Back in 2003, the US & UK were seriously damaged across the entire MENA region, with the false claims that Saddam had WMD’s which could be launched in 45 minutes.
The belief in democracy was also set back by the emergence of terror groups like Al-Qaida, prisoner abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib and the coalitions failure to provide basic infrastructure, in a country which had already been plagued by the 1991 Gulf War and UN sanctions.
According to the Iraqi Children Foundation, by the end of US/UK military operations, over 800.000 Iraqi children had been left as orphans.
According to Al-Jazeera, 'Iraq has increasingly become a scene for strikes between Iran-backed forces and the United States amid Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, with concerns mounting about a serious escalation.’
But what also needs to be asked is, can the US and UK afford to commit both finances and man power to another 20 years of war in the Middle East?
And what about the consequences? As this would mean directly and publicly confronting Iran, and all of their regional 'backed forces’.
Before anyone can commit to active military engagement in the Middle East, people in the US and UK need to consider that both countries are heading towards elections.
There is also growing unrest due to the cost of living crisis and the economic recovery from the Covid pandemic. Then there is the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the issue of what is to be done with Israel and Gaza.
Maybe the West should try a new approach to foreign affairs rather than using their previously tried and tested model.
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