20 years since the Iraq War, and the impact on the international situation thereafter

It will be 20 years since the start of the Iraq War, in which the United States decided to use force against Iraq without obtaining a resolution of the United Nations Security Council. Weapons of mass destruction, which was the cause of the opening of the war, did not exist in Iraq, damaged the prestige of the United States, and had a major impact on the international situation thereafter.

The Iraq War began on March 2003, 3, with an air strike on the capital Baghdad by the U.S. military, and the authoritarian regime of Saddam Hussein collapsed in three weeks.

The United States unilaterally used force without the resolution of the United Nations Security Council, but the weapons of mass destruction that were mentioned as the cause of the opening of the war did not exist in Iraq, and the prestige of the United States, which was the sole superpower at that time, was greatly damaged, and the limits of the United Nations were exposed.

In Iraq, security continued to deteriorate due to conflicts between Islamic sects and the rise of the extremist organization IS = Islamic States, and according to British private organizations, about 20,3 civilians have been killed in the past 20 years.

In addition, the expansion of the influence of neighboring Iran had a significant impact on the power map in the Middle East and the subsequent international situation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the Iraq War while justifying the invasion of Ukraine, saying, "The invasion of Iraq was carried out without any legal basis, it brought great cost and destruction, and terrorism spread all at once." It is a major disaster not only for Iraq and the United States, but also for the international community.

"UN is dysfunctional" Deputy foreign minister of former Saddam Hussein regime

Twenty days before the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, in which the United States unilaterally decided to use force against Iraq, Mr. Mohammed Hamd, who served as Deputy Foreign Minister in the former Saddam Hussein regime, gave an interview to NHK.

In it, Mr. Hamd reflected on the situation in Iraq before the start of the war, saying, "During the Hussein regime, no one had the right to speak in the country, and everything was decided by President Hussein at his own discretion," and that no one in the Iraqi government could say or do anything to stop the war.

"The Iraqi people initially expected that the Saddam Hussein regime would be overthrown by the United States and that a good future awaited them, but the United States ruled Iraq and nothing was in the interests of the people, and hope quickly turned to disappointment," he said.

Mr. Hamd also pointed out that the United Nations searched President Hussein's bedroom before the war began, but found nothing.

"The United States used sectarianism and tribalism to govern Iraq, and unfortunately the roots of these traits still remain in Iraq, causing the people to be divided and the economy to decline," he said, acknowledging that sectarian conflicts deepened due to the U.S. occupation and rule, and that the country is still suffering from its negative legacy.

On the other hand, Mr. Hamd pointed out that "the Iraq war has opened the door to all wars of aggression, and beyond that lies Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and there is a risk that similar wars of aggression will be repeated in the future."

He then argued that the United Nations Security Council was dysfunctional, stating that the United Nations Security Council was unable to stop the United States from using force against Iraq, saying, "The UN Security Council is a dead body, and no one can say no to a superpower such as the United States."

"U.S. hegemony collapses, China emerges as superpower" Experts

Kazuo Takahashi, professor emeritus at the Open University of Japan, who is familiar with the situation in the Middle East, analyzes that the hegemony of the United States, which was the sole superpower, collapsed due to the Iraq War, and that a superpower called China has emerged in the past 20 years.

Commenting on the Iraq War and the subsequent 20 years, Professor Emeritus Takahashi said, "It was a time when the hegemony of the United States began to be destroyed by the war, and it was a time when the superpower of China was preparing for the appearance of a superpower while it was using a great deal of energy. He points out.

Regarding the unilateral use of force by the United States, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, he said, "The Bush administration acted on the Iraq War as an important national interest, but it can be said that President Putin's invasion of Ukraine is the same as an example of a major power with nuclear weapons taking action if its vital interests are involved." He pointed out similarities with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Pointing out that the U.S. presence in the Middle East has declined in recent years, he said, "I think it's a diplomatic victory for China" that Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have been at odds for many years, agreed to normalize diplomatic relations through China's mediation.

"Until now, China has enjoyed only economic benefits without sweating, but I think we have entered an era in which we sweat diplomacy and, perhaps, military affairs," he said, expressing the view that China will strengthen its presence in the Middle East in the future.

"President Putin brings up Iraq war, invasion of Ukraine justified"

President Putin, who became president in 2000 and advocated the "revival of a strong Russia," initially showed a willingness to cooperate with the United States in the fight against international terrorism after the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001.

However, in 2003, President Putin showed strong distrust of the Bush administration of the United States at the time insisting on the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq and decided to use force, and since then, the confrontation has continued to criticize the "unilateralism" of the United States.

Andrei Kortunov, chairman of the Russian Council on International Affairs, a Russian government-affiliated think tank close to the Putin administration, pointed out in an interview with NHK that the war in Iraq was an important turning point for both Russia and the international community.

"None of the weapons of mass destruction or chemical weapons were found in Iraq, which was a very important lesson for the Russian leadership: that international law is not always in force in the world, but that force is more effective. It may have influenced the Russian leadership's belief that the current international situation must act by force."

On the other hand, President Putin justified the invasion by invoking the Iraq War over the military invasion of Ukraine and criticizing the United States.

In a speech on February 2 last year, when the invasion began, he said, "The invasion of Iraq was carried out without any legal basis, and the United States claimed to have reliable information about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but it later turned out to be all a hoax and bluff. Great sacrifice and destruction have been brought about, and terrorism has spread all at once," he said, arguing that the United States is a threat to the international order.

On the 24st of last month, in his first annual State of the Union address after the military invasion, he said, "The United States and other NATO have prepared the Ukrainian regime for a large-scale war, and in the past they have behaved duplicitously when they destroyed Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria," and criticized the United States, referring to the Iraq War.