U.S. Foreign Relations Policy: History of U.S Relations with Iraq

U.S. Foreign Relations Policy
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
U.S. Foreign Relations Policy
Introduction
Whilst many researchers have focused on the cold war conflicts in Cuba, Afghanistan and Vietnam, few have considered the importance of Middle East and more specifically Iraq as a cold war battleground. In essence, U.S foreign policy in Iraq during the cold war was designed to deny the Soviet influence in the country and the region in general. This can be deduced from the U.S reaction to Iraq’s revolution in the year 1958 (Krieg, 2016). During the revolution, Eisenhower government engaged in covert action in a bid to prevent the spread of communism in Iraq. All through, U.S motive in Iraq was based on the latter’s increasing importance in the region particularly its significance to the international cold war strategy which sought to contain the spread of communism.
History of U.S Relations with Iraq
Prior to the cold war, the U.S government took little interest in Iraq. The U.S government visualized a liberal political system that would encompass autonomy for Iraqis. This vision was not however effectively promoted with the government deferring the country to the British who managed Iraq as a League of Nations and converted it into a pro-western country. Following the rise of the Nazi threats, the U.S became concerned that Iraq would become dominated by Germany. In reaction to this, the U.S approved the British army containment Rashid Al-Gailani, then a pro-Nazi Iraq who had briefly occupied the seat of the prime minister (North, 2015). The British army with the support of the U.S restored the Monarchy which worked in cooperation with the allies and their strategies and objectives. Slowly, the U.S became involved in political liaison with Iraq.
The arrival of cold war raised concerns in Washington more so in relation to Soviet expansionism and the Middle East. This generated determinism in the U.S with the main aim being stopping expansion of communism. At this time, Britain could not maintain its dominant position given due to financial constraints. Intra-regional anxiety and more specifically the conflict over Palestine destabilized the region. The rise of anti-western nationalism as a result of the support of Israel by the U.S. government and the British imperialism undermined the popularity of the western monarchy in Iraq. Towards the end of 1940s and 1950, the U.S. sought to stabilize the Arab country (Gunter, 2015). In an effort to achieve this, the U.S. facilitated the withdrawal of Iraq from Palestine as a move towards ending the Arab-Israel war. America also encouraged Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) to increase its level of output and to share revenues with the Iraq government. In addition, the U.S. government provided military and economic aid to the Iraq government.
As aforementioned, America’s covert action in Iraq and the larger Middle East region was aimed at stopping the spread of communism. The U.S. intelligence system has in the past been accused of trying to assassinate Iraqis political leaders such as in the case of Qasim in 1959 and again in 1960. Qasim was finally overthrown in 1963 by the Ba’th party and with the assistance of American intelligence (Krieg, 2016). The U.S. also provided death squads to eliminate communist sympathizers. Despite internal instability, Iraq established itself as a sovereign state in the international arena with the government trailing neutralism during the cold war. The country also sought to have political influence over other countries in the region besides contesting Egyptian supremacy over the Arab community. Moreover, it remained committed to stabilizing the region by for example engaging in occasional confrontation with Israel (Gibson, 2015). In order to contain the Kurdish problem during the 1970s, Iraq was engaged in both conflicts and cooperation with the neighboring Iran. All through, America was pursuing interlocking goals with the country.
On behalf of the American government, U.S diplomats sought to establish stable political relationships with Iraq’s government. This was also aimed at preventing the spread of communism or making the county a center of regional conflict. Notably however is the fact that U.S. political leaders did not offer much support for democracy or the welfare of Iraqis, avoiding liberal political goals at the expense of keeping the Arab country free from communism. Several years following the 1958 political coup, America accrued some success in attaining its goals. In this context, it was able to maintain diplomatic relations besides negotiating a peaceful ending of the Baghdad Pact (North, 2015). It was also able to avert a possible conflict between Iraq and Kuwait, offered foreign aid and supported other economic activities in the country. In relation to Soviet Union support of the Kurds, America however did very little to eliminate Iraqi suppression of this particular group.
During 1960s, the diplomatic relations between the two countries declined largely because Iraq considered America as supportive of Israel military endeavors. The country went ahead to nationalize America’s interest in IPC and sought the help of the Soviet Union to advance its oil production capacity. In its reaction, the U.S equipped the Kurds in an effort to weaken the Iraq government (Pauly, 2017). Despite the fact that the latter government was able to eliminate the threat posed by the Kurds via diplomacy with Iran, it remained critical of the foreign powers and maintained a strong anti-U.S predisposition in relation to its approach to the Arab-Israel issues.
Diplomatic relations between Iraq and the U.S took a new turn with the ascending to power of Saddam Hussein. The new political leader started by suppressing all domestic rivals which intern helped establish internal stability. He also positioned himself as a crucial rampart against Islamic fundamentalism exhibited in Iran. The monotint tension between the two Arab countries became a full brown conflict in 1980 and which lasted over 8 years. America remained neutral until 1982 when the Regan government started to support Iraq (Gibson, 2015). This move was fuelled by concerns that Iran would acquire huge political influence in the Arabic region which coupled with anti-American sentiments encouraged America to offer support to Hussein government. Iraq was now viewed as a benign power and a crucial player in the fight against Iranian expansionism. Since this time, the relationship between Iraq and the U.S has been characterized by indecisive war and consequential complications. This was largely fueled by Hussein move to go after economic and territorial gains at the expense of other countries in the region. Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990 provoked military intervention from the U.S.
Strategic Relations
As efforts to liberate Kuwait came to an end, the U.S. imposed...