Iraq War

Embedded Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and the Iraq War

by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

By Alexis Jordan

Published in Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology 3(1): 9-23. (May 2012)
Copyright ©2012 by Field Notes: A Journal of Collegiate Anthropology

The response of the archaeological community to the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq was focused largely on the... more The response of the archaeological community to the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq was focused largely on the rescue and protection of Iraq’s cultural heritage, specifically looted artifacts, archaeological sites, and museums. Many of these efforts to return and safeguard Iraqi antiquities involved archaeological interaction with various allied military forces occupying the area (Hamilakis 2003, 2009; Teijgeler 2008). The preservation and protection of antiquities amidst military occupation has raised growing concerns within the archaeological community regarding the ethical and political aspects of “embedded archaeology,” i.e. collaborating with military and occupation authorities in the service of rescuing antiquities. Some archaeologists cite the legitimization of invasions and civilian casualties as consequences of these collaborations (Hamilakis 2003; 2009:43; Teijgeler 2008). Others argue that collaborative efforts do not necessarily condone military actions. Engaging with military forces to protect cultural heritage is the primary responsibility of archaeologists and the reality of archaeology in the midst of conflict (Lawler 2008; Stone 2009a, b). What has become clear throughout these debates is the need to assess the experiences of archaeologists in the Iraq War for the purpose of establishing guidelines for the conduct of archaeologists in conflict situations (Pollock 2008; Perring and Linde 2009).

America: An Empire In Decline (Part 2)

by Devon DB

This article discusses the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and its effects on US foreign policy. It also discusses the... more This article discusses the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and its effects on US foreign policy. It also discusses the Bush Administration's foreign policy from the attempted coup in Venezuela to the change in military doctrine of the war in Iraq, as well as the Color Revolutions in eastern Europe, ending with a brief discussion of the 2007 financial crisis.

The Threat of Private Military Companies

by Devon DB

Irak Savaşı Sonrasında Liberal Dünyanın Yapay İkiliği

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

İlkim Özdikmenli, Şevket Ovalı, "Irak Savaşı Sonrasında Liberal Dünyanın Yapay İkiliği", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 5, Sayı 19 (Güz), 2008

Irak Savaşı, liberal dünyanın güvenlik endişeleri çerçevesinde bir ikilik ortaya çıkarmıştır: ABD’nin askeri güce... more Irak Savaşı, liberal dünyanın güvenlik endişeleri çerçevesinde bir ikilik ortaya çıkarmıştır: ABD’nin askeri güce dayalı tekyanlıcılığına karşılık Avrupa uluslararası hukuka ve örgütlere vurgu yapan çok taraflılık yanlısı bir tutum sergilemiştir. Soğuk Savaş’ın bitişinden beri Amerikan tekyanlıcılığı eleştirilere tabi olmuş, ancak ilk defa Irak Savaşı ile Avrupa merkezli açık bir tepki su yüzüne çıkmıştır. Uluslararası ilişkiler teorisine ve Transatlantik ilişkilerin tarihsel arka planına da atıfla makale, bu ikiliği Kuzey Atlantik güvenlik topluluğunda bir kutuplaşma olarak değerlendirmek yerine geçici ve yapay bir ikilik olarak görmenin daha yerinde olacağını, zira nihayetinde tarafların kapasiteleri ve sorumluluklarının onların siyaset tercihleri konusundaki ısrarlarını sınırlayacağını öne sürmektedir.

Is Walzer's Position on Iraqi Containment in Need of Humanitarian Intervention?

by Robert Sivulka

Journal of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, Vol. 83, 2006 (139-56)

I evaluate the limitation on war in situations that seem to call for humanitarian intervention.  I begin with... more I evaluate the limitation on war in situations that seem to call for humanitarian intervention.  I begin with Walzer’s position on jus ad bellum (the justice of going to war).  This involves a discussion of his views on the sovereignty of states and the commitment to non-intervention.  I will also summarize Walzer’s view on when humanitarian interventions are justified.  I will examine his position on the Iraq war as an example of his general jus ad bellum views.  I will then critique Walzer’s position on humanitarian intervention.  I argue that a case may still be made for the permissibility of humanitarian intervention using Walzer’s own principles.  This will turn on empirical claims concerning the gravity of the Iraqi situation and the real life inadequacy of his proposal.  I also argue that he minimizes the objectivity of justice, and puts state rights above individual human rights.  Finally, I examine utilitarian concerns, which seem to motivate much of his limited war theory.

