In the annals of political criminality, the American invasion of Iraq deserves pride of place. The war itself cost at least two hundred thousand civilian deaths, with indirect losses totaling several times as many. All from an invasion launched on entirely fraudulent grounds.

But it is important to remember that, by the time of the 2003 occupation, a brutal sanctions regime had already wreaked havoc on Iraqi society. Iraqis have now borne the consequences of US aggression for more than thirty years. Two generations have been lost to this chaos, and there is no happy outcome in sight. The American establishment, however, moved on long ago. Earlier in 2023, on the twentieth anniversary of the invasion, there were a few perfunctory reappraisals by the press, joined by a handful of politicians. Soldiers were thanked “for their service,” some tongues were clucked over the devastation visited upon the hapless civilians — and then we quickly returned to our regular programming.

One of the main tasks of socialists must surely be to reverse this culture of impunity. And this has to start with a sober analysis, not just of the human damage wrought by the imperial state but also of its actions and its goals. Liberals like to say “never again” about fascism; we also need to say “never again” to imperial episodes like the invasion of Iraq.