The content provided discusses the consequences of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, highlighting the destabilization and chaos that ensued in the country and the region. The article argues that the US foreign policy establishment’s arrogance and lack of understanding of the country contributed to the creation of extremist groups like ISIS, which perpetuated terror and death in Iraq and Syria, and necessitated further US troop deployments and foreign occupations. The article also criticizes US leaders’ continuing efforts to militarily subdue countries, despite the lessons of Iraq. The architects and major backers of the war have not faced any consequences and continue to hold influential positions in US intellectual circles and policy-making. The lasting legacy of Iraq for Americans is a psychic break that highlights the perils of seeking hegemony at all costs. The article suggests that it is not too late to learn from the Iraq war’s lessons about the limits of US military power.
The Lingering Impact of the Iraq War on US and the Middle East
The Iraq War, launched by George W. Bush in 2003, was intended to be the starting point of a broader strategy for the US to control seven countries in the Middle East in just five years, according to retired General Wesley Clark. However, the invasion of Iraq instead turned out to be a catastrophic failure that triggered disastrous consequences still felt today. The ripple effects of the war continue to impact both the US and the Middle East.
For Iraqis, the war was a devastating generational disaster that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. US-led coalition forces used depleted uranium, which left many parts of the country toxic for inhabitants long after the war. The war also resulted in massive US losses, including over four thousand dead soldiers and the squandering of nearly three trillion dollars.
Despite its disastrous consequences, the US has failed to learn any lessons from the war. Even though the US-led war in Afghanistan lasted longer, it did not have the same impact on the US and the Middle East as the Iraq War. The US has continued to pursue regime-change policies, as was seen in Obama’s decision to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, which led to bedlam in Libya that continues to this day.
Twenty years later, the Iraq War still holds a unique place in the consciousness of the US and the world. The disastrous invasion has fundamentally changed the politics and stability of the Middle East, and it continues to shape US foreign policy. The failure to learn from the mistakes of the Iraq War has led to a cycle of misguided interventionist policies, resulting in more conflict, suffering, and instability.
The Push for War: Manipulation of American Pain and Anger
The Bush administration’s push for war in Iraq involved manipulation of global sympathy and ordinary Americans’ pain and anger over the 9/11 attacks. The administration was determined to take out Saddam Hussein, and documents signed by Bush and memos from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld prove this.
According to Bush’s former counterterrorism advisor Richard Clarke, Bush demanded that aides find a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks. A top-secret directive signed by Bush six days later ordered the Pentagon to start planning for war with Iraq, proving his determination to take out Hussein no matter what.
Similarly, Rumsfeld asked the vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and others if there was good enough information to hit Hussein at the same time as Osama bin Laden, and ordered the Pentagon’s top lawyer to get additional support for the connection between the two. Two months before the 9/11 attacks, Rumsfeld produced a memo suggesting a more robust policy against Hussein, claiming that his ouster would enhance US credibility and influence.
The Bush administration’s manipulation of American pain and anger to create a consensus for war in Iraq was cynical and manipulative. Documents and memos prove that the administration was determined to take out Hussein no matter what.
The Misinformation Campaign for War in Iraq
The US and British officials schemed over a “clever strategy” for how to most effectively sell and justify an attack on Iraq to a largely reluctant world, with sending weapons inspectors into Iraq merely as a tool in this campaign. Their over-riding objective was the removal of Saddam, and if the dictator avoided the trap by allowing inspectors in, they would find a new demand to justify military action.
This determination to drag the country into war involved a breathtaking and ferocious campaign of fearmongering, omissions, half-truths, and outright lies, all propagated at the highest levels. Bush officials were ubiquitous on TV making the case for war, sometimes citing the same dubious information they’d anonymously fed to the press as independent confirmation of the claims they were making.
Internal dissent was ruthlessly ignored and suppressed, and Powell himself drew on the considerable esteem in which US liberals and foreign publics held him to make a pivotal pro-war case at the United Nations that he privately derided as “bullshit.” The Trump administration’s comparatively lackluster and unsuccessful attempts to create a groundswell of support for regime change in countries like Cuba and Venezuela are a testament to how sophisticated this operation was.
The relentless campaign of deceit was so effective that on the eve of the war, nearly two-thirds of the US public thought Hussein had played a role in the September 11 attacks, and upward of 90 percent believed that he had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) or was developing them. We’ve arguably never seen this level of misinformation campaign in US politics before or since.
Mainstream Media’s Role in Propagating Misinformation on Iraq War
The Iraq War was sold to the public in large part through an orchestrated propaganda campaign by the Bush administration. However, the mainstream media’s role in disseminating fake news cannot be overstated. As this avalanche of fake news flooded in, the public’s support for the war grew stronger.
Establishment News Outlets as Propagandists
Most of the establishment news outlets actively promoted the war, with liberal columnists joining the chorus. Only a few journalists questioned the administration’s case. Even fewer reported the nonexistent links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. The Wall Street Journal cited “experts” claiming that Iraq was “most likely to have helped” bin Laden. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting’s analysis found that only four of the 297 current and retired officials who appeared as guests on networks were critical of the invasion.
Aggressive Censorship
There was little room for dissent from the official line. Reporters and media personalities were fired, and those critical of the war effort were ordered not to be so. Antiwar protesters were derided, and even voices on the Left were not immune to the jingoistic fervor. The media’s conduct did not get much better once the war began, as they embraced “embedded journalism,” sidestepping the errors made in Vietnam when reporters were allowed to honestly report on the battlefield.
