The humanitarian dilemma in Iraq

Kevin Drum has supplemented his original post on the absurdity of the chaos theories circulating about what might happen should America withdraw from Iraq. He makes a few points clear: So here's what I think, as plainly as I can put it. First: I agree that if we leave Iraq the result will be an ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Kevin Drum has supplemented his original post on the absurdity of the chaos theories circulating about what might happen should America withdraw from Iraq. He makes a few points clear:

Kevin Drum has supplemented his original post on the absurdity of the chaos theories circulating about what might happen should America withdraw from Iraq. He makes a few points clear:

So here's what I think, as plainly as I can put it. First: I agree that if we leave Iraq the result will be an intensified civil war. Second: I agree that the bloodshed will be horrific.

But he goes on to contend that what we'll get if we stay is a slow, agonizing civil war that will take a similar toll. On this view, there is a defined amount of Iraqi blood that will be shed, and America's ongoing failure to quash sectarian fighting means that it will all be shed at some point. In other words, the genie is out of the bottle.

My fear, by contrast, is that an intensified civil war will vault us into new levels of depredation. Conflict has a dynamic all its own; there isn't some fixed amount of blood waiting to be spilled. I do not believe that we can lightly permit what Drum concedes will be a more intense civil war.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.