Creating Enemies - Stabilization Operations in Iraq

The Bush administration planned the invasion of Iraq to be a quick “in and out” operation without dedicating a large force for the invasion and the aftermath. The “honeymoon period” immediately after the invasion closed and the insurgency movement emerged and grew when the Coalition Provisional Authority disbanded the army and banned the Ba’ath Party and most of its members from participating in the new government. The results of the orders created an insurgency war that the U.S. and Coalition forces had not planned to fight. The war created numerous domestic and foreign insurgency groups and militias as well as a largely under-governed area in Western Iraq on the Syrian border. The Syrian Civil War drew a number of groups into the country to fight along the pro-Shi`a and pro-Sunni factions. The insurgency war born in the aftermath of the invasion has created regional instability and conflict. The war has also crippled the U.S. in reacting to other global conflicts at a time when Russia is increasing its involvement in world affairs.