ipl-logo

Iraq: Realism And The Invasion Of Iraq

1003 Words5 Pages

Angel Garcia (Perm #: 7615172)
PS 121: International Politics
08 February 2017
OP-ED
Realism and the Invasion of Iraq On March 20 2003, the United States invaded the state of Iraq and began occupation of the country, the invasion has become the largest and costly use of armed forces by the United States of the era. John Mearsheimer’s The Tragedy of Great Power Politics emphasizes the realist approach by illustrating that a government’s decision to go to war is the outcome of the state’s quest for power, security, and resources prompted by the anarchic international system in which states fear each other. Additionally, leaders rationally calculate both the cost and benefits of war in terms of their state’s power …show more content…

Hobbes believed that humans are selfish creatures who would do anything to better their position, nations specifically are selfishly motivated. According to him, realism upholds that the international system is anarchic and by nature human beings are evil; also that states have to maximize military power as a means to survival in this anarchic system. The Bush Administration used military force to invade Iraq in order to replace its leader, change the regime type, draft a new constitution, and implement new economic and political laws. The economic laws transformed Iraq’s economy by applying corporate globalization policies and locking in advantages to U.S corporations which unveiled another goal of the war—opening Iraq to U.S oil companies. The U.S 2003 Iraq Invasion was not a preemptive war, rather it was a war on an enemy who posed no immediate threat and whose defeat offered gains in form of vast economic …show more content…

The Bush Administration’s pre-emptive and unilateral foreign policy has gone down in history and today we can look at the invasion as a failure simply because the alleged purpose of the war was, one, to eliminate Hussein’s weapons of mass destructions that he ended up not having, and two, a regime change to a more pro-American democracy, however, today Iraq is a quasi-democracy and the U.S has very limited influence. Other lessons learned from this failure that may help create policy recommendation include the importance of coherent policy and strategy, preparation for unintended consequences, and planning for tactical

Show More
Related
1466 Words | 6 Pages

Have you ever wondered what has changed within the military in the last 50 years? In her non-fiction book “Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power,” Rachel Maddow unveils and discusses the major changes in how America now conducts its wars. Specifically, Maddow examines how military powers have been abused by presidents beginning with Lyndon B. Johnson and the Vietnam War to the more recent examples from the Obama administration’s use of private contracts and the CIA. Ms. Maddow’s book is a fascinating expose’ into american militarism and the ideals that America was founded upon.

Read More
773 Words | 4 Pages

The USA has a lengthy history of foreign intervention, staged when it is convenient for them rather than for the benefit of the country being converged upon. Regimes and dictatorships breed with practiced ease in developing—or even recovering—countries, directly under the nose of the world’s most powerful nations. Specifically in the US, foreign intervention should not be implemented for they have proven their incapability to assist nation without taking advantageous liberties. Frequently armed with selfish notions, America intervenes in foreign affairs—to garner some sort of profit—before withdrawing from the unfinished conflict entirely. By reading political declarations and historical recounts of these dictatorships it can be confidently

Read More
2425 Words | 10 Pages

... Behind closed doors, however, the elites who make national security policy speak mostly the language of power, not that of principle. ... In essence, a discernible gap separates public rhetorics from the actual conduct of American foreign policy.” [ John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, New York: W. W. Norton, 2001] 2.2.1 Realism Policies and Liberalism Rhetorics Foreign policies also produce soft power when they promote broadly shared values such as democracy and human rights. Americans have wrestled with how to integrate our values with other interests since the early days of the republic.

Read More
1380 Words | 6 Pages

The same chemical weapons in Syria mentioned earlier were noted by Obama as being “‘grounds for reprisal’ without doing the necessary diplomatic dirty work to get people in line” (Judis). “George W. Bush, for all his faults, proved adept at winning public backing for his invasion of Iraq,” a field of diplomacy Obama lacks (Judis). Obama “… [swings] abruptly from one overall strategy to another without fully appreciating the consequences” (Judis). With an administration rooted in an unstructured foreign policy, the ramifications depend on the possible

Read More
884 Words | 4 Pages

George Bush convinced the world that he had to invade Iraq because Hussein was killing innocent people. Bush said that the Iraqi army “subjected the people of Kuwait to unspeakable atrocities” (Hillstrom). Bush brought up the fact

