Thursday, March 22, 2012

Top 10 Lessons of the Iraq War



Now that the war is officially over and most U.S. forces have withdrawn, what are the most important takeaways?

By Stephen M. Walt

"This month marks the ninth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Regardless of your views on the wisdom of that decision, it's fair to say that the results were not what most Americans expected. Now that the war is officially over and most U.S. forces have withdrawn, what lessons should Americans (and others) draw from the experience? There are many lessons that one might learn, of course, but here are my Top 10 Lessons from the Iraq War.

Lesson #1: The United States lost.....

Lesson #2: It's not that hard to hijack the United States into a war.....

Lesson #3: The United States gets in big trouble when the "marketplace of ideas" breaks down and when the public and our leadership do not have an open debate about what to do.

Given the stakes involved, it is remarkable how little serious debate there actually was about the decision to invade. This was a bipartisan failure...."

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