Reflections on the Iraq War 20 Years On

On 20 March 2003, a US-led coalition invaded Iraq. Both as part of the Global War on Terror and with the intention to bring freedom and democracy to a country led by Saddam Hussein, the invasion quickly caused Iraq to fall into disarray, and ultimately into civil war. Since the invasion by coalition forces, the country has not only struggled with increased interference by Iran, but has also seen the rise, fall and resurgence of the Islamic State. 20 years after the invasion began, Renad Mansour, Director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House reflects upon the implications of the invasion not just for Iraq itself, but for global politics as a whole. About the Speaker: Dr. Renad Mansour is a senior research fellow and project director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House. He is also a senior research fellow at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. Mansour was previously a lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he taught the international relations of the Middle East. He is a research fellow at the Cambridge Security Initiative based at Cambridge University, and from 2013 he held positions as Lecturer of International Studies and Supervisor at the Faculty of Politics, at Cambridge, where he also received his PhD. He is co-author of Once Upon a Time in Iraq, published by BBC Books/Penguin to accompany the BAFTA/Emmy winning BBC series.