The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been very controversial issues since they started, because of the opposing sides. There are many people who think that it is a good thing that we are over in the Middle East spreading freedom and democracy, and just as many people who think that it is a waste of money and resources. The wars have been a very discussed topic of debate, but now that election season has started more and more people are focusing on the wars. According to one article “By far, war in Iraq tops list of issues concerning voters”, the war in Iraq one of the biggest issues that voters are looking at. I am bringing this up because I want to show why this is an important issue not just because of the money and lives that are spent, but because this could be a deciding factor in who is elected. I do think that people should consider this issue not only for election purposes, but also for the reasons that I have mentioned early in my blog. Such as, the large amount of money that is spent and the number of lives that have been sacrificed. According to the same article the war in Iraq has claimed 4,000 lives and it costs 2 million dollars a week. All the money that is spent on the war could be used on government programs that would benefit the economy and the country. According to the blog “Educational Justice”, the money that is spent on war could have been used to hire 13,291 public school teachers for a year. It could have also been used on other aspects of education like better schools, text books, or computers; along with countless other possibilities. There are so many ways we could be using the money spent on war, therefore, I think that instead of fighting we should bring the troops home and use the money on improving our country.