ABSTRACT
The analysis of US operations in Iraq serves as an empirical test of the hypothesis of this book, and, thereby, adds some insight to the growing literature on the Iraq War by adding the civil-military perspective to the analysis. The chapter examines the total outcome of the US patterns of civil-military relations by tracing the causal chain to the dependent variable of operational conduct and effectiveness in complex peace operations. Both the direct and indirect effects of civil-military relations are, thereby, taken into account. However, this chapter does not provide a comprehensive analysis of US operations in Iraq. Instead, this analysis focuses on a number of thematic discussions that are relevant to the hypothesis of the book. The themes have been provided by the theoretical review of best practice in complex peace operations. They involve: (a) the US approach to operations in Iraq; (b) civil-military co-operation and co-ordination; and (c) tactical behaviour. The first thematic discussion seeks to answer how the operation was interpreted and conceptualized by the military and civilian leadership in the US, as well as how this was translated into political aims and operational plans. The discussion on civil-military co-operation and co-ordination involves two sub-categories in the civil-military aspects of the planning process and of the command and control structures. Finally, the section on tactical behaviour analyses the conduct of tactical operations with reference to the hearts and minds approach, minimum use of force, cultural understanding and adaptability. As noted in the theory chapter, the conduct and effectiveness of operations are in this book less concerned with the outcome of operations than conduct in relation to the principles of best practice in complex peace operations. By comparing US conduct to the principles of best practice, a number of inferences regarding US effectiveness can be made. However, to set the stage for the thematic discussions, the chapter is introduced by a brief overview of the invasion phase.
