<
https://theconversation.com/iraq-war-20-years-on-how-the-world-failed-iraq-and-created-a-less-peaceful-democratic-and-prosperous-state-200075>
"Two decades ago, Australia joined the US-led “coalition of the willing” that
staged a major military intervention in Iraq.
To justify the war, leaders like US President George W. Bush and Australian
Prime Minister John Howard argued that Iraq had developed weapons of mass
destruction and was harbouring terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. Neither could be
tolerated in a post-9/11 world.
However, when evidence for Iraq’s weapons program or links to terrorism failed
to emerge, the coalition partners were forced to re-frame the war. The goals
were threefold:
* to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and bring peace to the Iraqi people
* to replace the autocratic Baathist regime with a democratic government
* to transform Iraq into a prosperous state governed by a free-market economy.
Twenty years on, the legacy of the war still looms large in Iraq. Despite the
enormous human and financial costs, the coalition abjectly failed to achieve
its central goals. Today, Iraq is not more peaceful, democratic or prosperous
than it was in 2003."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
