American Foreign Policy in Iraq

From Obama to Trump: Troop Pull-Out and Counter-Terrorism  

This book investigates the foreign policy of both the Obama and Trump administrations towards Iraq’s national security and the influence both leaders had on that country. To do this, we will examine two core elements of the United States of America’s (U.S.) foreign policy towards Iraq: troop pull-out and counter-terrorism. We will not consider oil and gas extraction, trade and business deals, or the legacy of war on the common Iraqi citizenry. The timeline for this research will start in 2008, the year in which Obama won the presidency, and will end in 2020. The research is a topical and valuable insight into whether the hegemonic protector of the ‘free world’, the United States, assisted or hindered the national security of Iraq. Indeed, we argue and will provide evidence in the following work, to show that the U.S. foreign policy both assisted and hindered national security in Iraq. This impacted the post-war reconstruction of the economy and society. U.S. foreign policy was at times beneficial to the people of Iraq and at other times operating in the self-interest of Washington.