Journal & Articles

George Washington was the very first President of the United States of America. He was born on February 22, 1732 in a small County called Westmoreland, located in Virginia. Washington, whose father passed away when he was only 11, was home schooled and learned how to become an expert woodsman and mapmaker by himself.

In 1759 Washington married Martha Curtis, a wealthy widow. Although Washington and Curtis never had children of their own, Curtis had two children, Martha and John, from her previous marriage.

After many years of turmoil between the Colonists and British, Washington was selected as the Commander in Chief of the Colonial Army in 1775. The following year, Washington and the rest of the Colonists declared their independence from the British. After years of fierce fighting and much bloodshed, the British were defeated in 1781. Washington’s unique strategies combined with the help of the French, granted the Colonists their independence.

In 1787 Washington attended the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, where the United States Constitution was first drafted. This Constitution was the main outline for how the government would function. The Constitution was ratified a year later, and went into effect the year after that (1789).

When it was time for voters to choose their first leader in 1789, Washington was unanimously voted in as the first President of the United States. He was also voted in unanimously for his second term in 1792. Although much was accomplished during his 8-year presidency, his most well known accomplishment was that of the Bill of Rights, which was adopted in 1791. Washington declined to serve a third term, explaining in his farewell speech that a third term would “give one man too much power”.

After retiring from politics in March of 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon where he devoted much of his time to farming. Washington’s health began to deteriorate severely in mid-1799, and he passed away shortly thereafter on December 14th, 1799 at his home. The cause of death is believed to have been acute laryngitis and pneumonia.

The world was expecting news from the US for quite a while, but when the official declaration of war came out the reaction didn’t seem that expected. On March 19th, 2003 the first US troops entered the territory of Iraq with definite task: to occupy the territory of dictatorship of Saddam and destroy his regime. The announcement caused many emotions like anger, frustration, fear, disdain, happiness, excitement, agreement. A great variety of motivating emotions showed up and flooded the society. Countries also differed in reaction on the statement, some supported, some declined as unacceptable and some remained neutral, though it may seem that it is impossible in such kind of circumstances. Though the intentions of the US were clear, there were a lot of accusations in personal gain campaign and disregard for the opinion of the world. The real question is: was the war a mistake or a right move towards freedom and development.

To evaluate the situation objectively we have to put aside all the principles we were brought on. We are a nation that longed for liberty since it was born out of blood of our ancestors and inheritance of the Natives. Let’s look at the picture as neutral people that are not involved in the campaign. The war in Iraq showed of what society is afraid most of all. The same day people flooded the streets with protests against poverty, inflation, nuclear attack, disorder in the country etc. This was the war, highlighted in every news sequence in the world, but the fact is that no one can be 100% sure that the information we receive is exact and trustworthy, even with all this freedom and possibilities given. Us army with battalions from other countries exterminated the regime of Saddam and the nightmare for Iraqi people is over. The number of victims that were tortured, killed, assassinated or destroyed in another way is close to a hundred thousands. And now when the action is over we are to ask: was a campaign successful or was it a tremendous mistake? Analyzing information provided by pentagon, the costs of the two wars, in Iraq and in Afghanistan amounts to $518bln dollars. That is enough to fully fund global anti-hunger efforts for more than 13 years and provide every child in the world with basic immunization for more than a century. “War is an expensive proposition. Whether you’re for the war or against the war, that’s a fact,” said Robert Bixby, the executive director of the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan organisation that advocates balanced federal budgets. He is absolutely right in his statement.

One more important thing is to see if Iraqi people realize what a radical change they have in their history. The aim of the US is reached, for troops came not to take lives, to conquer land, to own oil, but to bring piece and safety into the homes of Iraqi people. After the hardships of the war are forgotten, Iraqi people will either hate the US for the rest of their day or bless the day when they stepped onto their land.