Why Are We There, Essay Example

The logic behind the United States’ decision to invade Iraq remains in dispute. The official reasoning of the American government for this war, such as the desire to overthrow an authoritarian regime, a crucial step in the War on Terror, and the presence of weapons of mass destruction on Iraqi soil, are all debatable points in both popular and academic discourse. A question also remains as to the reasoning behind the continued presence of American soldiers on Iraqi territory, insofar as the Hussein regime has been removed, no weapons of mass destruction were found, and the terrorist connection between the Baath party and Al Qaeda has never been demonstrated. According to such a profound doubt that pervades this moment in American foreign policy, it is pertinent to thus evaluate some of the reasons behind such a decision. At the same time, such a doubt suggests the very dubiousness of the entire enterprise: the War in Iraq can be understood in geopolitical terms as an attempt to extend the sphere of American influence in the Middle East and further ensure American hegemony.

To think critically about the War in Iraq is to immediately confront the official ideology regarding the reasons for the War. One of the crucial features of this War can be viewed in terms of the Bush administration’s attempts to portray the conflict as an ius in bellum, as a just war. The evocation of just war theory means that conflict was decided upon for legitimate ethical reasons. Thus, the aforementioned concerns were regarded as the impetus for the decision for conflict. At the same time, however, as Fiala (2008) notes “even President Bush has admitted that the WMD argument presented a flawed basis for war.” (p. 141) This crucial mistake in policy planning and logic immediately puts the justness of the Iraq War in doubt: insofar as the government misconstrued the threats, the entire logic behind the conflict becomes disrupted. As opposed to suggesting a just war theory, the admission of Bush rather lends credence to an interpretation of the conflict as one that is largely informed by an aggressive American foreign policy. The non-existence of WMD, as Fiala (2008) writes, is an event “that gives us a reason to suspect that governments exaggerate threats, misrepresent data, and perhaps even deliberately lie in support of their war agendas.” (p. 141) In other words, the initial policy decision is a decision for war; afterwards an ideological justification is needed to present to the public in order that they support this same decision. This is thus a clear rejection of any principle of just war, in which some ethical cause determines the decision for war and not vice versa.

Accordingly, the falsity of the initial logic behind the War engenders interpretations of the conflict that are radically more critical. Fawn and Hinnesbuch (2006) suggest that the War was an attempt to “extend US global hegemony.” (291) Hence, it is largely a decision for American power and its continuance that influences policy decision. From this perspective, the aim of the War was to establish a legitimate American military presence in an area of the world that was deemed crucial by policy advisors. The reasons of “why Iraq?” would therefore suggest the need to satisfy American energy demands and to establish a military presence in a Middle East that can be considered hostile to the American government. In other words, this is a radically geopolitical decision, as opposed to a decision determined by any ethical imperative.

Because of the weaknesses of the initial reasons behind the War in Iraq, a more critical approach to the conflict needs to be taken. In this regard, much academic literature stresses a geopolitical approach to the analysis of this conflict, as opposed to an ethical approach. In fact, the geopolitical approach clarifies some of the inconsistencies in the official government narrative. Whereas the general public cannot know the exact reasons for, the events of the Iraq War can nevertheless be interpreted as an instance of American hegemony, insofar as the very reasons the government gave for war are contested.

Works Cited

Fawn, Rick and Hinnebusch, Raymond A. (2006). The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences. Ann Arbor, MI: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Fiala, Andrew Gordon. (2008). The Just War Myth: The Moral Illusions of War. London: Rowman & Littlefield.