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 run into significant difficulty. 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 covertly change the regime failed because of limited U.S. commitment, disorganization of the Iraqi opposition, and the vigilance of Iraq's several overlapping security services. Previous U.S. Administrations had ruled out a U.S. military invasion to change the regime, believing such action would be risky and that Iraq did not pose a level of threat that would justify war. President George W. Bush characterized Iraq as a grave and gathering threat to the United States 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 Iraq and change its regime. The regime fell on April 9, 2003.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 28, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA480475
Entities
People
- Kenneth Katzman
Organizations
- Library of Congress