Iraq Trilogy

..from the International Relations and Security Network, Center for Security Studies (CSS), and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich).

Iraq Between two Occupations (1933-2003)

Quote:

---

This case study presents an overview of Iraqi foreign policy and diplomatic history from 1933 to 2003. The authors detail the historical evolution of Iraq's foreign relations, diplomatic interactions, and military confrontations with the great powers and go on to examine the impact of these events on Iraq's national development. The case study provides a synthesis of the different international perspectives on Iraq's place in the world.

---

The Second Gulf War (1990-1991)

Quote:

---

This case study examines the causes, conduct, and consequences of the Second Gulf War, which was fought to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The author examines the reasons behind Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Kuwait; the subsequent build-up and deployment of an international UN coalition led by the United States, and the eventual air and ground operations against Iraq's military. The author also examines Iraq's attempts to draw Israel into the conflict and briefly touches on the eventual cost of the war.

---

The Third Gulf War (2003-20??)

Quote:

---

This case study examines the causes and conduct of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Particular emphasis is given to the efforts of the Bush administration to precipitate the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime; the planning and conduct of the invasion; and the subsequent difficulties faced by US armed forces in their occupation of Iraq. The author is critical of the Bush administration's lack of planning with regard to post-conflict activities and attributes this to "wishful thinking" with regard to the outcomes of the invasion. Finally, the case study examines the use of spy satellites to in both the run-up and conduct of the invasion.

---

2 Aug 06 Edit: It seems the original links no longer work. But the papers can still be downloaded at this location - ISN Case Studies

From Stephen Hosmer at RAND:

Why the Iraqi Resistance to the Coalition Invasion was so Weak

Quote:

---

Coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) were able to take down Saddam Hussein’s regime in less than three weeks, at the cost of relatively few Coalition casualties. This monograph draws on information derived primarily from interviews with and interrogations of senior Iraqi military and civilian officials, to examine why the Iraqi resistance in March and April 2003 was so weak. The research focused on two questions: (1) Why did the Iraqi Regular Army and Republican Guard forces do so little fighting? and (2) Why did Iraqi leaders fail to adopt certain defensive measures that would have made the Coalition’s task more difficult and costly?

These two questions encompass a number of related issues. The monograph examines the battlefield consequences of Saddam Hussein’s strategic misjudgments and preoccupation with internal threats, the poorly designed and executed Iraqi military strategy and operations, the weak motivation and morale that permeated all ranks of the Iraqi military, and the superiority in combat capability enjoyed by the Coalition forces. It concludes with observations about why decisionmakers should be careful about the lessons they may seek to draw from OIF, how OIF paved the way for the insurgency that has followed in Iraq, and how OIF may influence the behavior of future United States adversaries.

---

Wasn't their initial response so weak because their strength would be in a guerrilla war against a superpower instead of a conventional war against a far superior military?

Links for the trilogy are down. I've tried a variety of different strings, but keep getting the HTTP 500 error.

I've edited the links to the individual studies, so they should work now. But if they continue to have issues, the link at the bottom of the first post for the ISN Case Studies page works fine. You just have to look down the list for the titles.