President Obama deserves credit for irresponsibly “ending” the Iraq War

Flopping Aces ^ | 09-26-12 | Wordsmith

[Starman417]

"Well, let's see what I've done since I came into office. I said I'd end the war in Iraq. I did." -President Obama interviewed on 60 Minutes last Sunday

President Obama once again takes credit for something that he deserves zero credit for: The "end" of the war in Iraq. That "war" (or insurgency), for the most part, ended on Bush's watch, post-surge and Awakening successes. The hard decision which made conditions for troop withdrawal possible- and the one which then senator Obama opposed- was made by President Bush:

the president of the United States decided to go for broke. Despite national sentiment against the war, despite condemnation on Capitol Hill, President George W. Bush ordered more than 21,000 additional troops to war-a gamble that may be a pivotal moment for his presidency and the country.

The Status of Forces Agreement was also negotiated between President Bush and the Iraqi government. Not by President Obama (who may have tried, as presidential candidate, to have the Iraqi government delay negotiating and signing until after the 2008 Election). What he did accomplish was a failure to renegotiate the Agreement, as intended.

Will he accept responsibility for his irresponsibility or push his mishandling of Iraq upon his predecessor (who can no longer make the big decisions, based upon the conditions on the ground) for bringing us there in the first place? Neil Snyder at American Thinker:

his claim that he ended the war in Iraq contradicts the reality on the ground. Iraq is still at war and is coming unglued, and it's largely due to the fact that the U.S. got out of Iraq before the job was finished. Christians are being persecuted en masse; Sunni and Shia Muslims are killing each other almost daily; and Iran is steadily increasing its influence in Iraq. So the truth is that President Obama didn't end the war in Iraq. He simply abandoned Iraq's leaders and forced them to fend for themselves.

Peter Feaver at Shadow Government mentions a new book that raises questions about Obama's handling of Iraq:

(excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...

[dalebert]

yes..Obama undid some of our best successes..its all part of dismantleing the nation

[ETL]

Obama like to boasts that he was against the Iraq war from the beginning. But at the time, everyone, including every major democrat, believed Saddam had and would use WMDs, and as such needed to be taken out asap. Yet it was no concern to Obama? Why?

[SoldierDad]

Iraq today is a bloody mess. Violence is the rule there now. In Afghanistan OUR soldiers are being targeted by Taliban who have infiltrated their security forces (Blue on Green murder). Obozo is either incompetent or intentionally weakening our military, both at home and abroad. I believe the latter is the case.

[bassmaner]

There’s only 2 ways that a war ‘ends’: victory or defeat. Anyone who has any doubts over which path 0bama prefers for America should go see ‘2016’.