Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-Saddam Governance

Abstract

Operation Iraqi Freedom accomplished a long-standing U.S. objective, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but replacing his regime with a stable, moderate, democratic political structure has been more difficult than anticipated. The desired outcome would likely prevent Iraq from becoming a sanctuary for terrorists, a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission report (Chapter 12, Section 2). During the 1990s, U.S. efforts to change Iraq's regime failed because of limited U.S. commitment, disorganization of the Iraqi opposition, and the vigilance of Iraq's overlapping security services. President George W. Bush characterized Iraq as a grave and gathering threat because of its refusal to abandon its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and its potential to transfer WMD to terrorist groups. After a November 2002-March 2003 round of U.N. WMD inspections in which Iraq's cooperation was mixed, on March 19, 2003, the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom to disarm and change Iraq's regime. The regime fell on April 9, 2003. In the months prior to the war, the Administration stressed that regime change through U.S.-led military action would yield benefits beyond disarmament and reduction of support for terrorism Iraq's conversion from dictatorship to democracy, it was argued, might catalyze the promotion of democracy throughout the Middle East. However, escalating resistance to the U.S.-led occupation has complicated U.S. efforts to establish legitimate and effective Iraqi political and security bodies and establish democracy. Partly in an effort to satisfy Iraqi demands for an end to coalition occupation, the United States accelerated the hand over of sovereignty. An interim government was named on June 1, 2004, and the handover took place on June 28, 2004. Elections were held on January 30, 2005 for a transitional National Assembly, and major parties are negotiating to form a new government.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 15, 2005
Accession Number
ADA476189

Entities

People

  • Kenneth Katzman

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Employment
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Governments
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Iraqi-War
  • Military Applications
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.