March 18, 2003

The United States is bracing for war with Iraq. But after a war, can the United States build a new Iraq? University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) political scientist and expert on foreign aid, Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., is available to comment.

“The United States will face a major dilemma because we don’t have the legitimacy that a U.N. resolution would afford us,” says Zahariadis. “We are going to have a difficult time getting adequate contributions from other U.N. nations, and the United States lacks the patience, time and resources to rebuild Iraq on its own.”

UAB political scientist Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., is an expert on the United Nations, the European Union, foreign aid, security in southeastern Europe, nationalism and European public policy. He has published articles in numerous journals, including International Studies Quarterly, Comparative Politics and Comparative Political Studies. Zahariadis is an associate professor and director of the UAB Department of Government’s political science program.

“Occupation in Iraq will involve taking over the government and ensuring that there is as much continuity as possible. We will have to maintain normalcy in not only Baghdad, but everywhere else in the country as well. It means carrying out police duties and rebuilding infrastructures, including water, sewer, power and a lot of that will have to be done using U.S. resources and personnel.

“To do an adequate job of rebuilding, it would take about $50 billion to jumpstart the process and do it well. The United States, however, is already facing a massive deficit. “We could use Iraq’s oil fields as collateral, but that would be a public relations nightmare. The message would be that the United States is plundering the country.”

In addition to money woes, the United States may also have to deal with increased instability in the rest of the Middle East following a war with Iraq, Zahariadis says. “Anti-American sentiment may grow after a war. It’s difficult to assume that the Iraqi people will think of Americans as liberators. People in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East may come to resent a U.S.-led occupying force in Iraq, especially if the United States has to resort to using Iraqi oil to fund that occupation.”