Arab Spring and the Iraq War

[Husky_Khan]

This is a subject that came up at the time of the Arab Spring and soonafter but now that we're half a decade beyond the Arab Spring and it's often deleterious effects after initial hopefulness of generally positive change, there was a theory that the Arab Spring and the Iraq War of 2003 were somehow interrelated.

While the effects of the Iraq War and Arab Spring are huge events in modern history, the question here is more focused. Did the Iraq War help foment or instigate the so-called Arab Spring? And if so... how big of an influence did it exert upon it? And thirdly, would there have been an Arab Spring style event in lieu of the Iraq War?

Pro-Iraq War Responsibility Article

Did the Iraq War Bring the Arab Spring?

The key problem in 2013, as in 2003, is not so much outright lying as the replacement of reality with fantasy. On the tenth anniversary of a war that …

www.newyorker.com

Course others supported the idea of economic pressures or even climate change.

Climate Change and Rising Food Prices Heightened Arab Spring

The effects of climate change on the food supply exacerbated the underlying tensions that have led to ongoing Middle East instability

web.archive.org

And a more mainstream cause from an article written a few days after the self immolation of the Tunisian vendor which sparked the event.

Obama's 'Arab Spring'?

Yesterday I noted the spread of seemingly unrelated protests and clashes through a diverse array of Arab states -- Tunisia, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt. Last night,…

foreignpolicy.com

 

[Terthna]

I'm ashamed to admit I was one of those who thought that Arab Spring was actually a good thing early on; I believed that the people of the Islamic world had finally had enough, and were going to drag their countries kicking and screaming out of the dark ages, and into the modern day. It was a pleasant dream while it lasted.

 

[Husky_Khan]

I'm ashamed to admit I was one of those who thought that Arab Spring was actually a good thing early on; I believed that the people of the Islamic world had finally had enough, and were going to drag their countries kicking and screaming out of the dark ages, and into the modern day. It was a pleasant dream while it lasted.

Well it's probably worth its own thread But analyzing the aftermath of the Arab Spring could be worth a discussion.

Obviously some countries collapsed into further violence and civil war like Syria, Iraq and Libya but was it over all positive in Tunisia?

And how is Egypt now as compared to Mubarek's rule (and overlooking that Morsi bit)? And so on.

Of course bring up these rhetorical questions in this reply probably means I've hijackex my own thread. Oh well...

 

[GoldRanger]

I'm ashamed to admit I was one of those who thought that Arab Spring was actually a good thing early on; I believed that the people of the Islamic world had finally had enough, and were going to drag their countries kicking and screaming out of the dark ages, and into the modern day. It was a pleasant dream while it lasted.

It was blindingly obvious where it was really going from the start.

 

[Terthna]

It was blindingly obvious where it was really going from the start.

What can I say; I'm an optimist.

 

[Bigking321]

What can I say; I'm an optimist.

It was also being spun in the media at the time as a good thing.

"The citizens are going against their tyrant leaders and embracing freedom. Truly these are fantastic times. Obama's incredible diplomatic skills have impressed and emboldened the citizens of these countries to try and better themselves. A Arab spring from the cold winter of George Bush. America supports you brave protesters."

A exaggeration to be sure but accurate in spirit.

Before it all went to hell people were trying to take credit for it, thinking it was great, a sudden outbreak of freedom from tyranny.

But they were stable tyrants, more or less, and willing to play ball. And they were replaced by groups like the Muslim brotherhood. A terrorist organization.

Needless to say, stuff started going out of control, once stable areas became terrorist hotbeds, ISIS grew and did insane amounts of damage, and America lost many points of stability and ability to use diplomatic solutions with various governments.

The media and government very quickly stopped trying to pat themselves on the back and tried to deny any such claims or responsiblity and go back to the old standby of blaming bush.

 

[LordsFire]

Islam is a religion founded by a warlord, with a structure specifically oriented to propagating itself through the means he used to get it started.

Violence.

Unrest, infighting, and violence directed outward are the norm for Islam; peaceful times are the exception.

This wasn't a surprise to anyone who has actually studied Islam, or at least studied it without wilful ideological blinders on.

 

[PsihoKekec]

The main underlaying reason for the Arab Spring is simple - population explosion. These countries have large percentage of young men with no future and while the local tyrants could keep the kettle from boiling over, the outside limited their ability, resulting in upheavals throughout the region.