Introduction
From the early periods until 21st century, war
has existed as one of the defining elements and features of human
history. Ideological, political, social, economic, cultural, and ethical
orientations, interests, and goals of nations have come into conflict
quite often when interacting with each other throughout history. If
conflicts among nations are not solved through such peaceful ways
as diplomacy, negotiations, and formal agreements,
those people who have power and authority either legitimately or illegitimately
to make decisions with respect to important issues confronting their
country usually resort to war as a last attempt to accomplish their
goals at the expense of other nations.
The
most important reasons for going to war changed from one century to
another as a result of shifts or changes in peoples view of the world,
value and belief systems, and the like. The closer to the 21st century
wars are, the more it becomes subtle to identify actual causes of
the wars in that the world in which people live has become more sophisticated,
complex, and intertwined since the turn of twentieth century.
One
of the best method to gain an understanding of the war, its
complexity and relations to other concepts related to human intentions,
beliefs, motivations, and actions is to engage in an in-depth analysis
of a particular war as an concrete event by evaluating it within lager
political, social, and economic context. To that end, the war
with Iraq is chosen as the topic of this WebQuest. That is, this Web
Quest is designed in order to help students better understand the
concept war with its components by focusing on the most recent war,
the war with Iraq.
This issue has been very complex and controversial,
so not only the public but also representatives of governments in
the world differed from each other in terms of their perspectives
and proposed action plans or policies to deal with the crisis in Iraq.
The crisis basically stemmed from the issue of whether Iraq was producing
and keeping weapons of mass destruction. While weapon inspectors of
the United Nations could not find any evidences to prove the existence
of nuclear and chemical weapons in Iraq after meticulous inspections,
the representatives of U.S. claimed that Iraq did have those weapons
and that they were committed to eliminate the world from the threat
to world security and peace. In the end, the U.S. and Britain launched
on war in Iraq for all the strong oppositions of most states and their
publics who were against the use of force, so to speak war, to handle
the crisis in Iraq. The war with Iraq can be said to be over. Still,
the U.S. and Britain could not prove their main reason for going to
war. Neither did Iraq use any weapons of mass destruction during the
short-lived war nor the U.S. and Britain have found any evidences
to prove their claim.
What are the actual reasons that led these two
countries to do military operations in Iraq? Was this war justified?
What kinds of consequences can this war give rise to in the Middle
East and the word?
Students
will delve into the issue in order to make judgment about whether
the war was justified focusing on actual reasons for the war and its
consequences on people's lives in the region and and the world.
Students
are expected to take into account the roles that social, economic,
cultural, and political factors play in shaping people's beliefs,
interest, goals, and behaviors.
