The Iraq War Left Much Collateral Damage: The Iraq war launched by President George W. Bush was launched under what is now proven to be false pretenses. American weren’t greeted by garlands and flowers but seemingly caught in quicksand which required an extrication costly in time, treasure and lives. Many Americans became angry at Canada when it was unwilling to join the “coalition of the willing.” Many in the United Kingdom seethed over their country’s involvement — anger recently fueled by revelations that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair knew Iraq had few weapons of mass destruction when he argued Washington’s case to his nation.
The Iraq war debacle made other countries think even harder about military intervention, and the United States’ reputation took a hit. Writes The Week’s Marc Ambinder: “One undeniable truth: Iraq weakened the U.S. more than anything done since. Maybe Obama over learned its lessons…But nothing empowered Vladimir Putin more than America’s squandering of moral standing in the early part of this century.”
