In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo explore the moral and political lessons of the Iraq War.
Among the topics covered:
Why Americans need to examine the lessons of the Iraq War;
The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the context leading up to the war;
The focus on weapons of mass destruction and intelligence weaknesses while evading the threat of Islamic totalitarianism;
Why Russia's attack on Ukraine is not analogous to America's war in Iraq;
David Frum's analysis of the Iraq War in The Atlantic;
John Bolton's and Bret Stephens' analysis of the war and the failure to question whether Iraq was the right target;
The disastrous results of the war, including increased reluctance to defend American interests militarily;
How America's response to 9/11 set the stage for the rise of populism and widespread distrust of institutions;
The erosion of American exceptionalism in the wake of the Iraq War.
Mentioned in the discussion are the book Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism: What Went Wrong After 9/11 and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, which is free to students.
This episode was recorded on May 5, 2023.
