Eli5: how did America actually destabilize the Middle East in the Iraq war? What was done specifically that caused all of the chaos in the countries we were involved in?
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Like it or not, Middle Eastern societies “work” on non-democratic systems where family/clan affiliation is all important in terms of securing work, status, wealth, power etc. These systems have developed over hundreds of years and you can’t just go into a country and turn it over/around in a few years or even decades.
In Iraq, Saddam’s regime worked through having family/clan members in key positions of power. This then filtered down to lower levels where local and military offices were acquired really as a result of nepotism. When this entire system was dismantled it left a huge void which other groups tried to fill mostly through violence.
Then of course there is the Sunni/Shia spilling which Saddam had suppressed, all be it brutally, over the previous 30 years. Without him and the Iraqi army/security services this division exploded as well.
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