Explaining the Iraq War : counterfactual theory, logic and evidence / Frank P. Harvey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harvey, Frank P., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iraq War, 2003-2011--Causes.

Iraq War, 2003-2011.

United States--Foreign relations--2001-2009.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 349 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The almost universally accepted explanation for the Iraq War is very clear and consistent - the US decision to attack Saddam Hussein's regime on March 19, 2003 was a product of the ideological agenda, misguided priorities, intentional deceptions and grand strategies of President George W. Bush and prominent 'neoconservatives' and 'unilateralists' on his national security team. Despite the widespread appeal of this version of history, Frank P. Harvey argues that it remains an unsubstantiated assertion and an underdeveloped argument without a logical foundation. His book aims to provide a historically grounded account of the events and strategies which pushed the US-UK coalition towards war. The analysis is based on both factual and counterfactual evidence, combines causal mechanisms derived from multiple levels of analysis and ultimately confirms the role of path dependence and momentum as a much stronger explanation for the sequence of decisions that led to war.

Contents:

Introduction

Comparative counterfactual analysis and the 2003 Iraq War

Leadership, political context(s) and the Iraq War

Democratic national security advisers

Domestic and congressional politics

American intelligence failures and miscalculations

Societal pressures and public opinion

International politics, global WMD consensus and UN power balancing

Hussein's mistakes, miscalculations and misperceptions

Summary and implications

Conclusion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-22994-4

1-139-18004-5

1-283-38262-8

9786613382627

1-139-18982-4

1-139-04422-2

1-139-18851-8

1-139-19111-X

1-139-18389-3

1-139-18621-3

OCLC:

782877118