Iraq War Flashcards
(5 cards)
Causes of the Iraq war?
New mood in the USA:
USA President George w bush was hostile to Iraq and he wanted to topple Saddam Hussein to install a pro USA democracy as they wanted them as an ally and access to their oil.
Saddams actions:
The USA tried to weaken iraq by funding its enemies but Saddam held tightly to his power. He used chemical weapons against Kurds in the north who opposed his rule. He used air strikes to crush Shi’a Muslim opposition in southern Iraq as he was a Sunni Muslim. In 1998 he expelled units nations weapons inspectors which reported he was building weapons of mass destruction. We now know he didn’t but he didn’t announce that as he didn’t want to look weak.
Al Qaeda the taliban and Afghanistan:
Following the events of 911 bush and most Americans decided something had to be done about Al Qaeda and Afghanistan called the war on terror and with support from Britain they destroyed Al Qaeda bases and defeated the groups ally the taliban. They thought Sudan hussein would be equally easy to defeat and they suspected he was linked to the 9/11 attacks which he wasn’t.
UN resolution 1441:
In 2002 the United Nations accused Iraq of making weapons of mass destruction and demanded Saddam either allow inspectors or face consequences. He refused and bush claimed this gave him authority to attack Iraq but many other leaders disagreed.
British opinion on the Iraq war?
Blair didn’t need to recruit any troops but he needed parliaments approval to commit troops to war.
Blair’s critics attacked him for being submissive to bush. They argued the war was illegal and not sanctioned by the UN.
People claim Blair over exaggerated the the WMD’s Saddam had.
Blair kept fighting and in one speech he compared parliament not attacking Iraq similar to the old government appeasement policy with Hitler, and that it would encourage more terrorists. Despite the controversy Blair won the vote and he sent troops.
What happened in the Iraq war?
An invasion took place in 2003 and Iraqi forces quickly collapsed and they suffered heavy casualties seeming like a quick victory for the USA but the situation soon changed following a series in mistakes from the USA as they thought Iraqis would welcome their intervention. They didn’t and us didn’t have enough troops to support a falling country. Cities were devastated by riots and looting impoverished Iraqis looted government buildings and hospitals.
The invading forces did nothing to restore law and order as they began to search for the non existent WMD’s. With Hussein gone many clan leaders established local power and fought back against USA and GB forces with classic Guerilla tactics and in the four years later there were 4,000 us casualties more rebels died but worst of all hundreds of thousands civilians died and millions became refugees to escape the fighting.
Responses to the Iraq war?
July 2003:
As it became clear the weapons of mass destruction did not exist public opinion quickly shifted and people criticised the government for having no plan to control Iraq and that the invasion made life much harder for the Iraqis.
2011:
As the extent of the chaos became clear disapproval of the war rose further and people began to make Blair a scapegoat.
Impact of the Iraq war on Britain?
British troops were removed in 2011 and casualties were very light with only 179 dying but the biggest impact was between the government and the people as trust was lost and people lost respect for Blair and the government and the impact was seen when David Cameron tried to get parliament to authorise air strikes on Syria but it was refused.
Many people also thought it made Britain a target for extremist attacks.
