this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2025
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Was the Iraq War a Success? (hexbear.net)
submitted 7 months ago by ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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Its been written down in history as a gigantic failure; this era's Vietnam. But as far as post WWII US invasions go, it met its goals in the end. Even if it tanked the reputations of everyone involved. A flat tax and foreign private interest rights remain ensrined in the Iraqi constitution. And its just democratic enough to earnestly tell the US to fuck off but not sovereign enough to ever make them.

This is strictly in comparison to other US invasions. Compared to Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan its was an actual - if only marginal - success. You have to reach into all the minor, "light touch", interventions to find something more successful.

Anyways I'm not trying to be like "the Iraq War was good, actually". Its just had this reputation of being the "dumb war" compared to Afghanistan. But after the US flat out gave Afghanistan back to the Taliban, we should reevaluate its position in US interventions and recognize how many are total abject failures.

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[–] ZWQbpkzl@hexbear.net 19 points 7 months ago (1 children)

From a cynical pro-imperialist viewpoint almost everything you listed goes in the pro column. Except for your conservative friend getting disillusioned. The US has a long history of butchering occupations because it has no idea how to do them other than "kill the savages". IMO Iraq was the first time the actually earnestly tried to set up a vassal state and were marginally successful. But in the process, ramped up the butchery and burned through basically every gram of domestic support.

[–] CommunistCuddlefish@hexbear.net 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yep!

Oh and she wasn't disillusioned. She still thought this was fine and good. There's a reason she's no longer a friend.

[–] Damarcusart@hexbear.net 4 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It is oddly chilling when you meet someone like that. Someone who fully understands the nature of capitalism, isn't a capitalist themselves, but still supports the system, because they'd happily have a million Iraqi children murdered so they can get their fast food and funko pops. It's just a level of cruelty and inhumanity I can barely comprehend.

[–] Horse@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 7 months ago

those people get the wall.

[–] CommunistCuddlefish@hexbear.net 2 points 7 months ago

Yes. It's selective empathy.