The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences

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Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
These books offer broad critiques, from differing perspectives, of U.S. policy and conduct in Iraq. Galbraith (senior diplomatic fellow, Ctr. for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation) emphasizes the conflict between the reality of a deeply divided post-Saddam Iraq and the Bush administration's assumption that a unified democratic state might be cobbled together. Fawn (international relations, Univ. of St. Andrews, Scotland; Global Responses to Terrorism) and Hinnebusch (international relations & Middle East politics, Univ. of St. Andrews, Scotland; The International Politics of the Middle East and Syria) offer a collection of original pieces that examine policy and the political impact of the war on the states involved, along with consideration of such themes as international law and ethics, Islamic militancy, and the war's "lessons." Their book is especially useful in demonstrating the war's divisive impact on the international community. For example, British war involvement is said to arise from the country's special relationship with the United States and the "new Labour [Party] worldview," a position at variance with Franco-German support for the international legitimacy of the UN and the sense of solidarity the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe share with the United States. Middle Eastern states show similar cleavage, from Israel's support, to what is seen as Iran's ambivalence, and Syria's defiance. The treatment of these and other states represents a neglected aspect of the war, although the thematic chapters sacrifice analysis for useful essayistic breadth. A chapter on the insurgency offers a theme that converges with Galbraith's work in that both view the failure to secure Iraq immediately after Saddam's defeat in 2003 to have been decisive in explaining the current imbroglio. Moreover, as a former top Senate staffer and diplomat, Galbraith supports his accusations of U.S. incompetence in conducting the war and the catastrophic assumption of an easy occupation with his extensive personal experience in Iraq, especially with the Kurdish leadership. He finds the country in the throes of civil war and recommends partition with a residual U.S. force in an independent Kurdistan. Reconciling Turkey with such a state, along with separate Sunni and Shi'ite "regions," as the author recommends, also implies certain challenging assumptions. These two fine books help sharpen our perspective on these critical problems and may be confidently recommended for public and academic libraries, although the former should give priority to Galbraith's book. [For Galbraith's book, see Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/06.]-Zachary T. Irwin, Behrend Coll., Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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Product Details

Table of Contents

1 The Iraq War : unfolding and unfinished 1
2 The United States : belligerent Hegemon 21
3 The United Kingdom : fateful decision, divided nation 37
4 France : defender of international legitimacy 49
5 Germany : solidarity without adventures 61
6 Russia : diminished power 71
7 Central and Eastern Europe : independent actors or supplicant states? 83
8 Japan : a bandwagoning "lopsided power" 103
9 Canada : outside the Anglo-American fold 115
10 Syria : defying the Hegemon 129
11 Jordan : appeasing the Hegemon 143
12 Saudi Arabia : the challenge of the US invasion of Iraq 153
13 The Palestinians : finding no freedom in liberation 163
14 Iran : wary neutral 173
15 Israel : major beneficiary 187
16 Turkey : recalcitrant ally 197
17 War and resistance in Iraq : from regime change to collapsed state 211
18 From sanctions to occupation : the US impact on Iraq 225
19 Islamic militancy 235
20 Oil and the global economy 247
21 The role of the United Nations 257
22 The role of international law and ethics 269
23 Hegemonic stability theory reconsidered : implications of the Iraq War 283
24 Lessons of the Iraq War 323
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