Confounding Failure: American Imperialism and the Implications of the Iraq War

The American invasion of Iraq is internationally condemned. Most critiques evoke images of a horrific war fought for oil and other staunchly American national interests. There exist several valid reasons to claim that the Iraq War made the United States out to be an oil-hungry power bent on imperial aggrandizement, but the actual context behind the Iraq War is far more complex. For example, although the oil industry was a factor in the US’ decision, the invasion of Iraq was not conducted solely to secure Iraqi oil. While there absolutely were grounds to intervene in Iraq, especially Saddam Hussein’s flagrant human rights violations, the methods by which America entered the war deeply affected the regions of the Middle East and North Africa as well as the United States itself. This paper will attempt to address how the American government’s failure in Iraq under George W. Bush not only brought the United States a worsened international perception, but also brought about several far-reaching consequences that affect the United States’ security as a superpower.