The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the essay "Faith and Diplomacy" by Madeleine Albright. Specifically it will discuss the religious support for the war in Iraq, and how faith-based influence has helped create and continue the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism. The war in Iraq is based on the war on terror throughout the world, and initially, the American people believed the war was a result of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that were being stored in the country. That turned out to be false, and many experts believe the war in Iraq is actually based on faith, specifically the American Christian faith, fighting "good" against "evil." This foreign policy is disruptive at best, and indicates that foreign policy based on religion can be extremely damaging to all the nations involved.
             First, some background on the war in Iraq. The war began in March 2003, when U.S. and coalition forces invaded the country on the pretext of seeking out and destroying WMD, which were subsequently never found. A secondary purpose of the invasion was to bring democracy and freedom from oppression to the region by helping Iraqi leaders set up a democratic government. Many experts believe that the vast Iraqi oil fields and their promise were another enticement to invade. Throughout the war, the main theme of the administration's continuing support of the hostilities is that America is fighting "evil" in Iraq, implying that we (Christians) are the "good" guys and the Iraqis, especially insurgents and those that support terrorists, are "evil." In her essay, Madeleine Albright notes, "The challenge for policy-makers is to harness the unifying potential of faith, while containing its capacity to divide" (Albright 3). She also notes that if foreign policy is going to be built on faith that a clear and deep understanding of the nation's belief systems is key to creating a foreign policy that will work. With the events in ...