Read More
1407 Words | 6 Pages

When examining history, there are many “lenses” through which one can view events that have made significant impacts in the field of international relations. During an address to the Carnegie Council on his book, How War Ends, Gideon Rose makes a bold claim that although the United States has been militarily successful in most of the conflicts in the past century, poor planning and incomplete identification of political goals and agendas by political leaders have lead to “botched” efforts in these endeavors and have ultimately led to prolonged conflicts and presence in foreign countries. Although Rose mentions many examples, his focus was on the war in Iraq and the regime change that occurred there due to US military intervention. While, listening

Read More
1427 Words | 6 Pages

The perpetuation of a military-focused mindset does not influence the U.S. foreign policy choices. Also establishes a model for other nations to emulate, perpetuating a cycle of worldwide militarization and conflict. Viewing warfare as a means to assert power and advance interests has repercussions leading to instability in regions worsening tensions and fostering an ongoing sense of

Read More
424 Words | 2 Pages

Some believe the United States is responsible to stop the war and suffering in foreign counties. Others think the U.S. should avoid foreign situations unless they threaten the homeland. Either way, the morale and physical responsibilities fall in the hands of the government (Relin, 1990). The U.S. has a long history of intervening in faraway conflicts that pose no immediate threat to American

Read More
1652 Words | 7 Pages

The United States has been in collaboration with various Iraqi leaders in an effort to create a strong, democratic federal system of government in Iraq. There have been many arguments over what type of democratic government should be instituted in Iraq, whether it should be a federal system, a confederate system, or even a unitary system. This essay will explore these various forms of democracy and highlight the characteristics of Iraq that could make each individual form of government a viable option. Furthermore, this essay will then delve into why the United States is promoting a federal system of government instead of either a confederate system or a unitary system in the government being established for the country of Iraq.

Read More
1446 Words | 6 Pages

The invasion of Iraq echoes the ideological view of Woodrow Wilson, immediately following World War I. In Wilson’s opinion, his Liberal Internationalism was a cure-all end-all to conflicts between nations. His matrix of diagnoses and prescriptions

Read More
1043 Words | 5 Pages

The Fog of War: Breakdown Using Theories of International Relations Many influential leaders or people in positions of power make weighted decisions which could have a lasting impact on the world around them. When it comes to Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson during a 7-year term, the theory of Realism can explain his decision-making greatly, while Constructivism manages to explain a few decisions but to great and important effect. A few lessons from the documentary The Fog of War highlight his decision-making during a torrid time at the White House. One lesson in The Fog of War is entitled “Empathize with your enemy” (The Fog of War), in which he describes the need to view a

Read More
1995 Words | 8 Pages

In the case of Iraq there is a historical inexperience with democracy, along with the fact that states that have gone through civil conflict find it harder to overcome internal underlying issues and still be able to democratize (Russett, 2005). States where interventions take place are often weaker than the interveners and have some form of humanitarian, political and social issues caused by failure of government, civil war and insurgence (Enterline and Greig, 2008). This breakdown in society and division in politics means they are not likely to be “fertile ground” for any major upheaval, especially without extended support (Owen, 2002). Therefore, any democratic implementation is dangerous unless underlying issues are addressed because it is these issues that provide further challenges to any attempt at democratization. The rationale behind the intervention, including the motivations and methods of the intervener also plays a major part in the success of a young democracy over the long term.

Read More
1258 Words | 6 Pages

Minor essay: Iraq War 2003 Iraq War, the war between Saddam Hussein government and coalition forces led by the US, which happens around 2000s, the topic that is significant for its ability to provide better understanding about the international situation in the Middle East and the role of the United States. While there are two different aspects presented by liberalist and realists respectively for this topic, however, between these two theories, realism theory is a more well-cut-out theoretical lens for the analysis of Iraq War when this theory’s focus of power and security well corelates to the USA’s claim that Iraq possessed either biological and fatally destructive weapons, which will result in the threat among the Middle East’s security.

Read More
1312 Words | 6 Pages

Realist Perspective of the War: According to realists, the International Political system is anarchical. There is no sovereign entity ruling above the sovereign states in the world. Whilst this anarchy needs not to be chaotic, for various member states of the international

Read More
897 Words | 4 Pages

Idealism and Realism are two strongly opposed views of foreign policy. At the core of this opposition is the issue of power and security in politics. Realism establishes a separation between politics and ethics in order to understand and comprehend international events. Realists don’t oppose morality to politics, nor power to law, but rather oppose the utopian peaceful society to the nature of society.

Read More

More about Iraq: Realism And The Invasion Of Iraq

Related Topics

Open Document