Losing Iraq: A First Look at Frontline's New Documentary

The Wire ^ | july 29, 2014 | David Luwig

[MinorityRepublican]

In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq to topple dictator Saddam Hussein. During the subsequent eight years, the U.S. spent trillions of dollars and lost thousands of American lives fighting an insurgency waged against the new government.

Today, two years after the last American combat forces left Iraq, the country is teetering on the edge of total chaos and threatening to pull the U.S. back into war. The Islamic State (ISIS), with the help of disenfranchised Sunnis, is gaining ground.

[MinorityRepublican]

On tonight at 10 pm.

[MinorityRepublican]

My take? Maliki lost Iraq due to excluding Sunni from being involved in his government.

[denydenydeny]

I’m guarantee this will blame everything on Bush and completely ignore the incredible victory won by our fighters. While protecting Obama.

[MinorityRepublican]

I can’t blame it all on Obama. With General Petreaus, President Bush won Iraq. But he backed the wrong horse in Maliki. Then Obama wanted us to leave Iraq. Which I don’t disagree.

[MinorityRepublican]

10 minutes

[MinorityRepublican]

5 minutes

[kristinn]

Started to watch. Saw Thomas Ricks. Turned it off.

[bkopto]

Good choice. Ricks is a pompous blowhard.

[MinorityRepublican]

Frontline leans left, no doubt. But the program was balanced. We weren't prepared to occupy Iraq after the invasion but President Bush fired Rumsfeld in '06 and then tapped a Princeton Intellectual in General Petreaus to oversee the troop surge. We won the war. But President Obama washed his hands on Iraq. He wouldn't even stay in touch with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. Guess what Maliki did? He went after the Sunni, stopped paying Sons of Iraq to oversee Sunni territory. So Sunni had no options left but to ally themselves with the Islamic State because they want to see Maliki's head on a pike in Baghdad.

Frontline did a good job showing how Obama dropped the ball on Iraq.

[MinorityRepublican]

video link