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The Iraq war fueled al-Qaeda and led to the rise of other militant groups who were angry at the U.S. invasion (Khan 2015).

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The U.S. invasion of Iraq led to the rise of powerful militias that control parts of the Iraqi government to this day. Disorder continues in Iraq, where the population is growing rapidly. This has led to a refugee crisis across Europe (Bowen 2023).

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U.S. invasion in 2003 laid the groundwork for further foreign invasion, creating instability across Iraq for the last 20 years as foreign nations grapple for power within the country (Cengiz 2021).

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The U.S. justified the war in Iraq based on lies that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Violence persists in Iraq despite the war being "over". The war in Iraq only further marred the U.S.' global reputation (von Hein 2023).

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Following 9/11, the U.S. went to war in Iraq on false pretenses that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was involved with al-Qaeda (von Hein 2023). The truth is, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found following the war, and Hussein, despite being a dictator at the time, did not actually have ties to al-Qaeda (von Hein 2023). Instead of putting an end to al-Qaeda, the U.S. invasion energized the movement which led to the formation of other militant groups such as Isis (Khan 2015). Despite the war in Iraq taking place 20 years ago, tensions across the Middle East continue to boil over resulting in long-lasting violence. The U.S. invasion destabilized Iraq’s government and made way for foreign intervention of neighboring Turkey and Syria, which ultimately destabilized the entire region (Cengiz 2021). The instability of the region coupled with a rising population is why many refugees are leaving their homes in Iraq and Syria in search of safe places to raise their families (Bowen 2023).

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Based on my research this week, the U.S. invasion of Iraq is directly responsible for the refugee crisis happening around the world. The U.S. went to war on a lie and deceived its citizens, along with those of the U.K. as it roped Britain into the war with them (Bowen 2023). By overthrowing Hussein, competing political and religious players across the Middle East began grappling to take control of the country which has resulted in years and years of instability and war for Iraqis and other Middle Easterners (Cengiz 2021). It’s no surprise that people do not want to live in these conditions. Refugees from the Middle East are fleeing their home countries and being turned away or treated poorly by many parts of the world, especially here in the U.S. where immigration reform has been a hot political topic for most of my life. In my opinion, the U.S. is responsible for this crisis and needs to acknowledge it. The U.S. should absolutely be helping refugees with safe, legal immigration into the U.S., and we should provide them with the resources they need to establish a safe, comfortable life.

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Bowen, Jeremy. 2023. “Iraq war 20 years on: How invasion plunged country into decades of chaos”. BBC.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64976144.

Cengiz, Senem. 2021. “Foreign interference plagues Iraq 20 years after US invasion”. Arab News. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1828381.

Khan, Imran. 2015. “The Iraq war: The Root of Europe’s refugee crisis”. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2015/9/9/the-iraq-war-the-root-of-europes-refugee-crisis.

Von Hein, Matthias. 2023. “The shadow of the Iraq war lingers on”. Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/the-shadow-of-the-iraq-war-lingers-on/a-65012953.