Twenty years since the U.S. invasion began, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo explore the moral and political lessons of the Iraq War.
Issues covered:
● Why Americans need to examine the lessons of the Iraq War;
● The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the context leading up to the war;
● The focus on weapons of mass destruction and intelligence weaknesses while evading the threat of Islamic totalitarianism;
● Why Russia’s attack on Ukraine is not analogous to America’s war in Iraq;
● David Frum’s analysis of the Iraq War in The Atlantic;
● John Bolton’s and Bret Stephens’ analysis of the war and the failure to question whether Iraq was the right target;
● The disastrous results of the war, including increased reluctance to defend American interests militarily;
● How America’s response to 9/11 set the stage for the rise of populism and widespread distrust of institutions;
● The erosion of American exceptionalism in the wake of the Iraq War.