ABSTRACT
This chapter describes realist understanding of deception as well as how stable balance of power contributes to order between states. It reflects upon the decision-making process in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the politicization of intelligence needed to create domestic and international momentum in support of the invasion. The chapter analyzes how the civil war in Iraq and an emerging Iranian-Iraqi axis as well as the interventionist policies of other regional powers created a state of perpetual war in the region. It argues that few core pillars of contemporary US foreign policy toward the Middle East are all interconnected and together form a house of cards which, beginning in 2003, had administered a series of systemic shocks to the region. The chapter also examines the strategic expediency of the US continuing to hold on to Israel's 'nuclear lie'.
