The Iraqis suffered so heavily and not just because of the 2003 war. The first war in 1991 inflicted terrible damage on Iraq and then the next 10 years of sanctions immiserated the populace and inflicted an especially punishing blow on Iraqi women and children.

Steven Simon

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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Steven served on the National Security Council staff from 1994 to 1999 and again fro 2011 to 2012. Earlier he served in the State Department for fifteen years. He is currently a Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies and his most recent book is Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:43
• Iran - 4:41
• JCPOA - 22:58
• The Iraq Wars - 27:19
• Saudi Arabia - 32:57

Key Links

Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East by Steven Simon

Learn more about Steven Simon

"America's Great Satan" By Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon in Foreign Affairs

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