It is not my intent to argue for or against jus ad bellum regarding the intervention of Iraq beginning in March 2003.  Weighing all the empirical issues to provide material content for the formal principles of just war theory is simply beyond the scope of this paper.  Rather, my primary purpose is to demonstrate that Walzer’s position for Iraqi containment and against this humanitarian intervention is inadequately grounded.  I argue that humanitarian intervention is justified in a greater number of cases than Walzer’s criteria allow.

Projecting Trauma War Photography and the Public Sphere

by Haim Bresheeth

published in Third Text, Vol. 20, Issue 1, January, 2006, 57–71

The war in Iraq has brought to the fore some very old questions about the visual representation of conflict, war and... more The war in Iraq has brought to the fore some very old questions about the visual representation of conflict, war and pain. I shall be examining the particular twist given to those issues by the developments in Iraq and in particular the so-called Abu Ghraib photographs, now world (in)famous. The issues of Third World people represented by the denizens of Western power, the USA and UK, and especially of Muslim males being subjected to the force and rule of non-Muslims in what was understood as a neo-Christian moral and globalising crusade, are some of the more complex issues of our time. The article will examine images of unidentified Iraqis taken by their jailers and torturers. How do such images compare with ones taken during the war in Vietnam when the US liberal media arguably played a significant role in bringing the war to an end? The question of the role of the media in this latest conflict, and especially of the visual imagery of pain, will be assessed through the Abu Ghraib visual record of scandalous and inhuman treatment of the detainees by US forces and the effect this had on the American public.
Some deep sociocultural fault lines, historically linked to the representation of war and conflict, will be also examined, such as the question of veracity instanced by the off-staging of scenes and the re-creation of emotions by visual direction of the documentary image. Such issues are the staple of postmodern textual analysis but occupy a position of special importance here.

The Civilization of Clashes: Misapplying the Democratic Peace in the Middle East

by Piki Ish-Shalom

Political Science Quarterly, 12, No. 4 (Winter 2007-08): 533-554. Reprinted in Robert Jervis and and Loren Kando, eds., The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy, New York, NY: The Academy of Political Science, 2008.

Traces the process by which leading neoconservatives endorsed the structural theories of democratic peace, generating... more Traces the process by which leading neoconservatives endorsed the structural theories of democratic peace, generating a grand strategy of forceful democracy promotion. He analyses the reasons for this endorsement and its impact on American foreign policy. He then goes on to explore some internal incoherencies in this neoconservative grand strategy.

Irak Savaşı, Oyunun Adı Petrol (mu) - (The War in Iraq: Is Oil the Name of the Game?) Kartalın Kanat Sesleri; ABD Dış Politikasında Yeni Yönelimler ve Dünya - Toktamış Ateş (ed) - 2004

by Ahmet Kasım Han

An assessment of the "oil argument" on the US intervention in Iraq. Includes a detailed analysis of... more An assessment of the "oil argument" on the US intervention in Iraq. Includes a detailed analysis of geopolitics and geoeconomics of oil. (In Turkish)

REPRÉSENTATIONS DU 11-SEPTEMBREReprésentations du 11-Septembre dans Quatre Journaux Grecs. Une Question de Cadrage

by Athanassios N. Samaras

Samaras Ath.N. (2005) “Représentations du 11-Septembre dans Quatre Journaux Grecs. Une Question de Cadrage”, Questions De Communication, Issue 8 (page.367-388). (in French)

