Sending More Troops Will Provide A Safer And More Secure Iraq Essay

Sending More Troops Will Provide A Safer And More Secure Iraq Essay Sending More Troops Will Provide A Safer And More Secure Iraq â€" Essay Example > Sending More Troops Will Provide a Safer and More Secure IraqIntroduction: Almost four years ago on March 19, 2003 a coalition force from thirty-five countries led by America initiated military action in Iraq. The reasons behind this military action included the perceived threat that the Saddaam Hussein regime in Iraq posed to the region and the world at a whole, removal of tyrannical regime, and providing freedom and democracy to the people of Iraq. (Bush Announces Start of Iraq War, 2003). The defeat of Saddam Hussein was swift meeting the first two objectives of the military action in Iraq. However securing the ground in the whole of Iraq to ensure the third object has foundered, leading to continued requirement of military presence and military action by the coalition forces in Iraq. This situation has continued for the last four years. In an initiative to ensure the safety and security of the elected government, and the ordinary citizens of Iraq, President Bush has decided to send 21,500 additional American military forces to Iraq (Abramowitz Wright, 2007). Overview of the Coalition Force Status in Iraq: More than thirty countries contributed to the coalition force that went into Iraq, but the bulk of the contribution was from the United States. Taking into consideration troop rotation there are approximately 133,000 coalition forces in Iraq. The strength of the American forces is 112,000 making the United States the largest single contributor to the coalition force in Iraq. The American forces also share the greatest responsibility in Iraq. All operations against insurgency and for security purposes are led by the American forces, except for the south-east of the country, where the British forces take up theses responsibilities (Coalition troops in Iraq). In addition to anti-insurgency operations and responsibility for security in the country, the American forces also are responsible of preventing infiltration through the extensive borders of the co untry with nations that are inimical to the coalition force efforts in Iraq, and hence support insurgency in Iraq. American forces are also responsible for the training of the nascent Iraqi security forces top make them an effective force to take over the responsibilities of the coalition force. Hence the American forces have large, and multiple roles to play in Iraq. In short what all this means is that the effectiveness of the coalition force in most of Iraq to meeting the current role of safety and security of the people of Iraq, is dependant on the strength and efficiency of the American forces that are part of the coalition forces present in Iraq (Williams, 2004). The military planners had requested 350,000 strong military force before the start of the war, for the objectives planned for it. It needs to be kept in mind that this force strength was planned, when the force of the insurgency with Saddam’s overthrow was underestimated. One of the earliest criticisms of the war planning lies in the decision to cut the force strength to less than half of what the military planners believed was the requirement to achieve their objectives. So at the outset there was a compromise in the size of the coalition force that was sent to Iraq. This has led to speculation as to whether a coalition force of the size, as planned by the military think tank would have led to a more safety and security in Iraq, than what the current coalition force are capable of proving in the face of all their responsibilities (Gordon Trainor, 2006). The addition of 21,500 troops augments the current coalition force strength, and would contribute to the providing additional safety and security in Iraq.