The War in Iraq: A Look at How Domestic Politics Impact Foreign Policy

When accounting for the causes and factors that contribute to war, international relations scholars often understate the impact of domestic politics on the decisions of leaders to engage in military conflict. The Iraq War serves as a prime example as to how United States internal politics shaped our foreign policy.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the American people felt both frightened and vulnerable. With these new insecurities, there was also a surge in patriotism as we came to view the existence of our nation as threatened. On September 21, 2001 Gallup measured President Bush’s approval ratings to be at 90%, largely due to the “rally around the flag effect.” Americans viewed the president as someone who could protect them, and for that reason, they were willing to give him their support. When the Bush administration presented the American people with the “evidence” that the United States had the capabilities to produce nuclear weapons, Americans first reaction was not to question the president and his actions, but to offer their support.

President Bush was able to force Democrats who would otherwise not have supported the war into doing so through rhetorical coercion. Anyone who opposed the war was considered unpatriotic, and on occasions, a terrorist sympathizer. By creating a dichotomy of being either “with us” or “with the terrorists,” Bush essentially made it so that it was politically inadvisable to vote against the war. Something that is often not discussed today is the fact that the Democratic Party actually controlled the Senate by a narrow majority when the first votes for authorization occurred.  President Bush could not have started the war without Democratic support, thus he needed to frame the debate in such a way that Democrats would vote in favor of authorization. The way in which the president framed the debate is completely independent of the actual existence of the weapons in Iraq. In other words, the reason for originally invading Iraq was because they possessed weapons of mass destruction, but the debate about the war was shaped more by strong and emotional language than solid and concrete facts. If the president had not successfully rhetorically coerced the Democrats into going into war, we may not have invaded. Therefore, the influence of domestic partisan politics played a significant role.

The effects of United States politics on the Iraq War were not limited to the initial invasion. In November 2006, the Democratic Party won control of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections. Shortly after the elections, Nancy Pelosi wrote an article titled “Bringing the War to the End is my Highest Priority as Speaker.” One of the ways the Democrats attempted to achieve this goal was through withholding funds for the military operations in Iraq until President Bush agreed to a timetable for the withdrawal of troops. Republicans again effectively framed the debate so that such actions were equivalent to not supporting the troops. They argued that by not supplying funding, the Democrats were putting the lives and safety of American ground troops in jeopardy, as they would be denied medical supplies and ammunition. Ultimately, the efforts of the Democrats failed, and it was not until December 2008, the “lame-duck” period in President Bush’s time in office, that the U.S.- Iraq Status of Forces Agreement was signed and a plan for withdrawal of combat troops was formed.

In conclusion, there is much more to foreign policy decisions than the realist ideas of power and security and the liberalist notions of economic interdependence and international institutions. Instead, some of the greatest influences on foreign policy can stem from a country’s own internal political system. This understanding is key to explaining different countries’ behaviors.

Sources:

Krebs, Ronald R. and Jennifer K. Lobasz, “Fixing the Meaning of 9/11: 

            Hegemony, Coercion, and the Road to War in Iraq,”Security Studies 16:3 (July 2007)

Shirk, Mark, Lecture 9: War (October 2014)

Tonner, Robin, “In Trying to Steer the War in Iraq, Democrats Drive in Fits and Starts.” The New York Times (March 2007)