It is hard to overstate the damage the Iraq War did to America’s global soft power – and to the credibility of the West’s democratic mission. Operation Enduring Freedom, which began after 9/11, was followed by Operation Iraqi Freedom. Both were rashly named. It is one thing to go to war in the name of liberty; quite another to be clueless about it. Even without the doublespeak of the ‘war on terror’, it is highly questionable whether democracy can be installed from the barrel of a gun.
