Embattled Reporter
We talk to journalist Andrew Cockburn about the Iraq invasion and the new Middle East.
(Larry Busacca / Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Editors
To what extent did the first Gulf War — a “forgotten war” for many Americans — set the stage for the later Iraq War?
Andrew Cockburn
The easy victory left the United States with a confident expectation that it could repeat the exercise anytime — a display of American military omnipotence ready at hand whenever needed. In other words, the 1991 war produced a perfect enemy, one that could be brutalized (sanctions) or attacked (Bill Clinton’s 1998 cruise missile barrage while he was in the midst of impeachment woes) whenever it was politically convenient for the US leadership.
Editors
The political class is just as jingoistic as ever, but do you get a sense that the military itself has grown more cautious about such invasions?
Andrew Cockburn
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