{"id":3116,"date":"2025-06-25T23:51:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T23:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/?p=3116"},"modified":"2025-06-25T23:53:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T23:53:28","slug":"hauntingly-familiar-why-comparing-the-us-strikes-on-iran-to-iraq-in-2003-is-off-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/hauntingly-familiar-why-comparing-the-us-strikes-on-iran-to-iraq-in-2003-is-off-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Hauntingly familiar? Why comparing the US strikes on Iran to Iraq in 2003 is off target"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/hauntingly-familiar-why-comparing-the-us-strikes-on-iran-to-iraq-in-2003-is-off-target-259668\"><strong>Benjamin Isakhan, Professor of International Politics, Deakin University<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div>On June 21, the United States <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/u-s-launches-strikes-iranian-nuclear-facilities-trump-says\/\">launched airstrikes<\/a> on three Iranian nuclear facilities \u2013 Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan \u2013 pounding deeply buried centrifuge sites with <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-is-a-bunker-buster-an-expert-explains-what-the-us-dropped-on-iran-259508\">bunker-busting bombs<\/a>.Conducted jointly with Israel, the operation took place without formal congressional authorisation, drawing sharp criticism from lawmakers that it was unconstitutional and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2025\/06\/21\/b-2-bombers-iran-trump\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">unlawful<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the political debate has centred on whether the US is being pulled into \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tHBUylkUiOs\">another Middle East war<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Are We Headed For Another Endless Middle Eastern War?\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tHBUylkUiOs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The New York Times\u2019 Nick Kristof weighed in on the uncertainties following the US\u2019 surprise bombing of Iran and Tehran\u2019s retaliation.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even US Vice President JD Vance understood the unease, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c1wp72224jzo\">stating<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>People are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These reactions have revived comparisons with George W. Bush\u2019s 2003 invasion of Iraq: a Republican president launching military action on the basis of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2023\/03\/14\/a-look-back-at-how-fear-and-false-beliefs-bolstered-u-s-public-support-for-war-in-iraq\/\">flimsy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) evidence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hauntingly familiar?<\/p>\n<p>While the surface similarity is tempting, the comparison may in fact obscure more about President Donald Trump than it reveals.<\/p>\n<h2>Comparisons to the Iraq War<\/h2>\n<p>In 2003, Bush ordered a full-scale invasion of Iraq based on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armscontrol.org\/act\/2003-07\/press-releases\/bush-administration-defends-intelligence-findings-iraq\">flawed intelligence<\/a>, claiming Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs. And while the war was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2005\/3\/19\/thousands-rally-against-iraq-war\">extremely unpopular<\/a> across the world, it did have bipartisan congressional support.<\/p>\n<p>The invasion toppled Iraq\u2019s regime in just a few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>What followed was a brutal conflict and almost a decade of US occupation. The war triggered the rise of militant jihadism and a horrific sectarian conflict that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-64976144\">reverberates today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So far, Trump\u2019s one-off strikes on Iran bear little resemblance to the 2003 Iraq intervention.<\/p>\n<p>These were precision strikes within the context of a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/live\/iran-israel-war-updates-6-23-2025\">broader Iran-Israel war<\/a>, designed to target Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n<p>And, so far, there appears to be little appetite for a full-scale military invasion or \u201cboots on the ground\u201d, and regime change seems unlikely despite some rumblings from both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>Yet the comparison to Iraq persists, especially among audiences suspicious of repeated US military interventions in the Middle East. But poorly considered analogies carry costs.<\/p>\n<p>For one, the Iraq comparison sheds little light on Trump\u2019s foreign policy.<\/p>\n<h2>Trump\u2019s foreign policy<\/h2>\n<p>To better understand the recent strikes on Iran, we need to look at Trump\u2019s broader foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>Much has been made of his \u201cAmerica first\u201d mantra, a complex mix of prioritising domestic interests, questioning international agreements, and challenging traditional alliances.<\/p>\n<p>Others, including Trump himself, have often touted his \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2024\/01\/13\/trump-falsely-claims-no-terrorist-attacks-no-wars-during-his-presidency\/\">no war<\/a>\u201d approach, pointing to large-scale military withdrawals from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq,and the fact he had not started a new war.<\/p>\n<p>But beyond this, Trump has increased US military spending and frequently used his office to conduct targeted strikes on adversaries \u2013 especially across the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in 2017 and 2018, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/apr\/06\/trump-syria-missiles-assad-chemical-weapons\">Trump ordered airstrikes<\/a> on a Syrian airbase and chemical weapons facilities. In both instances, he bypassed Congress and used precision air power to target weapons infrastructure without pursuing regime change.