Development or Division? : Iraq under U.S. invasion (2012)
Undergraduate: Layla Quran
Faculty Advisor: Robin Kirk
Department: International & Area Studies
Research Question: How has U.S. military invasion influenced sectarian walls, both physically and psychologically, between the people of Iraq, particularly Baghdad? What have been the political, social, and economic impacts of such sectarian divides?
On March 13, 2003, the U.S. commenced Operation Iraqi Freedom with the announcement by former President George W. Bush that the US would begin stages of military intervention in Iraq to reveal and remove weapons of mass destruction. By 2007, the National Intelligence Estimate described Iraq as characterized by elements of civil war between the major Sunni and Shiite Muslim factions. Former President Bush highlighted in an address to the American people in January 2007 that 80% of the sectarian violence within Iraq occurred within 30 miles of the capital, which has consequently divided Baghdad into sectarian enclaves, and injured the Iraqi peoples’ confidence.
My timeline of research will begin with the onset of the Gulf War from 1990-present, with intervals of time including 5 years in the 20th century and 1-2 years in the 21st century. My audience is the general public of the United States, whether an expert or student interested in US foreign policy and unaware of the impact of U.S. invasion of Iraq. The goal of the website I will create as a final product is to present the impacts of a U.S.-controlled Iraq, in particular the political, social, and economic effects of the U.S. invasion on the sectarian divide.