Brutalized and Internalized Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Iraq from 2003 to 2009

Brutalized and Internalized Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Iraq from 2003 to 2009

This paper focuses on Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the Gulf War in 1991 as the starting point of the US intervention in Iraqi politics since 1991. In terms of emphasizing the UN economic sanctions against Saddam Hussein and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, it criticizes that ethno-religious conflicts since 2003 became more internalized among ethno-religious groups and more severe with the advent of insurgent and militia groups as a consequence of US interference in Iraqi internal affairs, the poorly designed “Pre-War Reconstruction Plan of Post-War Iraq,” and a power shift to the Shiites. Furthermore, this paper discusses the US plan for post-Saddam Iraq as it played a fatal role in reshaping Iraqi politics among ethno-religious groups and explores what factors caused the failure of the reconstruction of Iraqi state after 2003 war.