Blunder Britain’s War in Iraq
Blunder Britain’s War in Iraq by Patrick Porter, published by Oxford University Press in 2018, offers an analytical perspective on the motivations behind Britain’s involvement in the Iraq War of 2003. This edition, comprising 232 pages, utilizes a wealth of primary documents to explore the underlying ideas that shaped the conflict, moving beyond the commonly cited issues of intelligence failures and leadership flaws.
Readers will find that the book emphasizes the significance of three key ideas that influenced British policy: the perception of Iraq as an undeterrable rogue state, the belief in the necessity of remaking states for security, and the notion that Britain could gain favor in Washington by sacrificing its own resources. By examining these concepts, the book addresses the enduring implications of the Iraq War on contemporary security discussions, highlighting how the ideas that fueled the conflict continue to resonate in modern political discourse.
Official synopsis Publisher
Why did Britain go to war in Iraq in 2003? Existing accounts stress dodgy dossiers, intelligence failures, and the flaws of individual leaders. Deploying the large number of primary documents now available, this book puts ideas at the centre of the story. As the book argues, Britain’s war in Iraq was caused by bad ideas that were dogmatically held and widely accepted. Three ideas in particular formed the war’s intellectual foundations: the notion of the undeterrable, fanatical rogue state; the vision that the West’s path to security is to break and remake states; and the conceit that by paying the ‘blood price’, Britain could secure influence in Washington DC. These issues matter, because although the Iraq War happened fifteen years ago, it is still with us. As well as its severe consequences for regional and international security, the ideas that powered the war persist in Western security debate. If all wars are fought twice, first on the battlefield and the second time in memory, this book enters the battle over what Iraq means now, and what we should learn.
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