United States Policy Towards The Iraq War - 1501 Words

United States policy towards the Iran-Iraq war was interesting to say the least. While the United States claimed to be a neutral party, they supported Iraq for the majority of the war, supported Iran for a brief period, then went back to only supporting Iraq. Both sides committed numerous atrocities and war crimes, and for the most part received little to no American condemnation. Through this essay, I will explore the reasons for the US involvement, and their responses to a number of war crimes, particularly Iraq’s use of chemical weapons throughout the war. Firstly, it is important to understand why the United States decided to support Iraq. One of the reasons, is their loss of Iran as one of their â€Å"twin pillars.† When Nixon took office in 1969, his administration undertook a major review of US Persian Gulf policy. As part of an effort to redefine US military interests in key areas throughout the world by way of supporting certain states with arms rather th an military forces. The result was the Nixon Doctrine, which relied on security cooperation with regional states to protect US interests around the world. In the Gulf, the United States heavily supported Iran and Saudi Arabia, a strategy that would quickly be known as the â€Å"Twin Pillar Policy.† Unfortunately for the United States, the overthrow of the Shah in 1979 shattered the pillar that was Iran. The leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, denounced the United States as the â€Å"GreatShow MoreRelatedThe Realist and Liberalist Perspectives on International Relations and US Policy Stance Toward Iraq1186 Words   |  5 PagesThe Realist and Liberalist Perspectives on International Relations and US Policy Stance Toward Iraq There are two prominent stances in International Relations. The schools of thought are commonly referred to as realist and liberalist. There are various names that they are called, and they can also be split further into subdivisions. 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Also, the actionRead MorePoliceman of the World Essay916 Words   |  4 Pagesindependence from the British in 1776, the United States foreign policy over the years has gone from expansionist to isolationism to defending democracy. With the responsibility of defending democratic rights for those who cannot defend themselves, the United States in my opinion has taken on the role of â€Å"policeman of the world.† This role became more evident with the use of U.S. military force in international incidents like U.S. intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi