Posted on 06/11/2014 3:38:07 PM PDT by kristinn
They were doing well only while we were there to support their infrastructure and provide security. With the exception of Israel, the entire region is incapable of responsible self rule. It’s really sad.
Saigon 2.0
Almost as good as the CIA’s intel about the WMD’s in Iraq. The CIA has a long history of being inept. Remember the Bay of Pigs? That educated President Kennedy about the CIA. In the movies they are omniscient; in real life, they’re just like most government agencies—seemingly totally incompetent.
“..bush had the war won, Obama and his ROEs lost it for us.”
Just another ten years would have done it, I’m sure.
Which is what we should have done to the entire nation to start with rather than turning it into what it became. A Payola for politically connected contractors to nation build rather than a destroy and eliminate a radical threat once and for all.
Now the radicals who stood back and waited have a nice new shinny trained and armed military thanks to the U.S. stooge politicians bipartisan stupidity. Congress did not bind itself to an American victory in Iran. It became a political action rather than a destroy by any means possible leaving them in ruins war military mission and agenda. A blind man could have predicted this would be the eventual outcome.
You make valid points but the shocking fact is that in actual fact the Sunnis are the US’ de facto allies everywhere else except in Iraq.
The opposition the US is supporting in Syria are the same people who are rolling towards Baghdad. The ISIL have opened up a new road into eastern Syria to send all those Humvees, AK 47s, trucks, uniforms, flak jackets and $400 million very decently left by the Iraqi government forces lying on the streets of Mosul.
The ISIL don’t look at the current borders, they probably aren’t that interested in fighting the Kurds or even the Shiites if it comes to that they are carving out their own new Sunni state from the ruins of what had been Iraq and Syria and the US is helping them on the Syrian side of the border.
It’s the most cockamanie, schizophrenic foreign policy the world has ever seen. And it all boils down to the fact that America’s key ally in the Middle East is the Sunni Saudis who are bankrolling all of this and happily watching as the US does excatly want the Sunnis want in their blind hatred of Iran which is the arch enemy of the Saudis.
Here’s the thing though it wasn’t Iran who attacked the US on 911 or who has been any threat to the US since about 1985, the biggest threat to US security is our bestest buddies the Saudis!
I simply can’t make head nor tail of it.
Burn the embassy down as you leave and never go back.
To hell with em
That was stable and doing well back in 2008, but at this point what.....
Isn’t it great that Obama brought peace and stability to Iraq? One of the crowning achievements of his presidency was bringing stability to that country and bringing the troops home. Of course, another key accomplishment was helping set up ISIS to bring down the Christian tolerant government of Syria.
It would appear that 0bama is pro-homosexual and pro-feminist slaughter.
Who am I to argue that policy?
Don't blame the CIA for that. It was the Kennedy brothers who cancelled the air cover at the last minute leaving the guys on the ground to Fidel.
Democrats must really hate Embassys
I wonder if they have the homo flag flying under the US flag. After all June is Homo Month now.
The leftist, asshats were wanting Iraq to be another Vietnam, so they could denigrate our country, servicemen and women, and American exceptionalism.
Well, I haven’t seen Moochelle in front of the camera yet.
#saveourembassyhomos
I doubt the new soon to be occupants will pay much attention to that.
Yes. Everywhere that America has stayed is modern, stable, and democratic.
Germany
Japan
Everywhere that we have left has reverted to barbaric behavior and tolatarian regimes.
Vietnam, now Iraq and soon to be Afghanistan.
If you don’t believe in long term commitment and rather rely on TV sound bites of history, then I see your point and we really have no need of a military at all.
“This was super expensive and elaborate Embassy paid for by US taxpayers. It will now fall into Al Qaeda hands.
don’t wait for Obama ,blow it up and leave NOW”
Nah, too destructive. Obama will have the ambassador hand over the keys, codes and passwords.
Great post!
THIS!!!!
AGREED! excellent post... good enough for a repeat...
“We would not be in the middle of this mess if we still had troop presence. People had returned to the cities, and a sense of normalcy had returned. And, at that time, Al Qa’ida in Iraq was on the run and their ability to conduct operations was largely broken.
The insurgents had lost the favor of the people and popular support was mostly with Coalition Forces. An insurgency NEEDS public support to survive. In Iraq, people had enough and they were killing the terrorists.....they had plenty of bravado because Uncle Sam’s kinfolk were just down the road.
I was there when the talks of cut and run started their steady drumbeat and Iraqi after Iraqi came strolling in begging us not to go because......well, what is happening now would happen.
We had proved that with patience and a strong will, we could defeat terrorism even if it were state sponsored and entrenched. Not only could we remove a dictator, homegrown terrorists (the fedayeen), and imported foreign fighters, but we could win on “their” turf. We also provided a “flypaper” for the worthless flies on humanity’s sh#t pile to land and die.....rather than a concerted effort to attack us at home.
Further, with bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, it gave us strategic positioning in the region - e.g. we had Iran’s flanks with bombers, re-fuellers, tanks, and mass numbers of troops on station. And, with Iraq and Afghanistan “ours” we didn’t have to worry about requesting permission for airspace (like the initial stages of OIF/OEF). The Iranians could saber rattle all they wanted to, but at the end of the day those troops and munitions proved a pretty strong deference as any day, Operation Persian Freedom could commence with just an order to close the noose.
We spent almost 3/4 of a century maintaining strategic presence and security in Europe, Korea, and Japan.
We are still in Germany, Korea, and Japan. All three have democratic governments, peace, stability, prosperity, and are allies. We also have forward staging areas that enable us defense from threats “over there,” while the threats are still “over there.”
Vietnam - we cut and ran and thousands of people died and/or live in poverty. You are seeing the same thing play out in Iraq, and will soon see it play out in Afghanistan.
And then, with the “successes” of the “Arab Springs,” and the fall of IRQ and AFG.....you’ll see the real fun begin. Just wait until the jihadis get settled in IRQ and AFG, because God help us all when Saudi (short trip through the desert from IRQ) and Pakistan (right on the other side of Torkam Gate; and the Paks have never one a war) fall.
Our best hope right now without re-securing Iraq, is that we can supply the resistance in Syria, while the Russians and Iranians arm ‘Assad that the slow bleed takes some of the fight out of the jihadis until we can get someone in the White House that doesn’t have their head up their ass and some Joint Chiefs with testicles.
And it isn’t like I’d be asking anyone to do what I was unwilling to do....I spent four tours in Iraq - two after I was wounded.
“
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