Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising but the lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large

Jeremy Bowen, reporting for BBC News, draws a parallel between former President George H.W. Bush's 1991 call for an Iraqi uprising and current rhetoric from figures like Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu directed at Iran. Bowen recalls Bush's speech at a Patriot missile factory during the Gulf War, where he suggested the Iraqi military and people should overthrow Saddam Hussein. This call, made while allied forces were heavily engaged in military operations against Iraq, preceded a brutal suppression of uprisings that followed the war. Bowen highlights the potential consequences of encouraging uprisings without committing direct military support, referencing the civilian casualties he witnessed in Baghdad during the Gulf War. He suggests that the lessons from the failed 1991 uprising in Iraq serve as a cautionary tale regarding current calls for regime change in Iran.

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