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Fareed Zakaria: Who Lost Iraq? The Iraqis Did, With An Assist From George W. Bush ( Lapdog Speaks)
Washington Post ^ | June 12, 2014 | Fareed Zakaria-foreign affairs column-The Post; CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS; editor at large Time mag

Posted on 06/12/2014 9:48:38 PM PDT by Steelfish

Fareed Zakaria: Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush

June 12 at 8:27 PM It is becoming increasingly likely that Iraq has reached a turning point. The forces hostile to the government have grown stronger, better equipped and more organized. And having now secured arms, ammunition and hundreds of millions of dollars in cash from their takeover of Mosul — Iraq’s second-largest city — they will build on these strengths. Inevitably, in Washington, the question has surfaced: Who lost Iraq?

Whenever the United States has asked this question — as it did with China in the 1950s or Vietnam in the 1970s — the most important point to remember is: The local rulers did. The Chinese nationalists and the South Vietnamese government were corrupt, inefficient and weak, unable to be inclusive and unwilling to fight with the dedication of their opponents. The same story is true of Iraq, only much more so. The first answer to the question is: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lost Iraq.

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


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
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1 posted on 06/12/2014 9:48:38 PM PDT by Steelfish
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To: Steelfish

We’ll see what the voters think in November. I think the author will be hugely dissappointed.


2 posted on 06/12/2014 9:51:24 PM PDT by matt1234 (Obama fled. People bled. (Iraq 2014.))
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To: Steelfish

Is Dubya in Iraq?

I know Al Queda is in Iraq...but the news is kind of squishy on that. So Dubya deserted his post in Mosul, under fire and hit the road, because he fail to negotiate a military agreement during the Obama Administration? He did take up Sec of State so he could do that right? He was that before Clinton and Kerry, after all.

He has been the most active past president...and I thought it was jimmy carter fixing all those other countries.

DK


3 posted on 06/12/2014 9:56:02 PM PDT by Dark Knight
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To: Steelfish; no-to-illegals; Marine_Uncle; All

The pundits are saying that Syria is the main cause of this disruption. I have had the impression that a lot of the right, other than McCain, don’t favor robust intervention in Syria any more than the left. Meanwhile any news on the Turkish consulate takeover? That should certainly annoy the Turks, and with what possible actions/consequences?


4 posted on 06/12/2014 9:57:49 PM PDT by gleeaikin
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To: Steelfish

I seem to remember that when we withdrew we said we’d be right next door if you need us...

Obama could send in the marines any time if he wanted to. I think that what is happening is what is supposed to happen; they war-gamed it and it is proceeding according to plan.


5 posted on 06/12/2014 10:01:07 PM PDT by marron
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To: Steelfish

the sippering little muz squeeks

A W hater then and still a W hater now

go back to whatever little 3rd rathole you hail from Farid


6 posted on 06/12/2014 10:01:48 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: Steelfish
Bush's fault, isn't that right Fareed?

Couldn't have anything to do with your special little confidant, Barry Hussein, could it?

7 posted on 06/12/2014 10:04:24 PM PDT by mojito (Zero, our Nero.)
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To: marron

The Al Qaeda rebels of ISIS in Iraq, are allied with (if not the same) Jihadists in Syria that Obama was arming and supplying and equipping to overthrow Assad.

Obama is helping to assist the Jihadists to create a global caliphate.

Obama supports the Sunni brand of Jihadist Islam - so it should be interesting to see what he does (if anything at all) once Iran decides to get involved.


8 posted on 06/12/2014 10:10:03 PM PDT by INVAR ("Fart for liberty, fart for freedom and fart proudly!" - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Steelfish

Why do we allow these people in, much less give them television shows?


9 posted on 06/12/2014 10:11:28 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I will raise $2Million USD for Cruz and/or Palin's next run, what will you do?)
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To: Steelfish

What a scum bag.


10 posted on 06/12/2014 10:13:12 PM PDT by Williams
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To: gleeaikin
pundits are saying

Am surprised the pundits do not realize what and whom they are supporting. Maybe the pundits do know and the money being paid them (graft) is too high to open their minds and eyes to the danger. All alligators, of this nature, eat massive amounts of innocents. The pundits are feeding the alligators thinking they will be the last ones eaten. Not smart thinking on the part of the pundits.

11 posted on 06/12/2014 10:25:37 PM PDT by no-to-illegals (Scrutinize our government and Secure the Blessing of Freedom and Justice)
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Comment #12 Removed by Moderator

To: gleeaikin
Turkish consulate takeover

A bit of news at this link, Gleeaikin.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/344405--air-force-holding

13 posted on 06/12/2014 10:45:11 PM PDT by no-to-illegals (Scrutinize our government and Secure the Blessing of Freedom and Justice)
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To: Steelfish

Of course Obama was taking a lot of credit 2 years ago saying Al Queda is almost finished and Iraq is one of the administration’s best outcomes


14 posted on 06/12/2014 11:17:58 PM PDT by Steelers6
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To: Steelfish

But Obama said Al queda was on the run and Iraq was stable!!!!

Too late to blame Bush as Obama sent Biden to manage the exit!!


15 posted on 06/12/2014 11:50:58 PM PDT by RginTN
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To: Steelfish

Obama took credit for the victory he claimed in 2011. As of that point, Obama owns Iraq; whatever happened after that is his.


16 posted on 06/13/2014 2:21:11 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (When I first read it, " Atlas Shrugged" was fiction)
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To: muir_redwoods

Bush Admin accomplished mission in Iraq, and Obama gave it back to the enemy, simple as that...now who is the terrorist?

http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3868


17 posted on 06/13/2014 2:28:57 AM PDT by Kackikat
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To: Steelfish

I’m no defender of Obama, but I would like to better understand the Bush strategy. Eventually we would have to leave there, be it under Obama, McCain, Romney, or Clinton.

It’s clear now that Iraqis have no stomach to take on ISIS...so should we simply have stayed and been pin-pricked for decades?


18 posted on 06/13/2014 3:34:07 AM PDT by BobL
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To: BobL

The basic issue in Iraq today is that the guy who was most effective at dealing with insurgent groups like ISIS was Saddam Hussein, not George W. Bush.


19 posted on 06/13/2014 4:09:21 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("What in the wide, wide world of sports is goin' on here?")
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To: Alberta's Child

“The basic issue in Iraq today is that the guy who was most effective at dealing with insurgent groups like ISIS was Saddam Hussein, not George W. Bush.”

For sure...but he also was serious about building up WMDs. In fact, he’d be alive and in power, except for those WMDs.

The problem was, I think, that we, for some crazy reason, thought he could be replaced with a functioning democracy. We needed to install his clone...or even re-install him, after taking the country and making sure it was clean WMD-wise.

We seemed to understand that during the Cold War. Ferdinand Marcos may have been a bastard when he ran the Philippines, but he was OUR BASTARD. But now we forget and seem to go back to a Jimmy Carter viewpoint...if the person isn’t perfect (like the Shah), then dump him and who cares what comes next.


20 posted on 06/13/2014 4:20:27 AM PDT by BobL
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