National Security Expert Explains the Disaster and Chaos of the Iraq War

Noam Dworman, Dan Naturman and Periel Aschenbrand are joined by Michael Mazarr, Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, author of 10 books including Leap of Faith: Hubris, Negligence, and America's Greatest Foreign Policy Tragedy. Mazarr explains why the Iraq War was not an Israel-driven conspiracy but a catastrophic American decision born of post-9/11 panic, hubris, and bureaucratic failure. It’s a needed rebuttal to takes like Dave Smith’s, which mistake confident rhetoric for serious historical analysis. Leap of Faith available here:

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National Security Expert Explains the Disaster and Chaos of the Iraq War is an episode from The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table by Comedy Cellar Network.

This episode is 75:05 long.

This episode was published on Feb 6, 2026.

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