<
https://theconversation.com/we-did-it-so-badly-its-now-backfired-women-and-minority-us-forces-reflect-on-the-invasion-of-iraq-now-20-years-ago-199415>
"Twenty years ago, the United States led the “coalition of the willing” in an
invasion of Iraq, in the shadow of the September 11 2001 attacks on the US by
militant Islamic network al-Qaeda.
Western forces justified the war by claiming Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass
destruction (which would never be found) and intended to help al-Qaeda.
A long, drawn-out war created a power vacuum in Iraq, leading to civil war
between Iraqi Shias and Sunnis, and repeated insurgencies against occupying
forces. Both were exploited by the emerging militant terror group Daesh, better
known as ISIS, whose leaders met and radicalised in US detention camps.
While most Western forces finally withdrew in 2017, Iraq faces continued
insurgency and political crises.
“The people that we chose – and the people we empowered – were leaders of
ethnic or religious extremists,” reflected Lieutenant Heather Coyne, as early
as 2004. “We made them, we put them in charge.”
Coyne was one of the US military members and contractors whose experiences of
the invasion were captured by the “Iraq Experience” Oral History Project. It
reveals a snapshot of Iraq at a key moment in time: just over a year after the
war began."
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
