Iraq War -- Causes, Consequences, 20y Later | Yaron Brook Show

Yaron explains America's mistakes in the Iraq war, from altruistic intervention, to their refusal to eliminate the real enemy. He warns countries to "name the enemy" or risk an unfocused and catastrophic war. Follow a brief history of Iraq and find out how intellectual & moral impotence kept the US from accomplishing what they set out to do there.

00:00 Intro
02:03 Show outline https://youtu.be/z9EBVMnX39Y
05:53 Upcoming shows schedule
08:05 Making of Modern Iraq
16:21 Saddam Hussein’s War and Terror
23:31 Gulf War & Civil War
27:58 American Occupation and 9/11
35:32 Intellectual Wars in America
38:30 A “Good War”, Operation Iraqi Freedom
49:23 Consequences of America’s Altruism

Live Questions:
59:14 Why is it that there are no non-Objectivist intellectuals who are pro-American but also acknowledge the folly and self-sacrifice of trying to foist democracy on people that despise us?
1:0:41 Why did the US not focus on Iran & North Korea, both more hostile countries and both further along in pursuing nuclear weapons programs during the early 2000s? Do you think a war with Iran or NK would have gone better?
1:04:24 Were there any "good guys" in the Bush administration (maybe John Bolton?) who recognized that disbanding the Iraqi Army was the wrong idea and had a coherent strategy about how to approach war in the Middle East?
1:07:12 Is Putin’s war in Ukraine ominous about what’s to come. A lot of min nationalistic ethnic conflicts, or have people learned from Russia’s failure? Thank God for Western military technology. If Putin had won in a week, other despots would get ideas.
1:08:55 Yaron, have you ever seen “12 Angry Men” 1958, I saw it last night and what a thought-provoking movie!
1:12:37 Why is “follow the money” persuasive to many people as an explanation for war and other world events and what do you think of the profit motive as their cause?
1:14:28 You say enlightenment ideas are implicit in the culture, but aren't altruistic ideas just as implicit? I never had a parent or teacher tell me explicitly that it's my moral duty to sacrifice for strangers and never be happy.
1:16:18 Can you tell me about Praxeology? Someone recently said Ayn Rand should have incorporated Mises/Praxeology into her philosophy and it suffers subjectivism without it. I ​looked into it but I couldn’t make sense of it.
1:17:55 If a man is unwilling to allow trans-women to opt out of Social Security, or own an AR-15, does that make the man trans-phobic?
1:19:21 Do you think that Russia and China see our growing national debt as a threat to our national security? I wonder whether they saw this as their moment to strike while ​we are distracted, particularly with the COVID stimulus
1:21:14 What can you say about Canada's part to play in the Iraq war? it seemed like they just followed America's lead but did Canadian politics impact American politics?
1:22:48 Would invading Iran instead of Iraq have been more of a blood bath in terms of the occupation? Was Bush close to invading Iran? Were there high ranking members of his ​administration that wanted to invade Iran instead?
1:24:23 Do you think a lack of shame in itself is appealing to many people with regards to the Trump phenomenon?
1:26:55 Would love to see a show about J J Hill. He would be honored to have a few words from you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_J._Hill
1:27:50 Is France a failed state?
1:28:22 Seen any good episodes of MASH lately?
1:29:33 Are there any decent Arab countries you would consider visiting or living in? Or are they all primitive savages for the most part?
1:31:29 Is going to a sex club immoral? Shouldn't sex be viewed as a very personal and private matter?
1:32:30 Do both rights and morality come from the preservation of life?
1:33:12 Was the Vietnam War a limited war by the US?
1:34:11 Off topic. Would you like to connect the Community Reinvestment Act, Countrywide Financial, Fed Low Rates, Covid spending, High inflation, Fed High Rates, coming downturn dots? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKHcxXH3f6k
1:37:50 See comment for timestamps of additional questions

1:43:35 Outro

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