The fall of the Saddam Iraqi's regime marked a critical point in Iran’s ascendancy to a regional superpower. Saddam Hussein was Iran’s greatest regional enemy, and the two sides fought a bitter 8-year war in the 1980s.
But Saddam’s Sunni-dominated regime was now replaced with Shiite Islamists who enjoyed close links with the regime in the Shiite Iran.
United States paid dearly for the take down of Saddam, $2 Trillions, more than 4000 Military died, injured, hundred of thousands loss of lives on the Iraqis civilians and the creation of other insurgency groups.
Today's Iran is the most powerful foreign actor in Iraq, with an extensive trade and intelligence network in the country thanks to US efforts.
The fall of Iraq to Iran was a geopolitical disaster for the US-backed Sunni monarchies in the Persian Gulf. A new cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran came to life, as the two powers began to vie for power and influence in the region, in process exacerbating further the Sunni-Shiite tension.
Did we plan it this way?
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