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Acknowledgements. Notes on contributors. Introduction: The Iraq legacies, intervention, occupation, withdrawal and beyond / Benjamin Isakhan. Part 1 The aftermath of war, strategic decisions and catastrophic mistakes: The de-Baathification of post-2003 Iraq, purging the past for political power / Benjamin Isakhan -- The contested politics of Iraq's oil wealth / Philippe Le Billon -- Torture at Abu Ghraib, non-disclosure and impunity / Aloysia Brooks. Part 2 Iraqi politics since Saddam: Shattering the Shia, a Maliki political strategy in post-Saddam Iraq / Benjamin Isakhan -- The dangerous legacy of a flawed constitution, resolving Iraq's Kurdish 'problem' / Liam Anderson -- Between Aqalliya and Mukawin, understanding Sunni political attitudes in post-Saddam Iraq / Ronen Zeidel -- Post-withdrawal prospects for Iraq's 'ultra-minorities' / Nicholas Al-Jeloo. Part 3 The plight of Iraqi culture and civil society: Doing democracy in difficult times, oil unions and the Maliki government / Benjamin Isakhan -- 'If you're a female, you risk being attacked,' digital selves, warblogs and women's rights in post-invasion Iraq / Perri Campbell and Luke Howie -- The impact of coalition military operations on archaeological sites in Iraq / Diane C. Siebrandt. Part 4 Regional and international consequences of the Iraq War: Ethnic cleansing in Iraq, internal and external displacement / Howard Adelman -- Shia ascendancy in Iraq and the sectarian polarization of the Middle East / Ranj Alaaldin -- Humanitarian intervention after Iraq, the politics of protection and rescue / Binoy Kampmark -- Iraq, the illusion of security and the limits to power / Joseph A. Camilleri. Conclusion: The Iraq legacies and the roots of the 'Islamic State' / Benjamin Isakhan. References. Index |
| Abstract |
In March 2003, a US-led "Coalition of the Willing' launched a pre-emptive intervention against Iraq. The nine long years of military occupation that followed saw an ambitious project to turn Iraq into a liberal democracy, underpinned by free-market capitalism and constituted by a citizen body free to live in peace and prosperity. However, the Iraq war did not go to plan and the coalition were forced to withdraw all combat troops at the end of 2011, having failed to deliver on their promise of a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Iraq. This text seeks not only to reflect on this abject failure but to put forth the argument that key decisions and errors of judgment on the part of the coalition and the Iraqi political elite set in train a sequence of events that have had devastating consequences for Iraq, for the region and for the world. -- cover |
