Reflections on the War in Iraq

[Marauder06]

I think we probably thought Iraq would be easier than Iran. On the west, Iraq borders a friendly(ish) country and the countries to the north have their own problems. Iraq was also fractious (Sunnis, Shias, Kurds) in a way that Iran didn't seem to be (or at least less so, as shown by their performance in the Iran/Iraq war). Their people were more religiously motivated and more willing to fight than the Iraqis. We probably also hoped that we'd do Iraq first, democratic peace would break out, and we'd have that land mass (and all of its oil) to use against Iran later on.

And perhaps more importantly, it was a whole lot easier to trump up a war against Iraq than it was/is against Iran.

 

[AWP]

I agree with the above, but I'll add a fourth point...F-14 vs. F-14. Who wouldn't want that to happen?

 

[Cookie_]

Or...we could have just stayed home instead of inventing a war out of thin air. That wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Defense companies hearing you say this:

 

[Gunz]

I think we probably thought Iraq would be easier than Iran. On the west, Iraq borders a friendly(ish) country and the countries to the north have their own problems. Iraq was also fractious (Sunnis, Shias, Kurds) in a way that Iran didn't seem to be (or at least less so, as shown by their performance in the Iran/Iraq war). Their people were more religiously motivated and more willing to fight than the Iraqis. We probably also hoped that we'd do Iraq first, democratic peace would break out, and we'd have that land mass (and all of its oil) to use against Iran later on.

And perhaps more importantly, it was a whole lot easier to trump up a war against Iraq than it was/is against Iran.

I also think Bush and Tony Blair, still very much riding the post 9/11 emotional wave, envisioned a democratic Iraq--or at least an Iraq with a friendly and welcoming regime to US/UK assets. This perhaps might include permanent military bases from which to wage the GWOT. And another ally besides Israel in the heart of the Middle East. I believe they also felt Iraq could be a magnet for foreign terrorists eager to close with American forces, in essence a country-wide terrorist kill zone.

 

[Marauder06]

I also think Bush and Tony Blair, still very much riding the post 9/11 emotional wave, envisioned a democratic Iraq--or at least an Iraq with a friendly and welcoming regime to US/UK assets. This perhaps might include permanent military bases from which to wage the GWOT. And another ally besides Israel in the heart of the Middle East. I believe they also felt Iraq could be a magnet for foreign terrorists eager to close with American forces, in essence a country-wide terrorist kill zone.

I thought about that also--a giant jihadist bug zapper to draw in anyone who wanted a piece of The Great Satan.

But we already had that, in Afghanistan. Anyone who was super-motivated would find a way there. In Iraq, we fought a lot of foreign fighters but mostly against people who wanted jobs, security, and oh yeah foreign invaders out of their country. Folks who probably wouldn't have tried to get their jihad on if America had stayed out of their country.

 

[Gunz]

I thought about that also--a giant jihadist bug zapper to draw in anyone who wanted a piece of The Great Satan.

But we already had that, in Afghanistan.

That’s true, sir.

BTW, Bravo Zulu for “Jihadist bug zapper.”

 

[BloodStripe]

I did a few months working on a project with the HASC and before I went to the Hill, I attended a class at Georgetown. One of the first speakers referenced that when the US establishes a new Government somewhere we never mimic what we have in the US. I don’t have my notes in front of me so I’m working off a few years ago memory, but we almost exclusively use a parliamentary system. This is due to several factors but the most prominent reason being that a fragile Government will likely collapse due to nothing getting accomplished (see Republicans vs Democrats).

 

[BlackSmokeRisinG]

My thoughts on Iraq were simplistic, and it helped me stay positive all these years. I just left for maybe the last time a few months ago, and while they definitely still have their problems, Iraq is much better now and we don't have Saddam around.

I wasn't even 10 when Desert Storm happened. I was listening to my step-dad and uncle talk. My uncle was trying to join but had some surgery that was keeping him out. My step-dad who was never in the military and knew nothing about anything said the war was going to go on and my kids were going to have to go fight there. He was basically taking Saddam's jihad threats seriously. 23 years later I was walking around Baghdad and thought it was destiny. I never bought into the war for oil or that Saddam turned over a new leaf and would never attack anyone again or support terrorism.

In retrospect it was just a war we didn't have to fight that cost a ton of money and got a lot of people killed. Even if Saddam went full AQ I doubt they would have ever accomplished much outside of giving us a reason to keep up the air strikes.

 

[Marauder06]

Here's the "reflections on Iraq" piece I ended up co-authoring with my best friend, who given the fact that he was an Army Nurse, has a slightly different perspective than I did about our respective experiences there. It wasn't the "blame everything on Democratic Peace Theory" article that I initially envisioned, but I think it's better.

And yes, there are Dungeons and Dragons references. ;)

On a side note, I used the MidJourney AI to generate some of the art (see below).

“We really messed this country up. Bad. So how did we get involved in the disastrous Iraq war in the first place”

“A Deck of Many Things": Reflections on Colin Powell and Iraq, 20 Years Later