Creon’s Fatal Flaw. (2014)

The abject failure of U.K. Prime Minister Blair and U.S. President Bush to anticipate the consequences of the 2003 Iraq war and their belief that an invading force would be hailed as heroic were, in essence, hubristic, writes Lord David Owen in an article for The World Post.

Lord David Owen
The World Post – A Partnership of the Huffington Post and Berggruen Institute on Governance
3 November 2014

The abject failure of U.K. Prime Minister Blair and U.S. President Bush to anticipate the consequences of the 2003 Iraq war and their belief that an invading force would be hailed as heroic were, in essence, hubristic, writes Lord David Owen in an article for The World Post.

“It is typical of hubris that there is a gross overestimation of the likely achievement.

“The appalling failure to plan for the aftermath of the invasion is also a prime example of hubristic incompetence. Not to anticipate the insurgency and to reduce the level of troops needed for nation building, all contributed to a destabilisation and fragmentation of Iraq. This has come back to haunt us in the growth and advance of ISIS from Syria into Iraq and their claim to a caliphate in what they call the Levant where the objective is to go back in time to a simpler life under Sharia law.

“There is nothing unique, however, to politicians about developing hubris. In business life, the global crisis of 2008 had, within its contributing factors, the actions of many senior investment bankers and Wall Street market manipulators.

….

“Hubris Syndrome is accompanied by 14 signs and symptoms that I elaborated on in an article that I co-authored with Professor Jonathan Davidson.”

Read the full article here: Creon’s Fatal Flaw