US attack on Iraq 2003: When America lost confidence

The US invasion of Iraq began 20 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 4,500 US soldiers died. The Iraq war still has consequences in the USA: for the Americans themselves – and for their reputation in the world.

By Julia Kastein, ARD Studio Washington

It is shortly after 10 p.m. local time in Washington on March 19, 2003: US President George W. Bush announces to his compatriots that the US invasion of Iraq has begun.

It is the speech that completely changes the life of Aiden Delgado, who now lives in San Diego: just a month later, he finds himself in Baghdad with his unit. Because the 19-year-old son of a diplomat can speak a little Arabic, he works as an administrator in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.

Bush gets the green light for his war

On September 11, 2001 of all things, at the same time as the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, Aiden had registered to train as an army reserve officer – and never dreamed of actually having to go to war, as he did in an interview with to the ARD Studio Washington told.

He considered the war a terrible mistake and didn’t believe that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the United States: “I thought the reasons were fabricated to make George W. Bush look good. And I hated him for that he has made me part of his amoral act.”

With this opinion, Delgado was still in the minority at the time. There are also loud demonstrations against the war in the USA. But the majority of Americans at the time believed the tale of the mountains of weapons of mass destruction and the dictator’s alleged connections to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. In Congress, Republicans and Democrats gave Bush the go-ahead for his war.

Deployment was longer than many Americans expected

In the two decades since then, opinion has changed: according to a recent survey by the research institute Ipsos, only 36 percent still believe that the Iraq invasion was the right thing to do. Only 31 percent believe that the USA has become safer as a result.

Michael O’Hanlon from the Brookings think tank in Washington isn’t surprising: “The Iraq war was incredibly expensive. In terms of dollar amounts, but also for America’s prestige, the energy it stole from the country, the polarization it deepens has. Not all of Vietnam. But just beyond.”

O’Hanlon is one of the so-called “hawks” who supported the war at the time. To this day, he doesn’t want to see it as a complete failure: after all, a brutal dictator was deposed. A democracy is of course better – even if it is still not stable. But O’Hanlon concedes the mission was far more difficult, bloodier and longer than many – including himself – expected at the time.

Growing distrust of the government

Like many analysts in the US, O’Hanlon draws a line from the Iraq war to Donald Trump’s presidency. The war deepened many Americans’ distrust of their government and doubts about US foreign policy with military operations in far-flung countries. It is precisely this wound that Trump has successfully struck again and again with his polemics against Bush and the endless wars.

This war also damaged America’s reputation in the world. Not only because the intelligence information about weapons programs was wrong, but also because the Bush administration didn’t seem to care, says O’Hanlon. But the war in Ukraine also shows that this damage to the image does not have to be permanent. After all, most Europeans would have believed US intelligence information on Putin’s plans.

Many former soldiers are traumatized by the deployment

Almost a million U.S. soldiers served during the eight years of the war. Many are traumatized. Thousands have taken their own lives. But a mistake, even a shame? Craig Auriemma from Hoboken, New Jersey, doesn’t want to hear about it. The sergeant was deployed twice in Iraq: “I’m proud of my part in this war.”

America has become safer as a result. He doesn’t understand why he and his comrades’ commitment isn’t recognized – for example with a memorial on the Mall in Washington. That is very disappointing.