<\/p>\n<p>Also, from 2017 to 2021, Trump authorised US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, enabling airstrikes that targeted militant cells but also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/parallels\/2017\/02\/02\/512490365\/yemen-aftermath-trumps-first-military-raid-continues-to-raise-questions\">led to mass civilian casualties<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s policy was the subject of intense bipartisan opposition, culminating in the <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalinterest.org\/feature\/yemen-vote-congress-takes-aim-trumps-foreign-policy-47502?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">first successful congressional invocation<\/a> of the War Powers Resolution \u2013 though it was ultimately vetoed by Trump.<\/p>\n<p>And in 2020, Trump launched a sequence of attacks on Iranian assets in Iraq. This included <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iran-qassem-soleimani-profile-kerman-bomb-attack-57cbc9adff1914e5047c0104b311cced\">a drone strike<\/a> that killed senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.<\/p>\n<p>Again, these attacks were conducted without congressional support. The decision triggered intense bipartisan backlash and concerns about escalation without oversight.<\/p>\n<p>While such attacks are not without precedent \u2013 think back to former US President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreignaffairs.com\/articles\/libya\/2019-02-18\/obamas-libya-debacle\">Barack Obama\u2019s intervention in Libya<\/a> or Joe Biden\u2019s targeting of terrorist assets \u2013 the scale and veracity of Trump\u2019s attacks on the Middle East are much more useful as a framework to understanding the recent attacks on Iran than any reference to the 2003 Iraq war.<\/p>\n<h2>What this reveals about Trump<\/h2>\n<p>It is crucial to scrutinise any use of force. But while comparing the 2025 Iran strikes to Iraq in 2003 may be rhetorically powerful, it is analytically weak.<\/p>\n<p>A better path is to situate these events within Trump\u2019s broader political style.<\/p>\n<p>He acts unilaterally and with near-complete impunity, disregarding traditional constraints and operating outside established norms and oversight.<\/p>\n<p>This is just as true for attacks on foreign adversaries as it is for the domestic policy arena.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Trump recently empowered agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-are-the-less-lethal-weapons-being-used-in-los-angeles-258687\">operate with sweeping discretion<\/a> in immigration enforcement, bypassing legal and judicial oversight.<\/p>\n<p>Trump also uses policy as spectacle, designed to send shockwaves through the domestic or foreign arenas and project dominance to both friend and foe.<\/p>\n<p>In this way, Trump\u2019s dramatic attacks on Iran have some parallels to his unilateral imposition of tariffs on international trade. Both are abrupt, disruptive and framed as a demonstration of strength rather than a way to create a mutually beneficial solution.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Trump is more than willing to use force as an instrument of power rather than as a last resort. This is just as true for Iran as it is for the US people.<\/p>\n<p>The recent deployment of <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/insurrection-act-trump-troops-newsom-military-national-guard-a842f79e1c0e244039be274a6f266a7a\">US Marines to quell protests<\/a> in Los Angeles reveals a similar impulse: military intervention as a first instinct in the absence of a broader strategy to foster peace.<\/p>\n<p>To truly understand and respond to Trump\u2019s Iran strikes, we need to move beyond sensationalist analogies and recognise a more dangerous reality. This is not the start of another Iraq; it\u2019s the continuation of a presidency defined by impulsive power, unchecked force and a growing disdain for democratic constraint.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>This article written by <strong>Benjamin Isakhan, Professor of International Politics, Deakin University<\/strong> and is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/hauntingly-familiar-why-comparing-the-us-strikes-on-iran-to-iraq-in-2003-is-off-target-259668\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Benjamin Isakhan, Professor of International Politics, Deakin University On June 21, the United States launched airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities \u2013 Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan \u2013 pounding deeply &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/hauntingly-familiar-why-comparing-the-us-strikes-on-iran-to-iraq-in-2003-is-off-target\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Hauntingly familiar? Why comparing the US strikes on Iran to Iraq in 2003 is off target&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":3118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_buddyx_sub_header_visibility":"","_buddyx_sub_header_title_visibility":"","_hide_show_side_panel":"","_buddyxpro_page_sidebar":"","_buddyxpro_page_disable_header":"","_buddyxpro_page_disable_footer":"","_buddyxpro_page_content_width":"","_buddyxpro_page_header_style":"","_buddyxpro_page_color_mode":"","_buddyxpro_page_loader":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[2207,2214,2198,2215,2197,2202,2054,2196,2218,2199,2212,2204,2203,2208,2217,2216,2200,2210,2209,2206,2211,2205,2195,2201,2213],"class_list":["post-3116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","tag-america-first-foreign-policy-doctrine","tag-benjamin-isakhan-analysis-trump-iran","tag-fordow-natanz-isfahan-bombing","tag-iran-strike-public-backlash-2025","tag-iran-us-war-powers-debate","tag-iraq-war-2003-vs-iran-2025","tag-qassem-soleimani-drone-strike-2020","tag-trump-bypasses-congress-iran-strike","tag-trump-comparison-to-bush-iraq-war","tag-trump-foreign-policy-middle-east","tag-trump-immigration-enforcement-ice","tag-trump-iran-military-escalation","tag-trump-military-action-without-approval","tag-trump-military-spending-middle-east","tag-trump-policy-as-political-spectacle","tag-trump-power-and-democratic-constraint","tag-trump-precision-strikes-iran","tag-trump-support-saudi-war-yemen","tag-trump-syria-airstrikes-2017-2018","tag-trump-unilateral-foreign-policy","tag-trump-use-of-force-without-oversight","tag-trump-war-powers-resolution-veto","tag-us-airstrikes-iran-nuclear-sites-2025","tag-us-israel-joint-iran-operation","tag-us-marines-deployed-domestic-protests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}