Explain the Causes and Consequences of the Iraq War

Explain the causes and consequences of the Iraq War (2003) On the 20th of March 2003, US cruise missiles and bombs were dropped on Baghdad, Iraq’s capital city. The target was the then Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein’s and his closest aides, who were believed to be in a meeting. It would be the start of a conflict that would still be going strong seven years later. Even after so many years of US-led invasion, the reasons for invading Iraq are still debated worldwide. As Allawi (2007) argues ‘in the history of conflicts and wars, there are few instances that match the invasion and occupation for complexity of motive and ambiguity of purpose’[1]. As a result, the Iraq War or otherwise known as ‘Operation Iraqi freedom’ was to become one of†¦show more content†¦Crisis talks were held with the leaders of the US, UK and Spain resulting in the withdrawal of the resolution. The very same evening, President Bush televised a live conference warning that if Saddam Hussein did not leave Iraq in 48 hours the result would be ‘military conflict commenced at the time of our choosing’[9]. Therefore the main cause of the Iraq War was the threat of Saddam Hussein’s claimed WMDs. Prior to the invasion, American policy makers also emphasised ‘the broad benefits likely to result from the removal of Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian regime into a ‘cultivation of a democratic regime’[10]. They argued that democratization of Iraq would improve the well being of Iraqi citizens, politically and economically. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the democratization of Iraq would help stimulate greater economic prosperity and promote further democracy in the rest of the middle east - a region historically characterised by authoritarian governments where there is a wide spread of conflict, instability and widespread poverty[11]. Moreover it was claimed that the democratization of Iraq would set the stage for the settlement of conflicts that had plagued the Middle Eastern region for decades which would mean the chance to create lasting peace.[12] This next section will examine theShow MoreRelatedThe Main Idea Of The Article The Aquinas Inquiry, Is To1235 Words   |  5 PagesThe Aquinas Inquiry, is to explain or kind of conclude what a medieval philosophers panel would look like and how they would feel about the invasion of Iraq, Tony Blair’s decisions, and Saddam Hussein and determine the reasons. â€Å"The members of the ‘Aquinas Inquiry’ have already developed a set of six criteria which should be met in order for any war to be considered just.† The set of criteria will be used in this article to determine whether or not Tony Blair had just cause.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The author of thisRead MoreThe Iran Iraq War1566 Words   |  7 PagesThe Iran-Iraq lasted from September 1980 to August 1998, which made it the longest conventional war of the 20th century. 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