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America Should Stay Out Of Iraq's Revived Killfest: Only Iraqis Can Save Their Country
Forbes ^ | June 23, 2014 | Doug Bandow

Posted on 06/25/2014 3:30:07 PM PDT by right-wing agnostic

The uber-hawks and neocons like Richard Cheney who led America into the disastrous invasion of Iraq are campaigning for a repeat. If only the U.S. will go to war along the Euphrates a second time, they promise, everything will turn out well.

Americans should ignore these Sirens of Death. Attempting to forcibly transform Iraq never was Washington’s responsibility. Having botched the job once, U.S. policymakers should not try again. There certainly is no public support for new military adventures in Mesopotamia.

There was much to despise about Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. He was a murderous thug with outsize ambitions, but he helped constrain Iran, America’s and Israel’s more feared nemesis. Hussein also enforced an ugly stability at home: he held his fractured country together, suppressed sectarian violence, allowed Christians and other religious minorities to live in peace, and kept al-Qaeda out of areas under his control.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: culture; iraq; neoconservatives
We have undoubtedly made a mess in Iraq. Thanks in no small part to the nation-building exercise George W. Bush said we should refrain from while running for president against Al Gore in 2000. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 allowed us to see what really was Islam's goal. But, we opened a whole can of worms that should've remained unopened when we removed Saddam Hussein from power. Our intentions were good. But, you know what they say about good intentions./gwa
1 posted on 06/25/2014 3:30:07 PM PDT by right-wing agnostic
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To: right-wing agnostic

So, if war was Islam’s goal, we opened a whole can of worms by declaring war?


2 posted on 06/25/2014 3:31:51 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: right-wing agnostic
Only Iraqis can save their country?

How about only people who live in that general area of the world should be duking it out to see which of them gets which parts.

3 posted on 06/25/2014 3:32:00 PM PDT by who_would_fardels_bear
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To: right-wing agnostic

I have also said Saddam being left alone could have prevented the rise of ISIS, but perhaps that isn’t correct. Would he have fared much better than Gadhaffi during the Arab Spring? Not without Assad-esque tactics I think.


4 posted on 06/25/2014 3:35:34 PM PDT by Viennacon (Rebuke the Repuke!)
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To: right-wing agnostic

Exactly. Should NEVER have gone in and have made it an unmitigated disaster.

No more.


5 posted on 06/25/2014 3:36:17 PM PDT by RIghtwardHo
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: right-wing agnostic

Are only option is drones with “super sense”. These can distinguish between ISIS, Iraqi regular Army, Iranian Quds Forces, Kurds, Sunni civilian, Shiite civilian...miscellaneous goat hearders and Christians. In order of importance -of coarse.


7 posted on 06/25/2014 3:44:05 PM PDT by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
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To: Viennacon
Would he have fared much better than Gadhaffi during the Arab Spring?

Gaddafi would be alive and well to this very day if his enemies were not armed and supported by NATO. He was denied the sky to fight his opposition; he was denied weapons. But his enemies were given weapons, and NATO airplanes attacked Gaddafi's troops on the ground. Now we have ruins in Libya, another lawless country, just like Afghanistan, where the real fight for power is yet to begin. Gaddafi was a strongman... in a country that can be held together and in peace only by a strongman. Gaddafi was done with his terrorist past; he gave up WMD; he, apparently, became an enlightened, benevolent dictator. What good was accomplished by removal of Gaddafi?

8 posted on 06/25/2014 3:49:32 PM PDT by Greysard
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To: Fitzy_888
These can distinguish between ISIS, Iraqi regular Army, Iranian Quds Forces, Kurds, Sunni civilian, Shiite civilian...miscellaneous goat hearders and Christians.

Indeed, how hard would that be, considering that (aside from Christians) they aren't even sure what group they associate with on any given day :-)

As an example, Iraqi soldiers turned into Shiite civilians in minutes. But generally, it is common in Middle East for citizens to exist in two quantum states: a civilian and a jihadi. You can resolve this duality by turning your back toward them. If they stab you, they were a jihadi.

9 posted on 06/25/2014 3:56:04 PM PDT by Greysard
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To: right-wing agnostic

“....September 11, 2001 allowed us to see what really was Islam’s goal.”

.
It didn’t show us crap.

Our eyes are still closed as shown by the many muzzies that daily come into this country, to stay.

The result will be another, but much bigger, September 11.


10 posted on 06/25/2014 4:01:43 PM PDT by 353FMG
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To: Viennacon

>Would he have fared much better than Gadhaffi during the Arab Spring?<

.
The Arab Spring was fed and promoted by the Obama administration and NATO.


11 posted on 06/25/2014 4:04:28 PM PDT by 353FMG
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To: right-wing agnostic

I never thought I’d read so much drivel from people pining for the good ol’ days of Saddam Hussein

“yes he was a genocidal madman but at least the trains ran on time..”’


12 posted on 06/25/2014 5:39:18 PM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: silverleaf

They also applaud Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot to name a few, for the order they implemented. It’s strictly a logistical thing!


13 posted on 06/25/2014 7:10:44 PM PDT by SgtHooper (This is not my tag!)
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To: silverleaf

I was thinking the same thing.


14 posted on 06/25/2014 7:56:29 PM PDT by stylin19a (Obama ----> Fredo smart)
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