Iraq War and the War on Terror

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On 19 March 2003, President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the Oval Office, announcing the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder." The Senate committee found that many of the administration's pre-war statements about Iraqi WMD were not supported by the underlying intelligence. Bush announces Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003.jpg
On 19 March 2003, President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the Oval Office, announcing the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. "The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder." The Senate committee found that many of the administration's pre-war statements about Iraqi WMD were not supported by the underlying intelligence.

The Iraq War, along with the War in Afghanistan, was described by President of the United States George W. Bush as "the central front in the War on Terror", and argued that if the U.S. pulled out of Iraq, "terrorists will follow us here." [2] [3] [4] The ensuing conflict in Iraq has seen prolonged American involvement in the country against multiple terrorist and non-terrorist groups.

Contents

As the conflict dragged on, members of the U.S. Congress, the American public, and even U.S. troops have questioned the connection between the Iraq War and the fight against terrorism. Multiple leading intelligence experts have argued that the war in Iraq actually increased terrorism.

Terrorism in Iraq

As Coalition Forces arrive at a car bombing in South Baghdad, a second car bomb is detonated, targeting those responding to the initial incident. April 14, 2005 Car bomb in Iraq.jpg
As Coalition Forces arrive at a car bombing in South Baghdad, a second car bomb is detonated, targeting those responding to the initial incident. April 14, 2005

According to the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center, Saddam Hussein had a long history before the invasion of giving money to families of suicide bombers in Palestine. [5] As part of the justification for the war, the Bush Administration argued that Saddam Hussein also had ties to al-Qaeda, and that his overthrow would lead to democratization in the Middle East, decreasing terrorism overall. [6] However, reports from the CIA, the U.S. State Department, the FBI, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as the investigations of foreign intelligence agencies found no evidence of an operational connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda. [7]

Some intelligence experts argue that the Iraq war has increased terrorism. Counterterrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna frequently refers to the invasion of Iraq as a "fatal mistake." [8] London's conservative International Institute for Strategic Studies concluded in 2004 that the occupation of Iraq had become "a potent global recruitment pretext" for jihadists, and that the invasion "galvanized" al-Qaeda and "perversely inspired insurgent violence" there. [9] The U.S. National Intelligence Council concluded in a January 2005 report that Iraq had overtaken Afghanistan as the primary training ground for the next generation of jihadist terrorists. [10] The Council's Chairman Robert L. Hutchings said, "At the moment, Iraq is a magnet for international terrorist activity." [11] And the 2006 National Intelligence Estimate, which outlined the considered judgment of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, held that "The Iraq conflict has become the 'cause celebre' for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement." [12] According to Mohammed Hafez, "Since 2003, the number of suicide bombings in Iraq has surpassed all those of Hamas in Israel, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka combined." [13]

Al-Qaeda

The bombing of Al Sabaah, 2006 US Navy 060827-N-6477M-617 A Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Devise (VBIED) after exploding on a street outside of the Al Sabah newspaper office in the Waziryia district of Baghdad, Iraq.jpg
The bombing of Al Sabaah , 2006

Following the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, the conflict quickly shifted against fighting numerous insurgencies. This included multiple terrorist groups, most notably Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Qaeda leaders have seen the Iraq war as a boon to their recruiting and operational efforts, providing evidence to jihadists worldwide that America is at war with Islam, and the training ground for a new generation of jihadists.[ citation needed ] In October 2003, Osama bin Laden announced: "Be glad of the good news: America is mired in the swamps of the Tigris and Euphrates. Bush is, through Iraq and its oil, easy prey. Here is he now, thank God, in an embarrassing situation and here is America today being ruined before the eyes of the whole world."[ excessive quote ] [14] Al-Qaeda commander Seif al-Adl gloated about the war in Iraq, indicating, "The Americans took the bait and fell into our trap." [15] A letter thought to be from al-Qaeda leader Atiyah Abd al-Rahman found in Iraq among the rubble where al-Zarqawi was killed and released by the U.S. military in October 2006, indicated that al-Qaeda perceived the war as beneficial to its goals: "The most important thing is that the jihad continues with steadfastness ... indeed, prolonging the war is in our interest.". [16]

ISIS

From 2011, the conflict in Iraq shifted into the fight against the Islamic State. From 2011-2013, this insurgency was marked by the rapid rise of the Islamic State of Iraq, escalating dramatically during the War in Iraq (2014-2017). This conflict continues as part of a low level insurgency from the Islamic State since 2017.

