The US & the Iraq War

Warfare

History Hit

History

4.5 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2023

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the US and its allies invading Iraq under the pretence to remove dictator Saddam Hussein and his apparent ‘weapons of mass destruction’. One of the most controversial and divisive military campaigns of the modern era, the legalities of the war are still debated today. Two decades later, the Iraq War continues to have a profound impact on global politics, military strategy, and the lives of those who were involved.

In this episode, James welcomes back Ben Barry, who oversaw an official British military analysis of the Iraq War, to reflect on this event. Ben provides a comprehensive overview of the conflict, exploring the political and historical context that led to the invasion, the military strategy employed by the US and its allies, and the complex and evolving nature of urban conflict on the ground. So how did this conflict change the modern world, and what can we learn 20 years on?

Tickets are still available for James' talk here.

Ben's new book is available here.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	In March 2003, the US-led coalition of the willing invaded Iraq, vowing to destroy Iraqi
0:07.1	weapons of mass destruction and to end the brutal rule of Saddam Hussein.
0:12.4	Yet after a powerful air-powered campaign branded as shock and awe and a swift march on to Baghdad,
0:20.0	the war took a turn for the worse.
0:22.0	Malicious were formed and insurgency was born,
0:26.0	and states hostile to the West, such as Iran,
0:29.4	did all they could to blunt the US-led attempts
0:32.4	to take control of the country.
0:34.8	So where did this US military coalition go wrong?
0:39.1	Well I'm your host James Patton Rogers and to find out I've welcomed Ben Barry back onto the
0:44.1	warfare podcast. Not only was Ben the director of British Army staff in the UK
0:49.1	Ministry of Defence, but he was the author of the British Army's lesson learned analysis of post-conflict
0:55.4	stabilization in Iraq.
0:57.8	He's also the author of the excellent book, Blood, Metal and Dust, How Victory victory turned into defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
1:06.4	So sit back as a true expert takes us through the key successes and failures of the Iraq
1:12.1	war.
1:12.8	Hi Ben, welcome back to warfare.
1:18.6	How you doing?
1:19.6	I'm doing well.
1:20.6	It's great to be back.
1:21.6	Well, it's great to have you here.
1:22.2	Thanks for taking the time to help us mark 20 years since the start of the Iraq War back in 2003.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.