The Iraq War backfired by strengthening Iran and alienating European allies

Evidence

Instead of greeting US forces as liberators, the Iraqi people resisted and rejected US hegemony. The plan to carry out regime change in Iran and Syria was halted; if anything, Iran was strengthened by US actions. Not only was the neocon vision of a new Middle East in jeopardy, but the United States had alienated its former allies in Europe and strengthened China (as well as Russia and Venezuela). All of this led retired General William Odom to call the Iraq War “the greatest strategic disaster in US history.” — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 489

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to classic literature on the Iraq War’s unintended consequences and great-power balance shifts. — connects to: The Iraq War strengthened US rivals while alienating its allies; The Iraq war gained the United States little while devastating Iraq. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2426; The Iraq war was launched on fabricated claims and triggered a sectarian catastrophe — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 262

Broader Connections

• The Iraq War strengthened US rivals while alienating its allies #corroborates (0.92)
• The Iraq war gained the United States little while devastating Iraq. #expands (0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2426
• The Iraq war was launched on fabricated claims and triggered a sectarian catastrophe #expands (0.72) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 262