ID | 099754 |
Title Proper | Groputhink, Iraq, and the war on terror |
Other Title Information | explaining US policy shift towards Iraq |
Language | ENG |
Author | Badie, Dina |
Summary / Abstract (Note) | Existing scholarship on the Iraq War decision-making process generally treats the event as a logical extension of pre-existing ideas and policies. This paper considers the Bush administration's decision to absorb Iraq into the broader War on Terror as a deviation from long-held views of Saddam Hussein. I argue that the decision to incorporate Iraq into the wider post 9/11 mission was pathologically driven by groupthink, which caused a shift in the administration's view of Saddam from a troubling dictator to an existential threat to US security. Therefore, groupthink can simultaneously explain the defects in the decision-making process and the shift from cautious restraint to accelerated urgency with respect to US relations with Iraq. |
`In' analytical Note | Foreign Policy Analysis Vol.6, No.4; Oct 2010: p277-296 |
Journal Source | Foreign Policy Analysis Vol.6, No.4; Oct 2010: p277-296 |
Key Words | Groupthink Model ; Preconditions Foundations for Changing Conceptions ; Pressure Towords Conformity ; Evaluation Problems |