"In spring 2004, Gen Anthony Zinni uttered about Iraq the dreaded words in US politics: I spent two years in Vietnam, and I've seen this movie before. A year after George W Bush's declaration of mission accomplished when the war had hit its peak popularity at 74% the invasion had descended into quagmire, marked by a raging insurgency, the Abu Ghraib torture scandal and US casualties nearing 1,000. For the first time, a majority of Americans judged the war a mistake."
"By 2019, 62% of American adults and a staggering 58% of Iraq/Afghanistan veterans judged the Iraq war not worth fighting. These numbers belie what feels like a deeper, bipartisan consensus that Iraq was a stupid war, never to be repeated. Something like an Iraq syndrome, similar to skittishness about major military interventions following Vietnam, had taken hold. With the capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, we may be witnessing the opening scenes of a dismal sequel, now to the movie called Iraq."
"Propelling Trump's aggression is his gleeful defiance of traditional constraints to war-making, whether international treaties, global norms, congressional consent or the opinion of historic allies. Bush had his own unilateralism, wrapped in cowboy bluster. But his administration secured congressional approval for the Iraq war and at least tried, though failed, to win the same from the UN security council. Trump rejects even a whiff of constraint."
The U.S. invasion of Iraq initially enjoyed high popularity but by 2004 descended into a quagmire with a raging insurgency, the Abu Ghraib scandal, and rising casualties. Public opinion flipped as a majority judged the war a mistake, and by 2005 sectarian violence escalated into civil war. Democratic gains in 2006 and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group signaled demand for withdrawal, which occurred under Barack Obama despite later returns to combat ISIS. By 2019 majorities, including veterans, deemed the war not worth fighting, creating an Iraq syndrome akin to post-Vietnam skittishness, while renewed aggressive tactics risk a dismal sequel.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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