Public opinion

At the outset of the war, the U.S. Congress and public opinion supported the notion that the Iraq War was part of the global war on terror. The 2002 Congressional resolution authorising military force against Iraq cited the U.S. determination to "prosecute the war on terrorism", and in April 2003, one month after the invasion, a poll found that 77% of Americans agreed that the Iraq War was part of the War on Terror. [17] Much of the organized violence encountered by the U.S. military was framed by the metaphor of a crusade, or total conflict, that was taken up by the terrorists. [18] In 2004, an Army War College report said the war diverts attention and resources from the threat posed by Al Qaeda and called for downsizing the war on terror and focusing instead on the threat from Al Qaeda. [19]

As the military and civilian death toll has mounted, the Iraqi insurgency has shifted to what many observers have labeled a civil war, and the politics of Iraq have remained unstable, many politicians and citizens from the United States and across the world have begun pushing for the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq. [20] [21]

As of spring 2007, surveys showed a majority of Americans in support of a timetable for withdrawal. [22] While up to 70 percent of Americans in one survey favored withdrawal, most prefer to leave gradually over 12 months, and 60 percent say the U.S. has a moral obligation to the Iraqi people. [23] In addition to voicing concerns over the human and financial costs of the war, supporters of withdrawal argue that the U.S. presence fosters ongoing violence by providing a target for al-Qaeda. It also allows Iraqi political leaders to avoid reaching a power-sharing agreement. The withdrawal will induce Iraq's neighbors to become more involved in quelling violence in the country and will relieve the strain on the U.S. military. [21] The withdrawal debate has brought comparison of Iraq and Vietnam wars. [24] [25]

After the 2006 midterm Congressional elections, Congress has pushed to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, in part based on the argument that Iraq is a distraction, as opposed to a part of, the war on terror. Likewise, a January 2007 poll found that 57% of Americans feel that the Iraq War is not part of the War on Terror. [26] [27] By June 2007, polls revealed that only 30% of Americans support the war. [28] [29] On July 12, 2007 the House passed a resolution by 223 to 201, for redeployment [or withdrawal] of U.S. armed forces out of Iraq. The resolution requires most troops to withdraw from Iraq by April 1, 2008. [30] [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Qaeda</span> Salafi jihadist organization founded in 1988

Al-Qaeda is a Sunni pan-Islamist militant organization led by Salafi jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic state known as the Caliphate. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countries, including the 1998 United States embassy bombings, the 2001 September 11 attacks, and the 2002 Bali bombings; it has been designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, and various countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opposition to the Iraq War</span>

Opposition to the Iraq War significantly occurred worldwide, both before and during the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States–led coalition, and throughout the subsequent occupation. Individuals and groups opposing the war include the governments of many nations which did not take part in the invasion, including both its land neighbors Canada and Mexico, its NATO allies in Europe such as France and Germany, as well as China and Indonesia in Asia, and significant sections of the populace in those that took part in the invasion. Opposition to the war was also widespread domestically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansar al-Islam</span> Kurdish Islamist group in Iraq and Syria

Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan, simply called Ansar al-Islam, also nicknamed the Kurdish Taliban, is a Kurdish Islamist militant and separatist group. It was established in northern Iraq around the Kurdistan Region by Kurdish Islamists who were former Taliban and former Al-Qaeda members, coming back from Afghanistan, in 2001. Its motive is to establish an Islamic state around the Kurdistan region and to protect Kurdish people. It imposed strict Sharia in villages it controlled around Byara near the Iranian border. Its ideology follows a traditionalist interpretation of the Quran and Salafism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic terrorism</span>

Islamic terrorism refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad</span> 1999–2004 Jihadist organization fighting in Iraq

Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which may be abbreviated as JTJ or Jama'at, was a Islamic extremist Salafi jihadist terrorist group. It was founded in Jordan in 1999, and was led by Jordanian national Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the entirety of its existence. During the Iraqi insurgency (2003–11), the group became a decentralized network with foreign fighters with a considerable Iraqi membership.

Criticism of the war on terror addresses the morals, ethics, efficiency, economics, as well as other issues surrounding the war on terror. It also touches upon criticism against the phrase itself, which was branded as a misnomer. The notion of a "war" against "terrorism" has proven highly contentious, with critics charging that participating governments exploited it to pursue long-standing policy/military objectives, reduce civil liberties, and infringe upon human rights. It is argued by critics that the term war is not appropriate in this context, since there is no identifiable enemy and that it is unlikely international terrorism can be brought to an end by military means.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)</span> Warfare in mainly central Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion

An insurgency began in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and lasted throughout the ensuing Iraq War which lasted from 2003 until 2011. The first phase of the insurgency began shortly after the 2003 invasion and before the establishment of the new Iraqi government. From around 2004 to May 2007, Iraqi insurgents primarily targeted the American-led coalition forces, and later also targeted Iraqi security forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)</span>

