The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table National Security Expert Explains the Disaster and Chaos of the Iraq War
Feb 6, 2026
Michael Mazarr, senior political scientist at RAND and author of Leap of Faith, offers research-based analysis of U.S. decision-making in the Iraq War. He discusses post-9/11 panic, leadership certainty, bureaucratic failure, the missionary impulse behind intervention, and why claims about outside influence are mistaken. Short, rigorous, and corrective.
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Missionary Impulse Shapes U.S. Policy
- The U.S. missionary impulse treats spreading values as a strategic aim as well as a moral one.
- That zeal enabled postwar reconstruction successes but also justified risky interventions like Iraq.
Chalabi’s Misleading Exile Campaign
- Ahmed Chalabi acted as an exile promising regime change and provided misleading intelligence.
- His overpromises and bogus information influenced some policymakers' perceptions of Iraq.
9/11 Changed The Risk Calculus
- 9/11 created intense psychological pressure that reshaped risk tolerance among U.S. leaders.
- That fear empowered hawks and made large-scale military action politically and personally compelling.
