Was the Iraq War worth the human and material costs suffered by the Essay

Was the Iraq War worth the human and material costs suffered by the Allied coalition and Iraqi people - Essay Example The aforementioned suffered high costs various ways including social cost, economic cost, security cost and human cost, the most devastating of all being the human cost – it is literally breathtaking (Wallis, 2010). According to a 2004 study by the ‘Institute for Policy Studies and Foreign Policy In Focus’, between the commencement of war in March 2003 and September 22 the following year, 1,175 coalition forces lost their lives, comprising 1,040 United States’ military. Other deaths include those of contractors, civilian workers as well as missionaries, with their total estimates ranging from 50 to 90 lost lives, thirty-six of which were identified as Americans. This is in addition to uncalled for life termination of thirty innocent international Journalists, with eight of them being U.S. media companies’ workers (Antiwar.com, 2004). The study also revealed that following the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation in Iraq, by June 16, 2004, deaths o f Iraqi civilians ranged between 9,436 and 11,317, with an estimate of 40,000 Iraqis sustaining severe injuries. This is in addition to approximately 4,895 Iraqi insurgents and soldiers who were killed during ‘major combat’ operations. There has also been a great health concern on the effects of using depleted uranium weaponry in Iraq.