The Iraqi civil war was a civil war fought mainly between the Iraqi government along with American-led coalition forces and various sectarian armed groups, mainly Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Mahdi Army, from 2006 to 2008. In February 2006, sectarian tensions in Iraq escalated into a full-scale civil war after the bombing of the Al-Askari Shrine by the Sunni organization Al-Qaeda in Iraq. This set off a wave of reprisals by Shia militants on Sunni civilians, followed by Sunni counterattacks on Shia civilians. In 2006, the Secretary General of the United Nations declared that if patterns of discord and violence continued to prevail, the Iraqi state was in danger of breaking up. In a 10 January 2007 address to the American people, President George W. Bush stated that "80% of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles (48 km) of the capital. This violence is splitting Baghdad into sectarian enclaves, and shakes the confidence of all Iraqis.". The conflict escalated over the next several months until by late 2007, the National Intelligence Estimate described the conflict as having elements of a civil war. In 2008, during the Sunni Awakening and the U.S. troop surge, violence declined dramatically. However, an insurgency by Al-Qaeda in Iraq continued to plague Iraq following the U.S. withdrawal from the country in late 2011. In June 2014 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the successor of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, launched a major military offensive in Iraq and declared a self-proclaimed worldwide Islamic caliphate, leading to a full-scale war mainly between Iraq and ISIL from 2013 to 2017 in which Iraq declared full victory against the terrorist group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rationale for the Iraq War</span> U.S. claims and arguments for invading Iraq

The rationale for the Iraq War, both the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent hostilities, was controversial. The George W. Bush administration began actively pressing for military intervention in Iraq in late 2001. The primary rationalization for the Iraq War was articulated by a joint resolution of the United States Congress known as the Iraq Resolution. The US claimed the intent was to "disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul R. Pillar</span>

Paul R. Pillar is an academic and 28-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), serving from 1977 to 2005. He is now a non-resident senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, as well as a nonresident senior fellow in the Brookings Institution's Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence. He was a visiting professor at Georgetown University from 2005 to 2012. He is a contributor to The National Interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraq War</span> 2003–2011 war after an American-led invasion in Iraq

The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 that began with the invasion of Iraq by the United States-led coalition that overthrew the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. US troops were officially withdrawn in 2011. The United States became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, and the insurgency and many dimensions of the armed conflict are ongoing. The invasion occurred as part of the George W. Bush administration's war on terror following the September 11 attacks, despite no connection between Iraq and the attacks.

This article is a chronological listing of allegations of meetings between members of al-Qaeda and members of Saddam Hussein's government, as well as other information relevant to conspiracy theories involving Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam." It has been applied to various insurgent Islamic extremist, militant Islamist, and terrorist individuals and organizations whose ideologies are based on the Islamic notion of jihad. It has also been applied to various Islamic empires in history, such as the Umayyad Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire, who extensively campaigned against non-Muslim nations in the name of jihad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Musab al-Zarqawi</span> Jordanian al-Qaeda member (1966–2006)

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, born Ahmad Fadeel al-Nazal al-Khalayleh, was a Jordanian jihadist who ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. He became known after going to Iraq and being responsible for a series of bombings, beheadings, and attacks during the Iraq War, reportedly "turning an insurgency against US troops" in Iraq "into a Shia–Sunni civil war". He was sometimes known by his supporters as the "Sheikh of the slaughterers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War on terror</span> Military campaign following 9/11 attacks

The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is a global counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks and is also the most recent global conflict spanning multiple wars. The main targets of the campaign were militant Islamist and Salafi jihadist armed organisations such as Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their international affiliates, which were waging military insurgencies to overthrow governments of various Muslim-majority countries. Other major targets included the Ba'athist regime in Iraq, which was toppled during an invasion in 2003, and various militant factions that fought during the ensuing Iraqi insurgency. The "war on terror" was officially declared over in May 2010 and again in May 2013. Other American military campaigns during the 2010s have also been considered part of the "war on terror" by individuals and the media. With the major wars over and only low-level fighting in some places, the end of the war in Afghanistan in August 2021 marks for most people the end of the war on terror, or at least its main phase. The United States Military ceased awarding the National Defense Service Medal for the Global War on Terror on December 31, 2022. Some consider the campaign to be ongoing.

Pakistan's role in the War on Terror is a widely discussed topic among policy-makers of various countries, political analysts and international delegates around the world. Pakistan has simultaneously received allegations of harbouring and aiding terrorists and commendation for its anti-terror efforts. Since 2001, the country has also hosted millions of Afghan refugees who fled the war in Afghanistan.

The War on Terror is the campaign launched by the United States of America in response to the September 11 attacks against organizations designated with terrorism. The campaign, whose stated objective was eliminating international terrorism, began in 2001. The following is a timeline of events linked to the War on Terror.

