From Iraq to Gaza: A Long Trail of Damage
Following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq after 23 years, analysts are reflecting on the long-term consequences of the 2003 invasion. The article argues that the intervention failed to meet its goals and left behind a destabilized region now increasingly influenced by Iran.
Why it matters
This analysis provides a critical retrospective on the efficacy of American foreign policy and regime-change wars in the Middle East.
(This article is part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)
On September 30, 2026, more than 23 years after the invasion, U.S. troops finally left Iraq, amid another American war in the region. The basis for the United States’ March 2003 invasion was that “Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and harboured terrorist groups”. Over two decades later, the world knows that the WMD claim turned out to be false, if not an outright lie, while al-Qaeda built one of its most violent branches in post-war Iraq, The Hindu editorial notes today.
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