The United States and Democracy Promotion in Iraq and Lebanon in the Aftermath of the Events of 9/11 and the 2003 Iraq War
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The United States and democracy promotion in Iraq and Lebanon in the aftermath of the events of 9/11 and the 2003 Iraq War A Thesis Submitted to the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD. in Political Science. By Abess Taqi Ph.D. candidate, University of London Internal Supervisors Dr. James Chiriyankandath (Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London) Professor Philip Murphy (Director, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London) External Co-Supervisor Dr. Maria Holt (Reader in Politics, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster) © Copyright Abess Taqi April 2015. All rights reserved. 1 | P a g e DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted anywhere for any award. Where other sources of information have been used, they have been duly acknowledged. Signature: ………………………………………. Date: ……………………………………………. 2 | P a g e Abstract This thesis features two case studies exploring the George W. Bush Administration’s (2001 – 2009) efforts to promote democracy in the Arab world, following military occupation in Iraq, and through ‘democracy support’ or ‘democracy assistance’ in Lebanon. While reviewing well rehearsed arguments that emphasise the inappropriateness of the methods employed to promote Western liberal democracy in Middle East countries and the difficulties in the way of democracy being fostered by foreign powers, it focuses on two factors that also contributed to derailing the U.S.’s plans to introduce ‘Western style’ liberal democracy to Iraq and Lebanon. The first is the adverse impact upon the U.S.’s efforts to foster democracy in Iraq caused by bureaucratic in-fighting and conflicting U.S. agency agendas. The argument is that the internecine struggles between competing U.S. agencies, not only in the build- up to the invasion of Iraq, but also during the post-war occupation of that country, helped to undermine the Bush Administration’s policy there. In Lebanon the study shows that, notwithstanding the non-military approach the Bush Administration pursued there, its efforts again still fell short of the grand rhetoric which accompanied the shift in U.S. foreign policy toward democracy promotion in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2003 Iraq war. The second factor put forward in this study as also significant in the failure of the Bush enterprise is the widespread suspicion of U.S. motives across Iraq, Lebanon and the wider Arab world. The thesis argues that such suspicions are reflective of the broader issues of credibility and trust which have bedevilled U.S. democracy promotion. The analysis to follow will show how Bush’s democracy campaign was compromised by a prevalent anti-American sentiment borne out of the deep and pervasive suspicions of U.S. motives. 3 | P a g e Permission to use With effect from the date on which this thesis is deposited in the Library of the University of London, School of Advanced Study, I permit the Librarian of the University to allow the thesis to be copied in whole or in part without reference to me and on the understanding that such authority applies to the provision of single copies made for study purposes or for inclusion within the stock of another Library. This restriction does not apply to the British Library Thesis Service (which is permitted to copy the thesis on demand for loan or sale under the terms of a separate agreement) nor to the copying or publication of the title and abstract of the thesis. It is a condition of use of this thesis that anyone who consults it must recognise that the copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published unless the source is properly acknowledged. 4 | P a g e Note on Transliteration Arabic words have been transliterated in accordance with the standard practice in International Journal of Middle East Studies. The spelling of Arabic names and places has been based on the most prevalent practice used in books. As far as those interviewed are concerned, the translation of their names is based on how the individuals concerned spell it themselves. 