The US response to the displacement of Iraqis since 2003

Update Item Information
Title The US response to the displacement of Iraqis since 2003
Publication Type thesis
School or College College of Humanities
Department World Languages & Cultures
Author O'Brien, Brad Michael
Date 2011-08
Description As the US completes its military withdrawal from Iraq, the Obama Administration's stated policy goals are to promote security, stability and prosperity in Iraq, help it emerge as a force for stability and moderation in the region, transition responsibility for security to the Iraqis and cultivate an enduring relationship with Iraq based on mutual interests and respect. However, almost all of these goals are complicated by the fact that around 3.5 million Iraqis are still displaced, around 2 million internally and the rest in neighboring countries. The US has recognized that the displacement of Iraqis has a direct impact on its goals in Iraq, but, as this study demonstrates, its response to the displacement problem suggests that it has either not grasped, or is unwilling to acknowledge, the scale of the problem. This response has been determined primarily by politics and security concerns, and while the US has helped provide much needed humanitarian relief to displaced Iraqis, it has treated their displacement as a purely humanitarian problem while neglecting its other aspects. An overemphasis on the humanitarian aspects of displacement has prevented the US from developing a more comprehensive response that could both help it achieve its goals in Iraq and add to the likelihood that Iraq will eventually emerge as a prosperous stable democracy.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Displacement; IDPs; Iraq; Refugees; US policy
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Master of Arts
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Brad Michael O'Brien 2011
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 786,076 bytes
Identifier us-etd3,49513
Source original in Marriott Library Special Collections ; DS3.5 2011 .O27
ARK ark:/87278/s6m6210b
Setname ir_etd
ID 194367
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6m6210b
Back to Search Results