Ending the Iraq War: A Primer
Phyllis Bennis was one of the many Middle East and UN-watchers who anticipated disaster long before the first U.S. troops crossed into Iraq. Here she provides clear, unambiguous and honest answers to many questions about the US Iraq policy.
Even before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, challenging questions were on the rise. Why did three separate U.S. administrations, so different in so many ways, all agree on maintaining crippling economic sanctions on Iraq? Was it really the United Nations that imposed those "international" sanctions? Why was the second Bush administration so determined to go after Saddam Hussein? What was Operation Iraqi Freedom all about? What did oil have to do with it? And what about those U.S. bases constructed across Iraq? Was Saddam Hussein really connected to the September 11 attacks? Was this really "Bush's war," and what does Congress have to do with it? Is the U.S. occupation of Iraq connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? With tens of thousands of U.S. troops bogged down in Iraq, is an attack on Iran even possible? Are those who oppose the war really anti-American and "soft on terrorism?"
Even if the mainstream press in the U.S. ignores many of those questions, independent analysts have examined them since before the war began. Phyllis Bennis was one of the many Middle East and UN-watchers who anticipated disaster long before the first U.S. troops crossed into Iraq. Here, in an easy-to-read, "Frequently Asked Questions" format, Institute for Policy Studies scholar Bennis provides clear, unambiguous and honest answers to those and many more queries. With the Bush administration and most Democratic presidential candidates for the 2008 elections agreeing that U.S. troops will remain in Iraq "indefinitely" this handy guide is a must-read.
About the authors
Phyllis Bennis
Phyllis Bennis is a fellow of both TNI and the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC where she directs IPS's New Internationalism Project. Phyllis specialises in U.S. foreign policy issues, particularly involving the Middle East and United Nations. She worked as a journalist at the UN for ten years and currently serves as a special adviser to several top-level UN officials on Middle East issues, as well as playing an active role in the U.S. and global peace and Palestinian rights movements. A frequent contributor to U.S. and global media, Phyllis is also the author of numerous articles and books, particularly on Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, the UN, and U.S.
Recent publications from Peace & Security
Race, space and punishment in urban sociologyStructural circumstances of deprivation and criminalization facing African-Americans and the racialized perceptions of criminality appear to be some of the salient features that recently led to a young black teenager being killed by neighborhood watch patrolman George Zimmerman. |
How international rules on countering the financing of terrorism impact civil societyMaking banks and non-profits liable for the acts and social networks of their customers and beneficiaries while holding charities and CSOs responsible for the ‘extremist’ views and actions of their associates stifles freedom of association and expression and promotes self-censorship. |
Guns, debt and corruptionHigh levels of military spending played a key role in the unfolding economic crisis in Europe and continues to undermine efforts to resolve it. |
Secrets, Lies, & PropagandaAfter the US embrace of torture after 9/11 it was only a matter of time before Hollywood decided to make a tribute to America’s liberal culture of torture for the big screen; Zero Dark Thirty |
