Iraq and Afghanistan: A Comparison Based on International Law

Abstract

Media reports and specialist doctrine often contain analyses which are based on the premise that the military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan are similar or even identical. According to such analyses, they are two manifestations of a single reality: the modern-day ‘war’ on terror. However, in my view there are substantial differences in the origin of the two interventions, which necessarily continue to have repercussions today, even though recent events in Afghanistan are, in practice, increasingly reminiscent of what is happening in Iraq. At both the political and legal levels, the two armed interventions were proposed in different contexts, and this justifies their being approached in different ways within the framework of Spanish foreign policy.

Keywords: Iraq, Afghanistan, self-defence

JEL Classification: K33