Iraq After the American Invasion: The Sunni Fate

The U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 profoundly undermined the country’s statehood. During the planning of the “Operation Iraqi Freedom,†the United States relied on Shiites and Kurds, who were perceived as having been the most marginalized under the Baath Party’s rule. Simultaneously, the new administration implemented a ban on the Baath Party, resulting in the political marginalization of Sunnis and their exclusion from public life. This approach exacerbated the existing ethnic and sectarian divisions within Iraqi society. A lack of understanding of Iraq’s social complexities and challenges by the interim American administration ultimately contributed to the outbreak of civil war. The country’s economy was left in ruins, and following the involvement of ISIS terrorists in the conflict, a significant portion of the population – particularly Sunnis and Christians – was forced to seek refuge abroad.