WoT Do We Do Now?: The Bush Administration, The Iraq War

In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, the Bush Administration embraced a resolute hawkish foreign policy that — in July 2003 — led the United States to invade Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist Iraq. Although the country fell within months, an insurgency quickly formed to resist the American and allied presence in the country, and radical factions rose to fill the power vacuum left by De-Baathification. Efforts to capture Hussein, defeat insurgent forces, and establish a permanent democratic government lasted another eight years. Whereas some modern assessments of this intervention question its necessity and the conduct of U.S. forces throughout its duration, paying special attention to civilian casualties and notable cases of American war crimes, others highlight the logic of national security in the post-9/11 world, the rampant abuses perpetrated by Saddam’s regime, and the differing viewpoints on the validity of the WMD claims that initiated the conflict.

This committee will simulate the fog of war, real-life operational decisionmaking processes, and clashes of ideology and personal agendas. We hope to provide an opportunity for delegates to critically evaluate the actions of the administration through the lenses of their characters, staying true to their ideological leanings while making continuous decisions and evaluating how events could have gone differently.

Adi Neelamana

Chair

Adi Neelamana is a Senior majoring in International Studies with a focus on Security Studies. Born in Staten Island, NY, Adi spent eleven years in the south of India before coming to Hopkins. He is the Vice President of the Hopkins Model UN competitive team, and has served previously as a Committee Co-Chair at HopMUNC I and II. Outside of MUN, Adi enjoys lifting weights, running, and rucking (a Sisyphusian activity involving running long distances with a heavy backpack. One must imagine Adi happy). He is also the Personnel Officer of the JHU Army ROTC program and a member of their Ranger Challenge team. He is excited to work with you as a Co-Chair of the WoT Do We Do Now?: The Bush Administration committee.

Slava Talan is a junior at Johns Hopkins studying International Studies and Political Science, and is part of the School of Advanced International Studies’ 5-year program. Slava was born in the frigid wastes of Moscow, Russia, but grew up in the foggy hills of Berkeley, California. As the years went by, he lost his affinity for buckwheat but not his cold gaze. With MUN, Slava has gained another outlet for his longtime interests in geopolitics and world cultures, which he also expresses by studying the Arabic language. Slava is looking forward to running HOPMUNC III’s Iraq War Committee, and can’t wait to see everyone there.