Was Iraq War Handled Effectively - Assignment Example

Research Design I have decided to adopt a single case study design because it offers the best option for giving concrete answers as to whether the Iraq war was effectively managed. In order to answer the question accurately and thoroughly, a number of questions have to be raised which makes the research process more complicated. In addition, the research has multiple variables which have to be understood on an individual and as a set of problems, which can only be achieved if a single case study design is adopted. A case study offers the opportunity to analyze real life experiences providing holistic and detailed accounts of the events that transpired in Iraq after the U.S invaded Iraq. Additionally, it offers the chance to examine the outcomes of the choices chosen by the U.S and its allies during and after the invasion and even after the evacuation of U.S troops from Iraq. Other factors include the decisions of the new regime to marginalize the Sunnis and the inefficiencies of the institutions of Iraq to handle matters of the nation. The adoption of a case study will enable me to offer an analysis of both content and from a historical perspective. In addition, a case study offers the opportunity for structuring any future research on this topic while also providing a foundation for other researchers to further their knowledge on this topic and a chance to offer additional insight and information. A case study is the ideal research design technique because it is particularly helpful in analyzing institutions and structuring policy. The main factors to consider and examining the case study include:- a. The role played by the U.S and its allies in the mismanagement of the Iraq War. b. The role played by the political institutions in Iraq in the outcomes of the Iraq War. c. The role played by the government of Maliki after the end of the War. d. The impact of the evacuation of the U.S troops from Iraq on the rise of ISIS. The analytical approach to be adopted is the congruence method based on typical conditions. The use of congruence analysis is the most appropriate approach because it places emphasis on formulating conclusions that are relevant to the goals of the study and because it enhances objectivity and reliability of the research. The case study chosen is “Wars of Decline: Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya” because it offers an opportunity to clearly investigate the factors listed above and is able to comprehensively explain the occurrence of a number of factors that are responsible for the mismanagement of the Iraq War. Case Study “The Wars of Decline: Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya” provides an opportunity for the analysis of the management of the Iraq War. It provides a chance to analyze underlying factors that may have caused the mismanagement of the Iraq War. The Iraq War was as a response to the 9/11 bombings in Washington and New York by Al Qaeda militants. Al Qaeda had been responsible for a number of attacks in other parts of the world such as the 1998 bombings of the American Embassies in East Africa. However, the 9/11 attacks marked the first time that Al Qaeda had successfully carried out a terrorist attack on U.S soil. It also marked a change in perspective and tactics in the way governments were responding to terrorist attacks due to their increasingly new global outlook. The threat of a global terrorist network pushed the U.S government to result to invading Afghanistan in 2001 for sheltering terrorists and in Iraq in 2003, for promoting terrorist activities and developing weapons of mass destruction. The eminent threat posed by Sadaam Hussein’s government, which was facilitating terrorist activities by funding and training Islamic militants in order to form an Islamic state in the Middle East, mandated the Bush administration to invade Iraq in 2003. Additionally, even before invading Iraq, a National Security Strategy was laid out in 2002 as a pre-emptive move aimed at using military force in Iraq. However, the strategy was deemed controversial due to its disregard for international laws on rules of engagement with foreign countries. It can be argued that the war on Iraq was always going to be ineffective from the onset. The lack of a clear guideline as to how to engage with Iraq in conjunction with international laws contributed to the massive loss of innocent Iraqi civilian lives. The war disregarded any costs in terms of financial cots and human lives. The war in Iraq was pursued without a plan for post war situations and a clear strategic vision. There was confusion between the Foreign Office and the military wing. In addition, once the regime of Saddam Hussein was toppled in a period of less than three weeks, there was change in plans. The original plan was to occupy Iraq for a short period, then ensure the rapid transition of power to Iraqi authority. However, such plans were negated when Paul Bremer (Coalition of Provincial Authority) disbanded institutions such as the Iraqi army and enforced a law that abolished the Baathification which had been adopted by the Sunni majority government of Sadaam Hussein. These led to the commission of violent acts by American soldiers in Iraq such as the murder of 17 civilians in April 2003 in Fallujah and the illegal detainment of Iraqi militants. For many years, the Sunni have been in power in Iraq under Saddam Hussein and can be traced back to the early 80’s. Since that period up to his dethronement, his government had been trying to promote the idea of a political Islamic state which would incorporate Sunni tribes and their respective representatives from the Baath Party and radical Islamic militants. However, Sadaam’s government isolated the minority Shia population. Following the war, a Sunni populated government was enacted under the leadership of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and due to the previous oppression committed by the Sunni led government, it embarked on marginalizing the majority Sunni population. Discussion The case study is able to verify claims regarding the violation of human rights of Iraqi civilians evidenced by the official report on the killing of 17 innocent civilians in April 2003 in Fallujah. This instance is indicative