<i>The Terrorists of Iraq</i> 2014 book by Malcolm Nance

The Terrorists of Iraq: Inside the Strategy and Tactics of the Iraq Insurgency 2003–2014 is a nonfiction book about the Iraqi insurgency, written by U.S. Navy retired cryptology analyst Malcolm Nance. It was published by CRC Press in 2014. The book discusses the terrorist evolution of the Iraqi insurgency which led to the formation of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). Nance cites the 2003 Iraq war by the Bush Administration for causing regional instability. He criticizes Coalition Provisional Authority leader Paul Bremer. The book emphasizes lessons the U.S. neglected to learn from the Vietnam War, the Iraqi revolt against the British, and the South Lebanon conflict. Nance writes in favor of the Iran nuclear deal framework by the Obama Administration, saying it is in the interests of all parties involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi conflict</span> Armed conflict in Iraq begun in 2003

The Iraqi conflict is an armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. The United States officially withdrew from the country in 2011 but became reinvolved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition. The main phase of the conflict ended following the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the country in 2017, but a low-level ISIL insurgency is ongoing in the rural north parts of the country.

The history of the Islamic State began with the group's foundation in 1999 by Jordanian Salafi jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi under the name Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād. In a letter published by the US State Department in February 2004, Zarqawi wrote that jihadists should use bombings to start an open sectarian war in Iraq so that Sunnis from other countries would mobilize against the assassinations carried out by Shias, specifically the Badr Organisation, against Ba'athists and Sunnis. The Islamic State would eventually grow to control territory with a population of millions.

References

  1. ↑ "President Bush Addresses the Nation". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  2. ↑ Global Message
  3. ↑ DefenseLink News Article: Iraq Part of Global War on Terrorism, Rumsfeld Says Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Press Conference by the President, August 21, 2006
  5. ↑ "Iraqi Support for Palestinian Terrorism". September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ White House Oct 2002 press release
  7. ↑ Weisman, Jonathan. Iraq's Alleged Al-Qaeda Ties Were Disputed Before War. The Washington Post, September 9, 2006.
  8. ↑ Rohan Gunaratna, "The Post-Madrid Face of Al Qaeda", Washington Quarterly 27:3 (Summer 2004) p. 98.
  9. ↑ Sengupta, Kim (May 26, 2004). "Occupation Made World Less Safe, Pro-War Institute Says". Commondreams.org. Archived from the original on September 20, 2006.
  10. ↑ Ricks, Thomas E. (May 3, 2007). Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. Penguin.
  11. ↑ Priest, Dana (January 14, 2005). "Iraq New Terror Breeding Ground". The Washington Post .
  12. ↑ "DNI: Declassified NIE Key Judgments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2006. (66.3  KiB)
  13. ↑ Mohammed M. Hafez, "A Case Study:The Mythology of Martyrdom in Iraq," eJournal USA (May 2007).
  14. ↑ al Jazeera English: Message to Iraqis October 2003
  15. ↑ Gerges, Fawaz A. (October 10, 2005). "The Iraq War: Planting the Seeds of Al Qaeda's Second Generation". Toward Freedom.
  16. ↑ Murphy, Dan (October 6, 2006). "How Al Qaeda views a long Iraq war". Christian Science Monitor.
  17. ↑ Survey Shows Skepticism About Iraq, Washington Post November 4, 2003
  18. ↑ Stocchetti, Matteo (2007). "The Politics of Fear: A Critical Inquiry into the Role of Violence in 21st Century Politics". In Hodges, Adam; Nilep, Chad (eds.). Discourse, War and Terrorism. Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture. Vol. 24. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 223–241. ISBN   978-90-272-2714-0.
  19. ↑ Record, Jeffrey (December 2003). "BOUNDING THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2005.
  20. ↑ Iraq Study Group Report Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  21. 1 2 "Strategic Reset"
  22. ↑ Pew Research Center: Solid Majority Favors Congressional Troop Deadline, March 26, 2007
  23. ↑ Public Agenda: "Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index" Archived May 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine accessed April 28, 2007
  24. ↑ "Why the U.S. must withdraw from Iraq". Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  25. ↑ Withdraw From Iraq
  26. ↑ CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll Jan. 19–21, 2007
  27. ↑ No more GWOT, House committee decrees - Army News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Army Times
  28. ↑ "CNN Political Ticker - All politics, all the time - CNN.com Blogs". CNN. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  29. ↑ "CNN Opinion Research Poll" (PDF). Opinion Research Corporation . June 26, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  30. ↑ wcbstv.com - House Passes Troop Withdrawal Bill Archived July 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ↑ "House passes bill to bring troops home in '08 - CNN.com". CNN. July 13, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
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