INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Conflict in Iraq and International Relations



Conflict in Iraq and International Relations

Introduction

The war in Iraq has become one of the most serious international conflicts that occurred after the collapse of the bipolar world order. The Iraqi conflict has had great resonance in the world, and its consequences are not fully defined because of its incompleteness. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 caused outrage in the U.S. that allowed George W. Bush, ignoring the opinion of the United Nations, European allies and the international community, to begin a large-scale expansion under the pretext of fighting terrorism war in Iraq (Schoenbaum 2006, pp. 291-320).

The invasion of US-British forces in Iraq was launched without real reason. Military action in Iraq did not fit into the framework of the antiterrorist operation because no evidence was found that Saddam Hussein's regime had specific links to "Al Qaeda" or other terrorist organizations. In addition, there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Thus, both the official pretext for the introduction of troops in Iraq has failed.

Discussion

The consequences of the Iraq war in a global context are ambiguous. U.S. military operation, carried out without the consent of the UN, has split the international community, affecting not only the UN, but also other international organizations such as NATO. The war in Iraq has had a significant influence on the development of International relations, becoming one of the main causes of aggravation of the contradictions between the European Union and the United States at the beginning of the XXI century.

Almost immediately after the attacks of September 11th, 2001, the U.S. government declared that there was "convincing evidence" that Iraq had maintained active links with terrorists. U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld argued that there were members of "Al-Qaeda" in Iraq and that he had credible intelligence about high-level contacts between Iraq and the terrorist organization. The U.S. government acted in late 2001, with regular statements to the effect that it has credible evidence that the leaders of "Al Qaeda" were looking for contacts with Iraqi representatives, "who could help them acquire weapons of mass destruction" and one might prepare specialists in chemical and biological weapons. The statements have also spoken about the possibility of action against the Saddam Hussein regime in the new phase of the "war on terror" (Halliday 2005, pp. 309-374).

In his annual presidential address, "State of the Union" (January 29, 2002) George W. Bush said that the regimes of North Korea, Iran and Iraq trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction pose a greater and greater risk and are an "axis of evil". The factor of weapons of mass destruction played a significant role in defining the relationship of Iraq with the international community, especially the Western world. In particular, Iraq, providing support to terrorists, more than ten years trying to produce chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. And if "some governments evince timidity in the face of terror...if they are not ready to act, America will ...