Friday, 18th April 2008

Choosing War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and Its Aftermath

Choosing War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and Its Aftermath (PDF; 1 MB)
Source: Institute for National Strategic Studies (National Defense University)

To date, the war in Iraq is a classic case of failure to adopt and adapt prudent courses of action that balance ends, ways, and means. After the major combat operation, U.S. policy has been insolvent, with inadequate means for pursuing ambitious ends. It is also a case where the perceived illegitimacy of our policy has led the United States to bear a disproportionate share of the war’s burden. U.S. efforts in Iraq stand in stark contrast to the war in Afghanistan, where, to the surprise of many, U.S. friends and allies have recently taken up a larger share of the burden of that conflict. Afghanistan has become the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) war, but the war in Iraq has increasingly become only a U.S. and Iraqi struggle. The British drawdown in Basra in the summer of 2007 heightened the isolation of the U.S. and Iraqi governments.

The goal of this case study is to outline how the United States chose to go to war in Iraq, how its decisionmaking process functioned, and what can be done to improve that process. The central finding of this study is that U.S. efforts in Iraq were hobbled by a set of faulty assumptions, a flawed planning effort, and a continuing inability to create security conditions in Iraq that could have fostered meaningful advances in stabilization, reconstruction, and governance. It is arguable whether the Iraqis will develop the wherewithal to create ethnic reconciliation and build a coherent national government. It is clear, however, that the United States and its partners have not done enough to create conditions in which such a development could take place. With the best of intentions, the United States toppled a vile, dangerous regime but has been unable to replace it with a stable entity. Mistakes in the Iraq operation cry out for improvements in the U.S. decisionmaking and policy execution systems. In turn, these improvements will require major changes in the legislative and executive branches, as well as in interagency processes.

Category:

• Documents in the news (DocuTicker)
• Government and politics (DocuTicker)
• International Relations (DocuTicker)
• Middle East (DocuTicker)
• Military and defense (DocuTicker)

Views: 955

Please note: DocuTicker's editors collect citations for full-text PDF reports freely available on the web but we do not archive these reports. When you click a link to find and/or download the report, you are leaving the DocuTicker site. DocuTicker makes no representations regarding the ongoing availability of any report or any external resource. Links were accurate as of the date of posting.

FreePint

FreePint supports the value of information in the enterprise. Read more »

Latest FreePint Articles:

• Mobile Strategy in the Investments Business
  Tuesday, 21st May 2013

  Carlos Ramon of retirement investments provider VALIC tells FreePint how the company developed a mobile app to allow its customers to check their fund positions, get news updates and contact their financial adviser. He also provides valuable tips for other organisations considering their own mobile strategy, whether for smartphones or tablets.

• Webinar Will Bring Big Data Down to Size
  Monday, 20th May 2013

  Find out more about FreePint's Webinar: Big Data in Action: Plain Language, Practical Guidance and don't forget to register for the free event. It's a great opportunity to find out more about big data from four technology and service companies in the sector: Attunity, Connotate, Linguamatics and Opera Solutions.

• Question Time for Thomson Reuters and PLC's Top Team
  Monday, 20th May 2013

  Robin Neidorf meets up with key members of Thomson Reuters and PLC's senior management team to quiz them about the role of PLC in Thomson Reuters' plans for the US legal market - and to find out more about Thomson Reuters' approach to the legal market worldwide.

• ... more ...

All Family Articles »
Family Articles by Category »

A FreePint Subscription delivers articles and reports that support your organisation's information practice, content and strategy.

Start the conversation about a subscription by
completing our online form: "How can FreePint help?"

FreePint Testimonials

"This report will be of great value to me as I meet with the managing partner in the near future to discuss the budget. It is one of the ..."

Read more testimonials and supply yours »