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The age of liberal wars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2006

LAWRENCE FREEDMAN
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Extract

Three different types of arguments were used to justify the 2003 Iraq War. The first was based on the requirements of national security. Iraq was believed to be developing deadly weapons which it might use against neighbouring states or hand over to terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. A second argument was based on international security. Iraq was supposed to comply with a series of UN Security Council Resolutions and was failing to do so, thereby undermining the credibility of the leading international institutions. The third argument was based on human security. The Iraqi people had suffered too long under a tyrannical regime and this was an opportunity to overthrow it and replace it with something much better.

Type
Research Article
Information
Review of International Studies , Volume 31 , Supplement S1: Force and Legitimacy in World Politics , December 2005 , pp. 93 - 107
Copyright
© 2005 British International Studies Association

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