Confronting Iraq's WMD Threat: Coercive Inspections or Military Intervention
Abstract
Liddell Hart's well-known observation highlights that wars are ultimately judged by their direct and indirect political consequences. Although coalition forces were able to achieve the limited political objectives of the Persian Gulf War, they were unable to eliminate the key factor that led to military intervention, the aggressive behavior of Saddam Hussein.2 Deterrence and containment have since become central to our post-war confrontation with Iraq. Unfortunately, containment is fracturing after a decade of use. Deterrence is problematic when matched against an increasingly robust Iraqi WMD program singularly controlled by an unpredictable and ruthless decision-maker in Saddam Hussein. New forms of compellence are required to force Saddam to disarm before Iraq has the capability to blackmail the rest of the world with an actual nuclear or advanced biological warfare capability. U.N.-led inspectors augmented by military force should serve as the focus of a coercive diplomacy regimen designed to discover, disarm, monitor and verify Iraq's WMD program. If inspections fail, pre-emptive military intervention can force regime change and compel Iraqi WMD disarmament.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA441647
Entities
People
- Lawrence S. Reed
Organizations
- National War College