The Iraq War and Globalism essays

The Iraq War and Globalism essays Several theories have been advanced by political commentators around the world about the real reasons behind the United States' war with Iraq. These include the Bush administration's "official" version[1] about preventing the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (WMDs) from falling into the terrorists' hands, the supposed connection between Saddam and Al-Qaeda, liberation of Iraq from the clutches of a cruel tyrant, and the neo- conservative agenda of creating a "model democracy" in Iraq for the Arab world to follow. Although some of these reasons may be valid to an extent, the more plausible explanation for the US war in Iraq lies in the imperatives of globalization. This is because economics have always been and remain the driving force behind international relations. This paper looks at the current Iraq war from the perspective of the Globalism International Relations theory besides reviewing the historical background of the conflict and its possible outcomes. Historical Background of the Conflict Modern Iraq was created by the British colonialists out of three Ottoman provinces after the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I in 1918. A pro-British monarch was installed in the country to safeguard Western interests and to ensure that the Iraq Petroleum Company, which enjoyed monopoly control over the Iraqi oil industry, would be allowed to follow the cartel interests of the international Anglo-American oil companies. A nationalist coup in 1958 overthrew the pro-British monarch, throwing a spanner in the works by shifting the ideological policies of the country towards left leaning nationalism which was a threat to Western influence in Iraq. ("History of Oil in Iraq") Saddam Hussein, the hated tyrant who was declared the enemy # 1 by the US in later years was not always in the anti-American camp. In fact there is evidence to suggest th...