What started the war in Iraq that we are still experiencing today? At this time in history we were still in the Cold War (1945-1991), many events occurred during this period. I will start with the Iran-Iraq War which began in 1980 and ended in 1988. The war began when Iraq invaded Iran, launching a simultaneous air and ground invasion into Iranian territory on September 22, 1980, following a long history of border disputes. and fears of a Shiite insurgency within Iraq's Shiite majority, long repressed and influenced by the Iranian revolution. (Wikipedia, Iran-Iraq War, 2011). This war claimed at least one and a half million lives and seriously damaged their economies. The Iran-Iraq conflict is often compared to World War I because of the tactics used in the war. The Iran-Iraq War was one of the deadliest wars since World War II, as Iraq used chemical weapons of mass destruction against Iran. As our brave men and women in uniform find themselves once again embroiled in conflict in the Middle East, the debate around the desirability and necessity of a second Gulf conflict has ceased in professional circles. However, before the conflict began, controversy raged over when and how best to pursue this situation. Many have argued that the United States should have worked through the United Nations to reach a resolution with worldwide consensus. But this attempt was doomed to failure from the start. The United States sought to resolve this dilemma through the use of military force. France and Germany wanted to spread it using anything but force. In order to properly evaluate all options in this matter, one must ask to what extent Saddam Hussei posed an immediate threat...... middle of paper ...... y war," Foreign Policy. Retrieved 31 January 2011, from http://www.mtholyoke.edu: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/walt.htmWikipedia (Retrieved January 30, 2011). /wiki/Al-QaedaWikipedia (January 27, 2011). Donald Rumsfeld (retrieved January 28, 2011) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_RumsfeldWikipedia (February 5). at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IlluminatiWikipedia (Iran-Iraq War, February 3, 2011). January 30, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_LadenWikipedia (2011, January 19) Retrieved January 29, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein..