Foreign Affairs: Its influence declines. Washington is still paying the price of its war on Iraq

The American magazine "Foreign Affairs" published an article analyzing the decline of American influence in the Middle East.

On the eve of the Iraq war 20 years ago, the United States was at the height of its influence in the Arab world after emerging victorious in the Cold War, but it was still overwhelmed by the wounds of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In this article, author Mina al-Oraibi described the impact of that influence as largely political, but also ambitious.

It was the closest ally to the Arabs

Arab leaders have long viewed Washington as their closest ally and often received guidance from it, while many liberals in the region have seen the United States as a champion of civil liberties and human rights.

The Iraq war was the spark that led to the decline of American influence in the Middle East, along with many other events, al-Araibi believes.

As soon as the war broke out, the United States emerged as an "absolute power" with little regard for international law or the support of its allies, and overthrew a government it never attacked, referring to the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Highlighted its inefficiency

The writer attributed the inability of the US army to defeat "local rebels" or keep up with Iranian maneuvers inside Iraq to the incompetence of the United States, which was quickly exposed after the invasion of that Arab country.

Although the United States has demonstrated its "overwhelming" power in the Iraq war, it has also exposed the weakness of its resourcefulness in ending the war on its terms, al-Araibi says.

Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks to US forces at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on November 15, 2014 (Reuters)

America went to war in Iraq without the permission of the United Nations Security Council as a "first blow" to its international reputation and the rules-based order "that it has worked so hard to support."

A mixture of ignorance and arrogance

The actions of the United States, during its occupation of Iraq, spelled its end as the world's leading superpower.

The United States has shown a mixture of "ignorance and arrogance" that Iraqis and others in the region have taken by surprise, she said, adding that its decisions — as an occupying power — to disband the Iraqi army and several state institutions have made Iraqis skeptical of Washington's intentions.

She claimed that the United States has not fully recovered from the consequences of forfeiting its enormous influence among decision-makers in the region before the war began, as evidenced by its inability in 2022 to convince its main Arab allies to follow suit with Ukraine, which "confirmed its weakness."

It did not act as a responsible occupying power

Since its invasion of Iraq, the United States has refrained from playing its role as an occupying power, "providing security for key facilities, such as hospitals and government ministries, would have helped Iraq stabilize." Its failure to guard Iraq's borders also allowed foreign fighters to enter the country easily, followed by the emergence of al-Qaeda in Iraq (which later became the Islamic State).

Al-Araibi said leaders in the Middle East feared Washington could topple them, similar to what happened to the late Libyan colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Although the Iraq war was not the only one that shaped the course of U.S.-Arab relations over the past two decades, it cast a dark shadow over the region's view of the United States.

Reluctance to support Ukraine

Moreover, there is a perception in the region that successive US administrations cannot maintain their foreign policy positions, which has made Washington's allies reluctant to support Ukraine.

However, al-Araibi believes that the United States still wields enormous influence despite its declining standing in the Middle East, where it still maintains the largest military presence in the region.