The  terrorist attack on the Word Trade Center on the 11/9 led to the development of the War of Terrorism master... more The  terrorist attack on the Word Trade Center on the 11/9 led to the development of the War of Terrorism master frame in the USA. The message of the  military operations as well as all the other measures taken by the Bush administration in response to 11/9 has been coded according to this master frame. In Greece these events have been filtered by the Anti-Americanism master frame that has already been formulated by the Greek media in respond to Kosovo bombing. This paper examines the framing of the 11/9 and of the consequent reactions of the Bush administration in the editorial columns of four  Greek newspapers. This paper is divided in three sections. The first section presents the tool kit of frame theory and relates it with the domains of foreign policy and international communication . The second one explores the development of the War on Terrorism and the Anti-Americanism master frames and the third analyses the attributes of the editorials of the Greek newspapers.

A tale of two wars: Framing analysis of online news sites in coalition countries and the Arab world during the Iraq war

by Daniela Dimitrova

The relationship between the future oil price and European stock markets

by Siobhan O'Connell

Submitted October 2008 as part of the requirements for an MSc Financial Economics
Awarded 1st Class Honours

The aim of this study is to discover if there exists a relationship between the futures oil price and four European... more The aim of this study is to discover if there exists a relationship between the futures oil price and four European stock markets namely the French (CAC40), German (DAX), Irish (ISE) and Polish (WSE). This was broken down into 4 main hypotheses. The long run relationship was examined to discover if the variables were co-integrated. The first hypothesis aim was to research the long run relationship between oil and the 4 stock markets returns individually. The long run seemingly unrelated regression is also examined The second to fourth hypothesis aimed to establish whether this relationship occurred during periods of supply uncertainty, growth in demand and a period of tranquillity.

In line with previous literature the long run relationship when tested found that there existed a negative relationship at one monthly lag of the oil price for the CAC40, DAX and ISE with the WSE showing a negative lead. In contrast the SUR long Run relationship highlighted contemporaneous relationships existing between the variables. The above negative relationship can be accounted for the subsequent feed through effects of higher oil prices into inflation and monetary policy setting and subsequently therefore economic growth within this context. There was a negative relationship occurring at several points for the Gulf War supply hypothesis. The period of tranquillity acting as a contrasting period exhibited little significant relationships. The demand hypothesis exhibited negative relationship for the 3 stock markets excluding WSE. This relationship highlighted the markets sensitivity to higher oil price levels.

"Brave Rifles at Tall ‘Afar, September 2005."

by Rick Herrera

In Contact!: Case Studies from the Long War, vol. 1. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2003

Justification for War: A Comparative Study of How George W. Bush and Tony Blair Presented the Iraq War to Their Respective Citizens

by Lori Maguire

Published in "Stratégies et campagnes électorales en Grande-Bretagne et aux Etats-Unis", edited by Renée Dickason, David Haigron and Karine Rivière-De Franco (Paris: L'Harmattan, 2009) 165-182

The Iraq War enjoyed wide support in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom for only a short... more The Iraq War enjoyed wide support in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom for only a short period of time. However, in spite of all the controversies related to the war, both George W. Bush in 2004 and Tony Blair in 2005 secured re-election. Blair was even able to call early elections. In both cases, they presented the threat of Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in its worst possible light, using exaggeration and insinuations. They did this in a number of, often highly dubious ways, but one of the most important was through their rhetoric. This paper examines how both leaders used their speeches to influence public opinion.

Art Under Occupation: Documentary, Archive and the Radically Banal

by Ryan Watson

Reform Intervention and Democratic Revolution

by Christopher Finlay

Published in the 'European Journal of International Relations', 2007.

Can interventions be used to assist oppressed peoples in overthrowing their governments? According to the influential... more Can interventions be used to assist oppressed peoples in overthrowing their governments? According to the influential non-interventionist arguments of J.S. Mill and Michael Walzer, reform interventions are incompatible with a principle of national self-determination. This article challenges Mill and Walzer, arguing that, in limited cases, interventions could in principle support revolutionary movements in such a way as to facilitate democratic transition. It does so by tracing a lack of conceptual clarity back to Mill's argument in `A Few Words on Non-Intervention'. In particular, it is argued that Mill's and consequently Walzer's account of domestic revolutionary conflicts fails to distinguish the salience of military from properly political forces. Mill's Considerations on Representative Government provides the starting point for a clearer set of distinctions through which to reconstruct the principle of non-intervention on a stronger footing.

