As a practical matter, Bremer’s powers were much more limited than they appeared. He had no direct authority over 98 percent of official American personnel in Iraq. They were under military command. Most Iraqi officials had abandoned their offices, which had in turn been ransacked in rampant looting that had stripped most public facilities throughout the country to the bare walls, and beyond. The Iraqi army had deserted en masse, as had much of the police force. Several billion dollars in Iraqi funds were immediately available, but beyond this ready cash, the state was basically broke and producing no further revenue. Washington was still under the impression that the occupation would largely pay for itself and had made provision for only limited financial support to reconstruction. As a result, the CPA relied, throughout its lifespan, principally on Iraqi money to fund both reconstruction and Iraqi government operations. 

A movement of high-minded ideologues had, throughout the 1990s, become obsessed with deposing Saddam Hussein. When they assumed positions of power under Bush in 2001, they did not seek to trick America into that war, but rather tricked themselves. In 9/11, and in fragments of intelligence that more objective minds would have rejected, they could see only validation for their abstract and untested theories about the world — theories whose inevitable and obvious conclusion was an American invasion of Iraq.

This is perhaps not as satisfying as the "Bush lied, people died" bumper sticker history that has since taken hold on much of the left and elements of the Tea Party right. Nor is it as convenient as the Republican establishment's polite fiction that Bush was misled by "faulty intelligence."

If the problem were merely that Bush lied, then the solution would be straightforward: Check the administration's facts. But how do you fact-check an ideology, particularly when that ideology is partially concealed from the public view? How do you guard against that ideology, which still dominates much of the GOP, and some of whose ideas are shared by more hawkish Democrats, from leading us astray again

Published on Aug 21, 2015

The George W. Bush administration intentionally deceived the American people in order to justify going to war in Iraq in 2003. 

Published on Dec 3, 2015

Casa Árabe presented “Iraq at a Crossroads,” co-published with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, as a result of the seminar held in late 2014 on this subject. 

The presentation included speeches by Hayder al-Khoei, an associate member of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House; Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of the Iran section at the portal Al-Monitor, and Yahya al-Kubaisi, a consultant at the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies. The event was presented by Karim Hauser, who is responsible for the Governance Area at Casa Árabe and the book’s editor.

As a result of a seminar organized by Casa Árabe and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation which brought together several experts on Iraq, a volume has been published in English with the title Iraq at a Crossroads, in which the internal (Sunni, Shia an Kurdish), regional (Syria, Iran and Turkey) and international (US, EU and the humanitarian drama) factors contributing to a worsening of the Iraqi crisis are analyzed in nine chapters. The Sunnis’ situation, the role of Shia militancy and Iran’s role are a few of the angles discussed by the speakers.

President George W. Bush had a dream that Iraq would become a beacon of hope in the Middle East. Now, with the region wracked by chaos, civil war, and violence, some U.S. presidential candidates are pledging to order American “boots on the ground” again in Iraq – this time to fight ISIS. The crucial question is: do we understand the Iraq we would be going back to? CNN’s Fareed Zakaria will take a timely look at the reality of what is left of Iraq in Long Road to Hell: America in Iraq.

 

Zakaria asks tough questions of many of the key architects of America’s military intervention in Iraq over the last dozen years: Who is responsible for the unraveling of Iraq? Do those who want to send American troops to Iraq again understand the mistakes of the past? And, is Iraq even a country anymore?

 

Zakaria was himself an early supporter of the 2003 military intervention in Iraq. Explaining how his views evolved over time, Zakaria points out the consequences of the major strategic choices. He argues there were too few troops sent to maintain post-war order once the American-led coalition had conquered Saddam’s army. And, greater inclusion of the sectarian groups in Iraq could have meant more regional support for the nation-building efforts that followed the collapse of the Baathist regime.

 

In Long Road to Hell, Zakaria examines these vital pivot points and mistakes – some previously unknown until now. Offering answers and exploring the challenges are: Tony Blair, U.K. Prime Minister (1997 – 2007), Quartet Representative for the Middle East (2007 – 2015); Antony Blinken, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State (2014 – present); Paul Bremer, Presidential Envoy to Iraq (2003 – 2004); Richard Clarke, Special Advisor to the President for Cyberspace (2001 – 2003); National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism Czar (1998 – 2003); Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence (Ronald Reagan Administration); Douglas Feith, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy (2001 – 2005); Peter Galbraith, former U.S. diplomat; Richard Haass, PhD, president, Council on Foreign Relations (2003 – present); former lead U.S. official on Afghanistan and Northern Ireland (2001 – 2003); and Gen. David Petraeus (ret.), Commander, Multi-National Force in Iraq (2007 – 2008); Commander, International Security Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces in Afghanistan (2010 – 2011); Commander, U.S. Central Command (2008 – 2010)

Published on Apr 15, 2013

القسم الأول من مؤتمر "عشر سنوات على احتلال العراق: التداعيات والتأثيرات" بعنوان "شهادات من وقائع الحرب"

10-4-2013

ترأس الجلسة رغيد الصلح

وتحدث فيها كل من:

ناجي صبري الحديثي

هانس فون سبونك 

مؤيّد الونداوي

رعد الحمداني

كلير شورت

جوناثان ستيل

 

Uploaded on Jan 22, 2011

January 21, 2011 C-SPAN http://MOXNews.com/
For a second time former British Prime Minister Tony Blair testified before the Committee of Inquiry on the Iraq War. January 2010, Mr. Blair testified before the five-member group on his role during the lead up to the war, military preparedness, and his relationship with President George W. Bush. The British Iraq Inquiry is examining British involvement in the war and the circumstances which led to the 2003 invasion. The former Prime Minister has been called back to testify because of new evidence gathered by the Inquiry since his testimony.

Uploaded on Apr 4, 2008

Inside Iraq examines the 'official' and 'unofficial' reasons the US invaded Iraq.

Uploaded on Oct 23, 2009

We discuss what role he may have played in Iraqi political affairs.