of how many thousands of lives was lost in the course of the decade old war. There are additional instances where the mismanagement of the Iraq War is shown, such as the inability of the U.S to deal effectively with the divisions in Iraq resulting from the Shias and the Sunnis, the inability of the U.S and its allies in developing adequate institutions which would promote democracy and foster economic development. From the case study it is quite evident that the US and its allies’ 2003 Iraq invasion played a significant part in the development and rise of ISIS. There is a general consensus from many observers in matters relating to the Middle East that the chaos perpetrated against the civilian population by the military forces in Iraq and the sectarianism adopted by the U.S and its allies, was directly responsible for pushing the civilian population and especially the Sunni into joining militant forces. Some of the members of the ISIL movement were initially optimistic regarding the toppling of Saddam Hussein with promises of a better future, but the human rights violation perpetrated by the U.S and its allies military forces, drove some sectors of the civilian population into joining the militant groups. Members of the Baathist party were also encouraged to continue supporting a united Islamic state that was against invasion from the West. The violence perpetrated against innocent civilians contributed greatly to the emergence of ISIL, which signifies how the Iraq War was mismanaged. Many eye witness accounts confirm the extensive human rights violations that occurred during the war courtesy of the U.S military forces and its ally soldiers. In addition the establishment of Guantanamo Bay, where many Iraqi militants and even civilians were detained illegally, played a huge role in the rise of ISIL. In such prison camps, many of them were radicalized, even those that were previously non-violent protestors of the U.S invasion of Iraq. Leaders such as Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi of ISIL, cites his five year imprisonment by U.S forces as the primary reason for his radicalization. The U.S prides itself in being a democratic country that upholds the rights of its civilians and as a champion of human rights across the globe, and this is one of the reasons cited by the administration of Bush for invading Iraq in 2003. This was because the administration of Sadaam Hussein was violating human rights and some of its policies were endangering the safety of not only Iraqi civilians but also the world through promoting terrorism. Therefore, when the U.S government supported the new regime of Nouri al-Maliki, it was allegedly aimed at fostering democracy in Iraq after close to a decade over war, even though the government had destroyed various important institutions such as universities and the army that could have aided in the democratic process. The government of Prime Minister Maliki has however been one of the main factors that has caused the current turmoil faced by Iraq. The new regime marginalized the Sunni (who were in power prior to the Iraq invasion) through a dictatorial system of government leading the Sunnis to join the extremist militant group, ISIL. There are deep rooted hostilities between the Shias and the Sunnis, which the new regime of Nouri al-Maliki, supported by the U.S and its allies, has failed to deal with effectively. A question is therefore raised as whether the ineffectiveness of the government of Maliki is down to one person or whether it is due to institutional inefficiencies that have been present in Iraq for a number of years and which have been exasperated by the U.S invasion of Iraq and its failure to facilitate the development of democratic institutions during its decade old stay in Iraq. The lack of democratic institutions have led to a kind of cyclical occurrence of events where the major tribes monopolize power. Initially, the Saddam regime was comprised mostly of the Sunni majority who oppressed the Shia, but after the Iraq invasion, the regime of Maliki was comprised mainly of Shias who are now oppressing the Sunni. The dictatorial tendencies exhibited by Maliki’s regime points to the failings of the Iraq invasion. The U.S government failed to ensure that the Shias were properly incorporated in the new government, evidenced by the refusal of Sunnis to participate in the parliamentary elections, the first of its kind since the dethronement of Sadaam Hussein following the invasion of Iraq. The observations made in the analysis of the case study provides one with a unique insight into how the administrative failings of the U.S government and its allies and how they directly contributed to the mismanagement of the Iraq War. Initially, the intentions of the War were pegged on fostering democracy in the Middle East with Iraq as a possible example for other countries to follow. However, the situation in Iraq has become worse. Many institutions are still yet to be functional, political and social institutions have been weakened further, security has become deplorable and civilian mistrust on the West has been enhanced. The greatest flaw of the Iraq War has been the emergence of ISIL which is more dangerous than all other previous militant extremist groups. ISIL is responsible for the violation of human rights through countless deaths of innocent civilians and Iraqi armed forces, destruction of public and private property and has highlighted the inefficiencies of the U.S- trained Iraq armed forces in dealing with the ISIL, which continues to grow in size. In terms of the policies adopted by the U.S, they have been contradictory and the goals set by the U.S with regards to the vision of a democratic Iraq have been core in the crisis currently suffered by the Iraq government. However, it is hard to establish whether if the U.S invasion was properly managed it could have led to the formation of a democratic state in the midst of growing support for an Islamic state in the Middle East and even in parts of Northern Africa. Works Cited Held, David and Coates, Kristian U. Wars of Decline: Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya., 2011. Retrieved April 08, 2015, from http://opendemocracy.net/david-held-kristian-coates-ulrichsen/wars-of-decline-afghanistan-iraq-and-libya.html Read More