The Anatomy of State's Enmity and War of Vendetta: A Thematic Analysis of Western Military Interventions in Iraq and Libya

Abstract

The study focused on a thematic analysis of western wars in Iraq and particularly Libya, with occasional references to other victim states. It examined them from broader perspective within a conceptualized western war of vendetta based on state's enmity against other state's rival leaderships. The essence is to reconstruct the wrongly held notion that every act of western intervention in the third world is justified. The 2003 invasion of Iraq and Arab Spring provided an explanatory thesis, using the theory of modern imperialism as framework for analysis. Though widespread violent protest against sit tight and autocratic regimes was common phenomenon across the Arab nations, it created different outcomes. In each case, several approaches were adopted, both internal and external, to suppress the uprising. These were mixtures of repressive and diplomatic methods aimed at silencing the vociferous opposition movements. The problem identified by the study is that in some cases, it manifested in war campaign hidden under the cloak of intervention to avert humanitarian crisis. In both Iraq and Libya, no-fly zone was applied. In Libya, in particular, the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was enforced for the first time, but selectively. This is because at the very moment of the enforcement, similar situation in human rights violations existed in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, etc. The study investigates the rationale for the selective wars and what it denotes. It found out that war of vendetta was visited on Iraq and Libya to oust Presidents Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi and forestall the claimed threats they posed to western countries. None was truly motivated by the bandied humanitarian crisis in the countries. These were made evident in the level of destruction inflicted on the country's infrastructure and human lives, surpassing what both leaders were alleged to have committed. It recommended that there should be absolute respect for sovereign integrity of nation states as enshrined in the UN Charter and immediate stoppage in demonstration of might is right jab in exercise of national power. This is imperative in a world that has not completely erased memories of colonial stigma, with the consequent global divisions and attendant crises. It is only on that platform that world peace and security would be sustainable.