US invasion of Iraq: Was it all worth it?

“She goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy,” said United States President John Quincy Adams in 1821 of his young nation.


Ten years ago today the United States did exactly that by invading Iraq. We destroyed the monster Saddam Hussein. But we botched the occupation and ignited a brutal civil war. Finally in 2011, after more than eight years in Iraq, we got out and managed to leave behind a semi-functioning state.

So now, looking back on the decision to invade Iraq, it is tempting to ask: was it all worth it?

This unanswerable question inevitably devolves into an accounting of lives lost versus atrocities averted, a gruesome cost-benefit analysis. As if a thousand fewer or more deaths could swing the conflict’s ledger to profit or loss, to success or failure.

Whether the invasion of Iraq was worth it, of course, depends on one’s perspective. For those Hussein persecuted, and whom the war saved from further atrocities at his hand, the answer is yes; people tend to have a high tolerance for sacrifice by others. But for the families of those who died – coalition troops, Iraqi troops and Iraqi civilians alike – the question itself is an affront.

A more meaningful question is: what has the United States learned from the invasion and occupation of Iraq? The answer: ten valuable lessons, many of which we are already applying elsewhere in the Middle East.

1. Invading another nation is never easy, and occupying it even more difficult.This may seem obvious to many today, but it was not obvious to the average American ten years ago. We were the undisputed global superpower. Although stung by the attacks of 9-11, most of us were supremely confident of a swift victory in Iraq, with little American bloodshed. After all, we had beaten Hussein once before in 1991’s Persian Gulf War, and easily.

2. If you are looking for a monster, check every single hole. That’s how we found Hussein on a farm in Tikrit, some six months after the invasion.

3. Sometimes the most dangerous enemy is not the one that makes the loudest threats. When still President of Iraq, Hussein was known for blasting shotguns and ranting against the United States. Meanwhile, next door the Iranians were quietly building up their nuclear capabilities. It turns out Hussein had no Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in 2003, but ten years later the Iranians are close to having a nuclear bomb.

4. Citizens: beware of what your government is telling you. The power of a government to goad its people into war – especially in a nation that was shaken to the core by 9-11 – is substantial. Whether the administration of President George W. Bush intentionally misled the American people about Iraqi WMD or not, in the run-up to the invasion there was insufficient debate on the merits of intelligence that was later shown to be selectively presented and uncorroborated.

5. Sometimes the French are right. Before the invasion, France told the United States that Hussein did not have WMD. France was trying sincerely to help us avoid making a mistake. Instead of listening, we called them “cheese-eating surrender monkeys.”

6. War brings out the evil in man (and woman). The 2003-2004 abuse of detainees by American soldiers at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison, captured in photographs, became a source of shame for every right-thinking American.

7. When fighting Jihadists attack networks, not nations. To the extent that the United States has decimated Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, it has done so by disrupting their global networks, not by invading nations to engage them in pitched battles. Even if there had been a link between Hussein and Al-Qaeda, invading Iraq would have been a needlessly costly way to sever that link.