I-Search+by+Genji

by Genji I already know that the war in Iraq is and was a very vicious war which took hundreds of lives from car bombs, suicides, massacres, etc. Many terrorists live and hide there, and that is why the US sent soldiers there to make peace. Unfortunately the only results are debt and even more deaths. I think it was George Bush which sent the soldiers to Iraq, and that was what made him so unpopular. The people there don't even know if they will survive a trip to the supermarket. It is like hell.
 * A Horrible and Deadly War- Real Modern Warfare **
 * Part I--What I already know about my topic **

I have always been curious about what caused so much chaos in the backward country. It couldn't have always been like that, could it? Was there any way to prevent it? Is there still any way to end it now? More and more innocent lives are being taken for just about no reason. Also, why did George Bush send troops into Iraq? Did he think that it would actually solve the problem? The solution was obvious, yet Bush obliviously sent troops in. But the main question I really want to know, as I said before, what started the recklessness in Iraq. If I know this, maybe that will give a step towards ending the war and the violence. I would also like to learn about what Barak Obama, our current president, did and will do to the war in Iraq. I think that the people who voted for him did so because of what he said he would do with the terrible clash. At least, that is why I supported him. I hoped that after he was elected that he would try to stop all the deaths caused, but so far nothing really happened. It stayed the same, and radio stations still have reports about "bombing," "suicides," etc.
 * Part II--What I Want to Find Out **

3/22/2010- That was the day when I decided upon my topic. I chose the Iraq War because it is the most direct problem with the United States. It's us who are fighting against Iraq and its government. It's also pretty interesting too- not the warfare itself, but the events leading up to it, the events in the war, and how it will turn out. I also picked a few books from the library, like __Iraq War__ by Rodney Carlisle and __Iraqi Insurgents__ by Bill Scheppler. (Those are not the only books, however.) It's 4/20/10. I finally decided upon a book on my topic, the Iraq War. Though it's only 40 pages, it's packed with a giant load of information that I can use. I had many other books, but this seemed like the best one. The others were either 300-400 pages, or 25 pages. It's called __Iraqi Insurgents__. It's actually pretty interesting, too. It covers a lot of the topics without making it boring. Somehow the author does that, and I can even get inspiration from it so as to make my I-Search more fun also. I also decided to use a part from the internet source from Wikipedia.org. It is the article titled "Iraq," and that basically sums up what the article is about. I highlighted the part about the Iraq War and that part is already a giant load of information. It contains just about every year, statistic, and event that happened during the war. It said that the war began on March 20, 2003, but it wasn't the start of war there. There was fighting already, but on March 20 it was the first battle after Congress declared war on Iraq. I've never known that before! I think that this I-Search might be more interesting than the boring old research project I expected. 4/21/2010 I start reading my book, __Iraqi Insurgents.__ It displayed Iraq as almost a backwards country. There was war everywhere, police holding guns, fear, etc. Even the cover is a terrorist holding a rocket launcher! War doesn't fascinate me- in fact, it is the complete opposite; war is a terrible thing, causing thousands and possibly millions of lives just for a simple conflict that can be solved a much easier way. Some of it was cause by Saddam Hussein, who was a public enemy and a dictator. I don't understand why people like Hussein want to have so much power. Why doesn't he just live a normal life like a normal middle-class person? Did he have to have it always his way? Maybe I should do more research about him. 4/22/10 I used Wikipedia and found an article about Saddam Hussein. Good 'ol Wikipedia- it always has been there for me, except for when the article has been modified... Anyways, this site I found was very accurate and I will be using it. I put the article into Diigo, an online bookmarking site. It's very organized and can store hundreds of bookmarks at a time. 4/27/2010. I found a person who is an expert on my topic, Iraq. His name is James Phillips from the Heritage Foundation. He is supposedly the "senior research fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs." He seems like quite a famous guy! I plan to e-mail him as opposed to interviewing him on the phone, because that way I can record every word he says in the email and, well, it's a little embarrassing because he is such a famous person. I haven't done so yet because I want to play out how I want to write my e-mail. It has to be formal, or else it will seem very awkward. The only thing I'm afraid of is that he doesn't reply for a long time. He will probably receive many e-mails a day, and mine will just be one of many. I found his name on this site: [] 5/18/10 I am deciding against interviewing James Phillips because of the tight time limit. I am going to interview my next-door neighbor, Sara. She is from Iran and I hope the information I receive will be accurate. 5/19/10 Today I interviewed Sara. She is Middle Eastern and she had a lot of things to say. She really had a strong argument and opinion in the questions I asked her. To be honest, the interview was actually pretty tense for me in the beginning. I thought it was really strange for me to just barge into her house and ask questions about the war. But as the interview went on, it got easier and easier. (The Interview- Questions and Responses)
 * Part III--The Search **

This was a really great learning experience! I learned so much more than the common knowledge and rumors most people know. There are many things not revealed to the public about this terrible war. It wasn't only about terrorists- it was also an economic issue also. One of the most important things I learned about was the fact that the war was caused not by terrorists, but by Saddam Hussein. A dictator, he accused a neighboring country, Kuwait, for stealing Iraq's oil. He sent his troops across the border but the US intervened. It was the first time that we had interfered with Iraq. The States and Iraq used to be in good terms until Hussein became the leader. Hussein was exiled. But we only declared war on the terrorists after September 11th, 2001, or as everybody knows as 9-11. So, technically, Bush did start the war. However, there was one piece of disturbing information. The main reason why the US is interfering with Iraq is because of the oil industry. Without oil, more than half of the US would be panicked. It is the main source of energy in the US. Cars, heaters, and even electricity is made from oil. And a majority of it comes from Iraq. So that means that we are participating in such a bloody and violent war so that we can have... oil. But I think it was really very unfair. Many innocent bystanders are injured and even killed because the war taking place in their city.
 * Part IV--What I Learned **

"A Timeline of the Iraq War." //Think Progress//. Think Progress, n.d. Web. 22 Apr 2010. .
 * Part V--Works Cited**

Scheppler, Bill. //Iraqi Insurgents: Resisting America's Nation-Building in Iraq//. 1st Edition. NY, NY: Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Print. Sara. Personal interview. 19 May 2010. Interview.

Wikipedia contributors. "Iraq." //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2010.

Wikipedia contributors. "Saddam Hussein." //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2010