Legacy of the Misinformation Campaign
This relentless campaign of deceit has arguably set a precedent for misinformation campaigns in US politics. On the eve of the war, nearly two-thirds of the US public believed that Saddam Hussein had played a role in the September 11 attacks. The public also believed that Iraq had WMDs or was developing them, which was used as a pretext for the invasion. Even today, we continue to see the consequences of the misinformation campaign in Iraq.
The mainstream media played an instrumental role in the Iraq War propaganda machine, with many establishment news outlets actively promoting the war effort. They failed in their responsibility to provide the public with accurate and unbiased reporting.
Cable Networks’ Coverage of the Iraq War
During the Iraq War, cable networks covered the conflict less like the brutal assault it was and more like the Super Bowl, focusing on moments like the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein as a symbol of victory. However, the reality was far from the media’s portrayal. The square was nearly empty, and the small crowd that gathered was largely made up of reporters and US marines. Even the Iraqi who sledgehammered the statue later regretted it, as he became a refugee in the post-invasion chaos.
Fallout from the Media’s Coverage of the Iraq War
Americans’ trust in the media dipped in 2004 as the mission in Iraq began to look unaccomplished, and that trust has only deteriorated ever since. The media never really recovered from their failure to accurately cover the conflict, and many have refused to self-reflect on this failure or accept responsibility for it. Instead, there has been a desperate search for scapegoats, such as Donald Trump or social media.
The political cost of the Iraq War has been significant. The conflict was a slow-twisting dagger in the side of the Bush presidency for the rest of his two terms, and it helped account for the rise of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, while contributing to the shocking defeats of Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. Today, it is hard to find a young leftist in the United States or beyond for whom the invasion wasn’t a formative, radicalizing experience.
The Iraq War was a time when the media failed in its responsibility to the public. By providing coverage that focused more on sensational moments than the realities of the conflict, the media contributed to a lack of trust in their reporting, and the fallout from the war has had significant political consequences that are still felt today.
The Global Fallout of the Iraq War
The Iraq War was a catastrophic event, which led to a shift in the American public’s opinion towards military adventurism. The public sentiment shifted away from the hawkish view that had prevailed since the Reagan era, and toward less military adventurism, more restraint, and an emphasis on securing prosperity at home. This public shift has inflicted real political costs on those running against it, enough that the war’s architects are still complaining that the resulting “Iraq syndrome” has stopped them from getting all the wars they’ve wanted.
Beyond domestic politics, the reputational damage the war inflicted on the United States globally was immense. The US had been enjoying the “unipolar moment” for barely more than a decade when Bush invaded Iraq, triggering unprecedented global opposition, while running roughshod over international law, multilateralism, and the “norms” in which US officials now unconvincingly drape themselves.
The invasion of Iraq revealed the US as a profoundly erratic, irresponsible, and dangerous global power. To this day, Iraq remains a sticking point for the Global South unwilling to align with the US over the invasion of Ukraine, and is no minor cause of the United States’ potential displacement in the region by what US officials see as their leading rival, China.
The Invasion of Iraq: A Catastrophe with Long-Lasting Effects
The invasion of Iraq by the United States in 2003 triggered a series of events that continue to impact the country and the wider region two decades later.
Geopolitical Blowback
The invasion created a power vacuum in the region that strengthened Iran’s influence in Iraq. Qassem Soleimani, the powerful Iranian general, used this void to extend his government’s military and political sway in Iraq, making it a significant adversary for the US.
Chaos and Instability
The Bush administration’s lack of understanding of Iraq contributed to the creation of an army of bitter Iraqis, who later became ISIS militants. The group cut a swath of terror and death across not just Iraq but also Syria, leading to more US troop deployments, foreign occupations, and endless wars in the region that persist today.
Enduring Presence of US Military
Despite the official withdrawal of US troops, US soldiers are still in Iraq more than a decade later. It is still an open question whether the elites have learned from Iraq and whether anything has changed. Although subsequent administrations have been hesitant to initiate ground invasions, regime change and military adventurism are still at the top of the menu for US foreign policy.
The Iraq War also created a reputation of the US as an erratic and irresponsible global power that triggered unprecedented global opposition, undermining Washington’s leadership role in the international community.
The consequences of the invasion are felt not only in the Middle East but also in the United States. The war’s failure to achieve its objectives led to the loss of trust in the media and a shift in US public opinion towards less military adventurism and more emphasis on securing prosperity at home.
In conclusion, the Iraq War remains a cautionary tale of how political decisions made in the halls of power can have catastrophic consequences for entire countries and regions, costing countless lives and resources.
Despite the disastrous consequences of the Iraq War, some leaders still attempt to use military intervention as a means of achieving their objectives. The lessons learned from Iraq, including the fact that militarily subduing a country is not the same as winning a war, seem to have been forgotten. Leaders such as Obama and Putin have repeated Bush’s folly in Libya and Ukraine with similarly terrible results. Some officials and commentators still talk about regime change as a solution to conflicts, despite the fact that it often leads to chaos and instability.
The Architects of War: Facing No Consequences
The architects of the Iraq war have faced no consequences and instead hold influential positions in the US intellectual and political circles. Former president George W. Bush, national security advisor John Bolton, and others are now revered in politics and media platforms. Propagandists for the war such as David Frum, Nicole Wallace, and Ari Fleischer are also prominent in the media.
The Psychotic Break of Iraq
Iraq may have triggered a psychic break for Americans at the height of post-Cold War supremacy. The invasion fueled cynicism and rage that are still evident today. The war should have taught a lesson about the limits of US military power and the perils of seeking hegemony at all costs, but it appears that the lesson has not been learned.
It is not too late to learn from the Iraq war’s mistakes and to prevent similar failures in the future.
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