How Did The Iraq War Affect The Economy

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The Iraq War has had a huge amount of impact America over the last few decades. As a child of the generation growing up during this war I’ve seen pain, hate and economic turmoil. The focus of this article is the economic turmoil created by the Iraq war: In particular the impact oil has had on our country because of it. Over the years I’ve heard a lot on the news about the oil crisis and how it has effected not only gas prices but the entire world economy. Oil is used for transportation of goods and services and because of that impacts all prices everywhere to some degree. The war officially broke out on March 19, 2003 and ended in December of 2011. (White House, 2011) Over the course of these eight years families have been broken, lives have been lost, and economically America has gone through a lot. Iraq itself is known for its rough past and the country has been controlled by a number of different groups. No one event launched the war itself as terrorism has run rampant in Iraq for a long time. However, I believe the events of September 11, 2001 had a large impact. Even though it seems to be a lot of trouble to be involved in the country of Iraq, the U.S remains dedicated to coming to terms with Iraq and its people. (U.S. Relations With Iraq, 2012) This is partially because of what Iraq has to offer us. Oil the primary reason Iraq and the Middle Eastern nations are attractive to the U.S economically. Oil can be refined into fuel which is used to run our cars, ships, planes, and work vehicles. While other methods of producing energy have come around, such as solar and wind power, gasoline remains very popular. According to the International Energy Agency Iraq’s production of oil is going to just from its current two and a half million barrels per day to nearly six million barrels per day by 2020. (Burning at Both Ends, 2014) Thus far it seems that the more oil Iraq produces the more stable the price becomes. If this estimation becomes reality, we may see oil stay at a stable price. Because oil has such a large hand in exporting and importing of goods and in everyday usage, stable oil prices could potentially effect …show more content…
Iraq came at a heavy cost to the United States, and it is still unclear whether it was worth getting involved with the country at all. The oil they can supply for us as a nation is great, but if they decide to stop selling us the oil then we either have to find another source or suffer for it. There is no doubt Iraq has provided us a large amount of oil and helped with our oil crisis, but the future is shaky for one to be comfortable with them.
The human cost of the Iraq war makes me wonder if it was worth it. From the outside it seems little has changed in the country, and they hold they have on oil for the U.S is unnerving. Looking into this has made me wonder if Iraq truly knows how valuable oil is to our country. It was also surprisingly hard to find solid sources on the topic. I would have to do more research to come up with a good conclusion on how I personally feel on the war itself. Oil is just part of the issue with

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