5 | P a g e Contents No. Description Page No. 1 Acknowledgements 7 – 9 2 Abbreviations 10 - 14 3 The Republican administration of George W. Bush Jnr. 15 - 16 (2001 – 2009) – Cast of Main Characters 4 Chronology of key events: Iraq 17 – 19 5 Chronology of key events: Lebanon 20 – 21 6 Map of Lebanon 22 7 Map of Iraq 23 8 Organisational Chart of U.S. State Department 24 9 Organisational Chart of U.S. Department of Defense 25 (Pentagon) 10 U.S. Government national security organization: Key 26 members of top committees 11 Chapter One – Introduction 27 - 70 12 Chapter Two – The background to U.S. democracy 71 – 139 promotion in the Middle East (pre – and post – 9/11) 13 Chapter Three – U.S. democracy promotion in Iraq post-9/11 140 - 218 and the 2003 Iraq War 14 Chapter Four – U.S. democracy promotion in Lebanon post- 219 - 258 9/11 and the 2003 Iraq War 15 Chapter Five – The problem of U.S. credibility 259 – 316 16 Chapter Six – Conclusion 317 - 329 17 Bibliography 330 – 358 6 | P a g e Acknowledgements I have accumulated many personal debts during the writing of this thesis and I am very happy to finally have an opportunity to acknowledge them. My first debt goes to God who has constantly showered me with his richest blessings all throughout my life. Without God’s grace and guidance, I would not have been able to undertake this project and witness its germination. My next debt is to my beautiful family for their love and support, and for enduring all the distractions and burdens this project imposed on our family life. I would like to particularly thank my wife, Yemen, for looking after our two adorable children, Yasmeen and Abess Jnr. (AJ), whilst I wrote this thesis. It was Yemen who had to put up with my researching and writing this thesis all through to its final submission, and it is to her that I dedicate this piece of work. To her and my children, I promise never again to embark on an academic venture of this magnitude. My greatest intellectual debt is to my two supervisors, Dr. James Chiriyankandath and Dr. Maria Holt. This thesis has been long in the making and it is the culmination of an idea that began life in the summer of 2010 following informal discussions I had with Dr. Chiriyankandath. Throughout the course of writing this thesis I had many fascinating conversations about the politics of the Arab world and the pace of political reform in Arab societies with Dr. Chiriyankandath. Dr. Chiriyankandath has unfailingly sensible things to say about the main issues dominating the political landscape of the Middle East region and I have benefited immensely from his knowledge and personal reflection on these issues over an extensive period of time. Without Dr. 7 | P a g e Chiriyankandath’s mentorship and supervision, this thesis would not have been completed. Ours is a friendship that has grown and one I continue to treasure. I would also like to extend a special word of gratitude to Dr. Maria Holt for her unwavering support and constant interest in my research. Maria’s ability to never lose sight of the largest issues and her impressively balanced judgments enabled me to tackle those difficult historical and conceptual questions I faced throughout the construction of this work. Through her regular supervisory remarks/comments, Maria advocated the need for precision and accuracy to cover every strand of evidence and argument relied upon in support of my research. She was also most helpful in introducing me to prospective interview subjects. Her extensive network of global contacts from Beirut to Washington and beyond is as impressive as I have ever known. Without Maria’s encouragement, support and constructive criticism, the ideas of this work would never have been consolidated. Special thanks also to Dr. Matthew Alan Hill for his insightful feedback on the introductory chapter. Matt unselfishly made himself available, and generously dedicated his precious time whenever I needed to talk or explore pertinent issues relevant to my research. My profound gratitude also goes to Professor Charles Tripp of SOAS University, Professor James Manor of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Professor Peter Burnell of the University of Warwick for their kind assistance in helping to steer my ship in the right direction. I interviewed many individuals for this project. I have tried to list all of them but I would like to mention in particular Dr. Marina Ottaway, Senior Scholar, Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington D.C; Pierre Maroun, Political Analyst and Chairman of the American Lebanese Center for Cultural Research; Rahman 8 | P a g e Aljebouri, Senior Program Officer, Middle East & North Africa with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington D.C. and Dr. Salam Saadi, Member of the Association of Iraqi Academics in the UK. In Lebanon, I particularly wish to thank Gaby Jammal for his hospitality and energetic intellectual stimulation. Gaby was also the perfect dinner companion. Together, we prowled the streets of Hamra in downtown Beirut searching for delicious offerings of Kibbet Batata (potato kibbeh) and Yakhnehs (Lebanese stew); Thanks are also due to Hasnaa Mansour of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in Beirut and Lauren Williams, MENA Editor at The Daily Star newspaper for lending me far more time than I deserved during my visit to Beirut in January 2013.