Since part of the mission of the FPA is to make foreign policy accessible to the American public, I like to recommend public sources and links to popular media. I don’t normally recommend academic articles, more often than not, they are hidden behind journal pay walls and not accessible to the public. I’m making an exception in this case to recommend an article in International Politics published by Palgrave Journals. For a short time, the publisher is making select titles available on their website for free. In this article, the author suggests the dominant narrative about the invasion of Iraq is wrong and suggests an alternative interpretation. As you know, the dominant narrative about the Iraq War in both academic and popular commentary is that it represented an expression of imperial hubris and neocon ideology particular to the Bush presidency. The author suggests that the invasion of Iraq can be seen a reflection of the spirit of liberal interventionism that dominated American foreign policy long before the Bush years. I thought the article was interesting because it questions conventional wisdom about the Iraq War and now that the complicated (and bloody) process of withdrawing from Iraq has begun it serves as a reminder that both liberals and conservatives now share responsibility for Iraq.
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