How the iraq war affected us foreign policy

How the iraq war affected us foreign policy


The war in Iraq is a controversial conflict that has defined American Foreign policy for over a decade. The United States declared war on Saddam Hussein’s regime on the premise that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and that Iraq was developing Weapons of Mass destruction making them an immediate threat to the United States. The United States argument to go to war in Iraq was based on false evidence. The Invasion of Iraq can be explained by the Neo-realism and neo-conservatism theories.
The Bush Administration had a firm belief that Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government was behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and that they harbored the terrorist responsible. However there was no evidence of any involvement. The Government also strongly believed that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. The CIA did not believe that there was a case to go to war because they did not believe there were weapons. Without any firm evidence of terrorist ties or WMD’s the Bush administration manipulated and exaggerated intelligence to strengthen their argument for a war. Many critics of the war say that the United States broke international law by invading Iraq with out going through the United Nations Security Council. Many opposing countries claimed the war endangered world peace. When no WMD’s were found the Bush administration still justified the invasion by saying Saddam Hussein still needed to overthrown because he was a threat to the region and oppressed his people.
According to the theory of Neo-Realism in International relations, international structure is defined by anarchy, with no higher authority each state must pursue there own interest over other states interest. After 9/11, the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil the Bush Administration was determined to start a preemptive war against terrorist. The Bush administration was largely made up of Neo-conservatives who felt the best way to protect United States interest was by the use of...

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