Rosemary Durward and Lee Marsden (Eds). 2009. Religion, Conflict and Military Intervention. Aldershot: Ashgate, Pp. 198, Hb,# 55.00. ISBN-13: …

by Carys Moseley

Counterpublic spheres in Global Politics: The Anti-War Movement and Iraq

by Rodger A. Payne

Prepared for a panel on “Culture and Political Economics,” Annual Meeting of the International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies, Louisville, KY, November 2008. An earlier version of this paper was prepared for the panel on “Taking the ‘Communicative Turn’ Seriously: Assessing the Relationship between Material Power and Political Discourse,” Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, San Diego, CA, March 2006. Thanks are extended to Olalekan Badru for his research assistance and to Patrick Thaddeus Jackson for his comments on that version of the paper.

On February 15, 2003, millions of people from around the world participated in anti-war protests in anticipation of... more On February 15, 2003, millions of people from around the world participated in anti-war protests in anticipation of war on Iraq. The BBC estimated that 6 to 10 million people rallied in approximately 800 cities in nearly 60 countries. Despite this concerted opposition, the protests did not prevent the United States and a “coalition of the willing” from launching war on March 19, 2003. This paper explores U.S. media coverage of the international protests. Previous research of U.S. media coverage of the pre-war period suggests that war advocates, especially in the Bush administration, were able to construct a successful narrative about Iraq threats that precluded significant opposition to the forthcoming war. The public discourse was dominated by  pro-war forces what successfully framed the proposed attack as an integral part of the “war on terror” in response to the September 11 terror attacks on the United States. The paper investigates whether anti-war rallies constituted a counterpublic sphere that permeated the public debate in the U.S.

L’Espagne et la guerre en Iraq (2002-2004) : ruptures dans la politique extérieure

by José Antonio Sanahuja

(con Isaías Barreñada e Iván Martín), Critique Internationale, nº23, abril 2004 (CERI, Paris), ISSN 1290-7839, pp. 9-21

Après les événements du 11 septembre, l’alignement du gouvernement espagnol sur la politique des États-Unis en Irak et... more Après les événements du 11 septembre, l’alignement du gouvernement espagnol sur la politique des États-Unis en Irak et l’envoi de troupes intégrées à la coalition internationale a provoqué une rupture radicale avec les consensus traditionnels qui définissaient la politique extérieure espagnole depuis la période de la Transition. L’analyse des étapes les plus importantes de ce changement de cap permettent de conclure que les raisons idéologiques d’un tel bouleversement s’inspirent du projet néoconservateur de reconfiguration de l’ordre mondial. Mais le gouvernement de José Maria Aznar a commis plusieurs erreurs de calcul en sous-estimant, d’une part, les coûts politiques que pourrait avoir ce repositionnement pour les relations de l’Espagne avec ses partenaires de l’Union européenne et, d’autre part, le réveil de l’opposition de la majorité de l’opinion publique espagnole. La défaite du Partido Popular aux élections de 2004 s’est traduite par le rétablissement des lignes maîtresses de la politique extérieure espagnole d’avant Aznar.

Anti-Iraq War Protests in Turkey: Global Networks, Coalitions, and Context

by Masaki Kakizaki

Middle Eastern Studies, 47(1), 2011.

This article examines how Turkish citizens participated in protests against the Iraq War and why civil society... more This article examines how Turkish citizens participated in protests against the Iraq War and why civil society organizations were able to mobilize tens of thousands of people across the country despite the institutional weakness of the Turkish peace movement. The Iraq War case is important in that its scale and level of protest mobilization were unprecedented based on any other anti-war protests in Turkey. Using content analysis of newspaper reports of anti-Iraq War protest events, this article maps the patterns and forms of protest against the Iraq War and argues for the importance of global networks, coalitions among organizations, and political context for protest mobilization.