Wars On Terrorism And Iraq

Wars on Terrorism and Iraq provides a timely and critical analysis of the impact of the wars on terrorism and Iraq on human rights particularly internationally, as well as related tensions in U.S. foreign policy.

Traces the history and current situation of relations between the United States and the Middle East, discussing the attacks of September 11 and the Iraq wars.

The attacks of September 11 were transformative events, both in how Americans view their own sense of security and in how America engages with the world. Although the initial battle in the U.S.-led war against terror has been fought in central and south Asia, the principles behind that campaign have special resonance in the Middle East. This region is home to organizations which share both ideology and methodology with the perpetrators of the September 11 terrorist attacks. In addition, many aspects of the threat to U.S. interests are particular to the region: the frightening spread of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery; the ongoing challenge to the international system posed by Iraq; and, perhaps most of all, the reluctance that many U.S. allies in the region exhibit to confront their own religious militants. In this volume, key U.S. and Middle East decision makers, academics, and journalists discuss important themes such as the common interests of regional states in cooperating against terrorism, the different strategies adopted by regimes in confronting their Islamist challenges, the impact of September 11 events on the Israeli-Palestinian arena, the problems and prospects of maintaining the antiterror coalition, and the role of democracy as an antidote to the regions ills.

Using official sources, Ahmed investigates U.S. and British claims about Iraq's WMD programs and in the process reveals the hidden motives behind the 2003 invasion and the grand strategy of which it is a part. He shows that the true goals of U.S.-British policy in the Middle East are camouflaged by spin, P.R. declarations and seemingly noble words. The reality can only be comprehended through knowledge of the history of Western intervention in the region. Ahmed demonstrates that such intervention has been dictated ruthlessly by economic and political interests, with little regard for human rights. He traces events of the past decades, beginning with the West's support for the highly repressive Shah of Iran, his subsequent usurpation by the Ayatollah's Islamist regime and the West's resultant backing of Saddam Hussein.

This book analyzes the complex causes and effects of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks both domestically and internationally, and examines the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first decade of the 21st century witnessed a watershed of political, economic, diplomatic, and military change as a direct result of the events of September 11, 2001. Through narrative chapters, a chronology of events, biographical sketches of principal players, and annotated primary documents, author Tom Lansford documents the domestic impact of the terrorist attacks that stunned the world as well as the subsequent "war on terror" and the invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. 9/11 and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: A Chronology and Reference Guide explores the origins and aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in both the domestic and international contexts. It addresses the rise of global terrorism and the concurrent histories of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the broader Middle East, as well as the interaction of the United States with the region. Events, trends, groups, and individual players are examined as part of the broader historical context, allowing readers to see the connections between these various elements.

The war on terror is a lost cause. As the war heads towards its second decade, American security policy is in disarray – the Iraq War is a disaster, Afghanistan is deeply insecure and the al-Qaida movement remains as potent as ever with new generations of leaders coming to the fore. Well over 100,000 civilians have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, many tens of thousands have been detained without trial, and torture, prisoner abuse and rendition have sullied the reputation of the United States and its coalition partners. Why We’re Losing the War on Terror examines the reasons for the failure, focusing on American political and military attitudes, the impact of 9/11, the fallacy of a New American Century, the role of oil and, above all, the consummate failure to go beyond a narrow western view of the world. More significantly, it argues that the disaster of the war may have a huge if unexpected bonus. Its very failure will make it possible to completely re-think western attitudes to global security, moving towards a sustainable policy that will be much more effective in addressing the real threats to global security – the widening socio-economic divide and climate change.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were used by the Bush administration to usher in a war without borders, a war against many enemies in many different parts of the world, a war without end. This is America's War on Terror. Yet this War on Terror is in reality an imperialist war that seeks to make the world secure for global economic and strategic interests of the United States. This war seeks to reorder the world through imperialist expansion. The military occupation of Iraq in March 2003 signals only a stage in this ongoing war. It signals also the application of the new doctrines that the Bush administration has championed. Ninan Koshy makes a meticulous scrutiny of official documents and statements, and shows how the military might of the US is actually used to buttress globalization, that is, the sway of multinational capital. He also demonstrates how military occupation is intrinsic to the expansion of the American empire. Koshy makes the point that the main theatre of the War on Terror is Asia, from West to North East, and includes Central, South and South East Asia. He also puts forward a sharp critique of the policy followed by New Delhi, which involves the calculated dismantling of the entire rationale of non-alignment and the edifice of an independent foreign policy, as well as the subjugation of India's national interests to US war plans. What we are witnessing today is the demise of the world order that emerged after the Second World War. A new world order is taking its place. This lucidly argued book explains the architecture and nature of this new world order.