No Escape from Baghdad: America’s Bipartisan Project in Iraq
No Escape from Baghdad: America’s Bipartisan Project in Iraq by David Wise, War on the Rocks
The United States has essentially been at war in Iraq for 24 straight years. It began with Operation Desert Shield on August 7, 1990, with the first American fatality occurring just five days later. This war extends over four presidents and 16 Congresses, dominated alternatively by both major political parties. America’s current situation in Iraq and the surrounding area – both good and bad – is truly a bipartisan project. The irrepressible optimism of Americans that the United States has the power to “fix” any situation – even in a region where the complex web of enmities is centuries old – is established dogma in and beyond both the Republican and Democratic parties. Although it runs counter to the American tradition of unilateralism, almost every crisis point on the globe that has festered for decades – and this is one – requires a regional dialogue, which will often include people we do not like…
