Fact or Folk: Evaluating Common Theories of Private Interests as the Cause of the Iraq War

Despite theories of private interests as the cause of the Iraq War dominating the public discourse about the war, the academic debate over the true cause of this puzzling war neglects to seriously consider these folk theories. This thesis attempts to answer the question of what truth lays behind the common theories that the Bush Administration pushed to invade Iraq to benefit Big Oil, the arms industry, Halliburton, or because of neoliberal ideology. To accomplish this task, this research presents, critiques, and evaluates the best evidence available for each of these widely believed folk theories of private interests as the cause of the Iraq War. While the arms industry theory and the neoliberalism theory add some interesting details to the story of the Iraq War, they make less than compelling cases that those parochial interests were significant causes of the war. Relatively strong evidence shows Big Oil and the Cheney-Halliburton connection to almost certainly have played significant role in the Bush Administration’s decision to invade Iraq. By studying these folk theories of private interests as the cause of the Iraq War, private interests can be shown to have been a significant factor in the decision to invade Iraq despite the limits on the information available about the administration’s motives