Episode 24: Part 2: Iraq

Episode two of the Endless Wars case study. In this episode Jon O'Gorman hosts Heidi Lane, Patrick McCarthy, Matthew Nischwitz, and Michael Shaw. We continue with our military professors who are veterans of the conflict, joined by regional subject matter expert Heidi Lane. They start the conversation talking about why opening a secondary theater in Iraq made sense. They move to the discussion about the De-Baathification of Iraq and what effect it had on the country. They move through the process of insurgency, civil war, and how ISIS eventually had a different positive effect on the Iraqi people. They also discuss how poor civil-military relations caused certain estimates to be overlooked in the beginnings of the campaign. They end with thoughts about the future of Iraq and whether a desire for the independent Kurdistan could ignite a larger regional war.