Global shifts, the United States and Iraq

Author: Gao Zugen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The authors of this book are mostly emerging scholars in China's international relations research. In this book, they provide an insightful perspective on Saddam Hussein and his era, vividly depicting U.S. policy and strategy towards Iraq, analyzing the competition among major powers in the issue of Iraq, reviewing the responses of the Arab world, and forecasting the global landscape after the Second Gulf War. What is particularly valuable is that they break free from the narrow view of "attacking Iraq" and are not confined to military confrontation, envisioning the strategic and political landscape of the Middle East, the international security structure, the relationship between major powers, the supply of energy, and even the dynamics of civilizational relations after "attacking Iraq." Their foresight, akin to "seeing the autumn dew from a hundred miles away," helps readers interested in international affairs understand the future world. – Guangming Book Review
After "9/11," the issue of Iraq gradually evolved into a major global strategic problem. U.S. policy towards Iraq shifted from "containment" to "using all means to change the regime." Iraq, once a strong nation in the Gulf, became weakened but remained "unyielding" to the U.S. Meanwhile, major Middle Eastern countries and international powers such as the EU, Russia, and Japan sought to balance their interests between the U.S. and Iraq, but ultimately had to make difficult choices. Although UN weapons inspections were progressing "smoothly," war grew increasingly imminent. Regardless of whether the Bush administration used war to "disarm Saddam's regime" and change the ruling power, or what the outcome of the war would be, the relationship between the U.S. and Iraq, the U.S. and the Islamic world, the relationship between the "superpower" and "multipower," and the evolution of the Middle Eastern and global landscape will all enter a new historical period, marking the prelude to these changes. Moving beyond the narrow perspective of "attacking Iraq" and grasping the global