reflections after completing your research?
There are some similarities to problems or challenges faced by present-day Singapore. Please share with the class what these are. (DO NOT COMPARE WITH SINGAPORE’S RACE RIOTS)
Bonus question: Mention solutions that have not yet been implemented by Singapore.

You may wish to start your research by getting to know this conflict using the sources below. However, you are encouraged to add your own sources as you do additional research on this topic.

A Wikipedia Summary

The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War,^[35] Operation Iraqi Freedom (US),^[36] Operation TELIC (UK) ^[37] or the occupation of Iraq,^[38] is an ongoing conflict which began on March 20, 2003 with the United States-led invasion of Iraq by a multinational coalition composed of U.S. and U.K. troops supported by smaller contingents from Australia, Poland, and other nations.^[39]

The main rationale for the invasion offered by U.S. President George W. Bush and coalition supporters was the allegation that Iraq possessed and was actively developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in violation of a 1991 agreement.^[40]^[41] U.S. officials argued that Iraq posed an imminent, urgent, and immediate threat to the United States, its people, allies, and interests.^[42]^[43] The supporting intelligence was widely criticized,^[44] and weapons inspectors found no evidence of WMD.^[45] After the invasion, the Iraq Survey Group concluded that Iraq had ended its WMD programs in 1991 and had none at the time of the invasion, but that they intended to resume production if and when the Iraq sanctions were lifted.[46

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/iraq_war

Interestingly, while Bush and his allies railed against the terrorism that is allegedly created by radical Islam, the "Just War" philosophy is originally imported from another religion - ie. Christianity, specifically Catholicism. The main justification for going to war is seen as "punishing people who have done wrong" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_War).

Visions from the Past

A Youthtube Recap of the "Just War"