Iraq War 
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SOURCE: The Century Foundation
3/7/2023
America Broke Iraq, and Itself
by Thanassis Cambanis
"The U.S. occupation of Iraq normalized torture, impunity, manipulation of intelligence, and a new level of official mendacity."
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SOURCE: Foreign Affairs
3/10/2023
Iraq War at 20: What the Neocons Got Wrong
by Max Boot
"I desperately wanted to believe that spreading freedom could solve the security dilemmas confronting the United States—that by doing good in the world, it could also serve its national security interests."
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SOURCE: Financial Times
3/7/2023
20 Years Later, What is the Cultural Imprint of the Iraq War?
The US war against Vietnam sparked a broad array of artistic responses, and more importantly became a litmus test for a future generation of leaders. Despite disagreements about the invasion and its serious consequences for the Middle East, the war seems to have left no trace on the West.
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SOURCE: Foreign Policy
2/23/2023
20 Years After Iraq Invasion, Need for Dissenting Perspectives is Clear
by Matthew Duss
A left foreign policy analyst argues that labeling opposition to Ukraine's NATO membership as "pro-Putin" echoes the worst moves of the runup to the Iraq war, and that good policy grows from open discussion.
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SOURCE: The Atlantic
1/23/2023
Why We Went to War on Iraq
by Melvyn P. Leffler`
One foreign policy historian argues that the decision to invade Iraq was made out of genuine concern for thwarting attacks on Americans and preserving the United States' ability to use military power in the Middle East.
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SOURCE: Substack
10/18/2021
Why Powell's UN Speech Was So Crucial (and Bad)
by Greg Mitchell
Colin Powell's 2003 speech to the United Nations was short on evidence for Saddam Hussein's WMD program, but he put down his reputation as collateral, changing history for the worse.
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SOURCE: New York Times
10/18/2021
Colin Powell Dies at 84; Career of Military and Diplomatic Leadership Featured Controversial Support for Iraq Invasion
“I’m the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world,” Mr. Powell said, acknowledging that his presentation “will always be a part of my record.”
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SOURCE: The Atlantic
9/8/2021
After 9/11, the U.S. Got Almost Everything Wrong
by Garrett M. Graff
"The events of September 11, 2001, became the hinge on which all of recent American history would turn, rewriting global alliances, reorganizing the U.S. government, and even changing the feel of daily life."
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SOURCE: TomDispatch
8/3/2021
Moral Injury and the Forever Wars
by Kelly Denton-Borhaug
"Andy’s story clarifies a reality Americans badly need to grasp: the destruction of war goes far beyond its intended targets. In the end, its violence is impossible to control."
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SOURCE: NPR
6/17/2021
Congress Is Poised To Take Back Some Of Its War Powers From The President
US Rep. Barbara Lee was among the few opponents of giving George W. Bush authority to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. Her resolution to repeal that legislation now has more than 130 cosponsors.
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SOURCE: Boston Globe
5/27/2021
My Son Was Killed In Iraq 14 Years Ago — Who’s Responsible?
by Andrew Bacevich
"Even today, the electorate shows little inclination to rethink the core assumptions informing basic US national security policy. Supporting the troops means suppressing second thoughts, asking few questions, and shoveling more money to the Pentagon."
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SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
5/20/2021
What Liberal Comparisons between Bush-Cheney and Trump Get Wrong
by Joseph Stieb
Liberal critics of Liz Cheney have suggested she's a hypocrite, blasting Trump's "Big Lie" while having championed the deceptions that led to the Iraq War. This is an imperfect comparison, which ignores the real lessons of Iraq – that fixing the fact-finding process to fit a policy is a common and continuing danger.
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SOURCE: TomDispatch
12/22/2020
Reflections on Vietnam and Iraq: The Lessons of Two Failed Wars
by Andrew Bacevich
Although the prospects for quickly turning around the ship seem dim, this has been an election year ending in zero, which has often signaled a turning point. The question is, in which direction.
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SOURCE: Texas Monthly
9/20/2020
Are We Ready to Rehabilitate George W. Bush’s Reputation?
by Andrew R. Graybill
The presidency of Donald Trump has allowed supporters of George W. Bush to push for a reevaluation of a man who left office with historically high unfavorability ratings. A SMU professor digs into recent books by way of evaluating whether Dubya will get a raw deal from history.
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SOURCE: War on the Rocks
9/1/2020
Opening Up New Avenues to Understanding the Path to War in Iraq
by Joseph Stieb
National security historian Joseph Stieb reviews journalist Robert Draper's account of the drive to war against Iraq in 2003, concluding that Draper explains how the principals built a case for war out of selectively embroidered intelligence, but not why war appeared as a positive option or much of the American political establishment got on board.
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SOURCE: Vox
8/27/2020
Those who Like Government Least Govern Worst
Both George W. Bush and Donald Trump represent a Republican Party soaked in contempt for, and mistrust of, the federal government. When you don’t respect, or even like, the institution you lead, you lead it poorly. When that institution is incredibly, globally important — as the US government is — leading it poorly can invite global catastrophe.
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SOURCE: New York Times
8/12/2020
Regrets? Even Brent Scowcroft Had a Few
In an oral history released after his death, the former national security adviser revealed a few key moments in which his ideas failed in the war against Saddam Hussein.
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SOURCE: The New Republic
8/4/2020
The Never Trumpers Have Already Won
by Samuel Moyn
Never Trump's historic role turns out to be not among Republicans so far, but within a Democratic Party whose members have chosen to convert enemies into friends, setting up a guardrail against the capture of their party by the left.
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SOURCE: TomDispatch
8/2/2020
Missing in Action: Accountability Is Gone in America
by Karen J. Greenberg
A crucial part of the history of the neoconservative invasion of Iraq and the use of torture in the War on Terror is the utter lack of accountability or consequence for the people who made those decisions.
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SOURCE: NY Times
10/10/19
Military Leaders Fear They’ve Seen This Before. It Ended in the Iraq War.
The last time the United States abandoned allies in the Middle East, military officials say, it helped lead to the Iraq war.
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