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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The TLDR is that the US Army is very good at blowing things up, not as good at maintaining law and order (especially where a small group of locals is bent on not having law and order). And in that absence of law and order (power vacuum) bad actors do what they do.
Firstly, we removed the governing authority in the interest of de-Baathification (thanks Paul Bremer!)….not just upper leadership, but a substantial portion of the army and police forces. These same people were the ones keeping order (albeit through often ruthless and repressive methods).
In addition, many of the military and police forces were not only now unemployed, but lost their position of respect in society. The same people that had access to weapons and military training now have no means of feeding their families, and now have legitimate resentment against the occupying forces. These people would go on to form a large part of the home-grown insurgency.
Secondly, we parked our armies in the middle of Iraqi population centers. This meant that 19-year old enlisted personnel with 22-year old junior officers were tasked with trying to police a population that increasingly grew to resent them, spoke a different language, and completely distrusted and misunderstood each other. This means that the same 19- and 22-year olds (who were trained to eliminate their opposing military numbers through the application of overwhelming force) are now tasked with the very complex and difficult job of maintaining order in a society that doesn’t really want you there.
In many cases, the US Army took over Saddam Hussein’s compounds and military bases because it was convenient. But not a good look to the local population – essentially that we took out Saddam and replaced him with foreign occupiers.
Also, US military planners estimated it would take over 500,000 troops to secure the country post invasion. Idiots like Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ignored all the detailed military planning, and said we could occupy the country with less than 200,000 troops. The result was that things did not go well, and we did not control the country.
In addition, the location of the US Army in Iraq provided a juicy target for al-Qaeda and ISIL/ISIS. And these people had a very simple job: cause chaos and destruction (destabilizing) so that local populations would increasingly distrust and blame the US.
There’s countless reasons (which were already well known and discussed before we invaded), but the lesson is the modern armies are very good at destroying things, but not as good at doing all of the other activities required to maintain control over societies….particularly when half the local population views you as an occupier, not a liberator. And in the power vacuum that follows, all kinds of bad actors move in to fill the void.
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