Ignorant Armies: Sliding into War in Iraq

by Gwynne Dyer

Baffled by how Bush’s war on al-Qaeda segued into war on Iraq? Canada’s leading expert on war unravels the tangled chain of events.

The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, have unleashed an avalanche of events that is sliding inexorably towards war between the U.S.A. (and possibly its allies) and Iraq. These events are clearly connected yet so hugely different in character and motive that even those who follow the news closely are bewildered by how the war on al-Qaeda in Afghanistan segued into war in the Middle East. In Ignorant Armies , Gwynne Dyer, a peerless commentator on the causes and consequences of war, explains the strategies of the major American, Iraqi, Israeli, and Islamist. Alarmingly, he demonstrates that despite the growing bellicosity from the White House, neither the U.S.A. nor the other protagonists in this drama have a strategy that serves their own long-term interests. Worse, they are unlikely to achieve even their short-term goals. But, Dyer argues convincingly, they are likely to smash a good deal of crockery on their way to finding that out.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Canada

200 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2003

About the author

Gwynne Dyer, OC is a London-based independent Canadian journalist, syndicated columnist and military historian.

Dyer was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (then the Dominion of Newfoundland) and joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve at the age of sixteen. While still in the naval reserve, he obtained a BA in history from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1963; an MA in military history from Rice University in Houston, Texas, in 1966; and a PhD in military and Middle Eastern history at King's College London in 1973. Dyer served in the Canadian, American and British naval reserves. He was employed as a senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, 1973–77. In 1973 he began writing articles for leading London newspapers on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and soon decided to abandon academic life for a full-time career in journalism. In 2010, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Reviews

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book from 2003 would give some insight on the origins of the forever wars, however outdated the information might be now. And it did give a well-written explanation of the issues back then. For example, Dyer notes that it was a choice in chasing Osama bin Laden to also overthrow the government of Afghanistan. In retrospect we have to wonder if that was no more necessary than it was necessary to overthrow the government of Pakistan for getting bin Laden there.

I thought Dyer's reflections and speculations on the effects of attacking Iraq would be irrelevant at this point, but actually he gave a highly thought-provoking discussion on the evolution of international law and justice, from the breakup of multi-ethnic empires into ethno-nationalist states, to the perils of international alliances, and the flaws and future challenges of the global order. The U.N. charter tried to apply two conflicting principles, one a re-assertion of the Wesphalia principle that each nation's sovereigns must be respected no matter what they do to their people. And second, the U.N, Declaration of Human Rights and related conventions sought to criminalize genocide and crimes against humanity -- without any agreement on the means of enforcement. One principle forbade interference between nations, and the other required it for the sake of humanity.

Dyer follows the resulting developments and challenges over the decades since the 1940s, with options of U.N.-approved wars (Korea), unilateral invasions (India's "liberation" of Bangladesh, Vietnam's invasion of Pol Pot's Cambodia), covert military support for resistance movements (U.S. support for the Afghan mujahedin against Russia, where as Osama bin Laden put it, "The weapons were supplied by the Americans, the money by the Saudis"), basically ignoring genocide (Rwanda), or "coalitions of the willing" (the Western interventions in Bosnia and Kuwait). With the rise of the USA to temporary "sole superpower" status, the U.S. government placed increasing reliance on basically unilateral "enforcement" (invasions of Panama, Grenada, Iraq), and it sidelined many international structures for peace and justice such as the ICC (International Criminal Court).

Now that the USA has finally pulled out of Afghanistan, we can hope that U.S. aspirations to simply control the world unilaterally will end. Dyer sees the greatest peril to the planet in the unlimited unilateralism expressed by George Bush in 2002 and 2003, just before the invasion of Iraq: "The course of this nation does not depend on others" and "The military must be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of the world. All nations that decide for aggression and terror will pay a price."

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dyer brilliance as usual. His overly arrogant personal presence doesn't come across in the text. His expertise is obvious.

[Adam McPhee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gwynne Dyer's syndicated column in the Cape Breton Post was my link to the outside world during my formative pre-internet and dialup years. His insistence (along with The eXile's) that the war in Iraq would be a disaster, which quickly proved to be the case, did a lot to inform my political outlook.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written before America invaded Iraq, it speculated on the possibility of an invasion. Interesting to read in the aftermath.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is genuinely better than a few others I've read that were written well after the invasion. Dyer proves his journalistic acumen over 11 years later with this impressive book.

[Hot Yoga Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over two decades since this book's release, and yet its lessons (and forewarnings) remain as topical as ever. Reading this with 2024's hindsight proves particularly intense: it's astounding just how many of Gwynne's predications about the Iraq War and its impacts on the Middle East came true. This prescient look at one of American imperialism's most notable atrocities is made all the more contemporarily impactful by its ongoing relevance.