The political situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki already stands accused of ordering the arrest and torture of aides to the Sunni vice president, Tariq al Hashimi. Now an arrest warrant has been issued for Hashimi himself based on the coerced confessions which were aired on television, in the best Stalinist show-trial tradition.
Hashimi is hiding out in the Kurdish region to avoid government security forces. Maliki has also asked the parliament to adopt a no-confidence motion in the Sunni deputy prime minister, Salah al Mutlaq, who has publicly accused Maliki of becoming a dictator.
In response, the Iraqiya bloc, the major secular party which includes many Sunnis, is boycotting parliament and threatening to quit the government. Two Sunni provinces, Salahuddin and Diyala, have declared their intention to form an autonomous region, a move Maliki vows to block. Most ominously of all, Sunnis are openly talking about re-starting armed resistance which most of them had given up in 2007-2008.
Is it just a coincidence that this–the worst crisis Iraq has seen since 2007–has unfolded just as U.S. troops have left the country? Hardly. U.S. forces performed a vital role as peacekeepers and stabilizers and honest brokers. With the Americans gone, a tenuous peace may not last much longer.
What we are seeing is a terrible tragedy: the Obama administration, by prematurely withdrawing, risks undoing all that U.S., Iraqi, and allied troops have fought so hard to achieve. Does President Obama care? Does he even notice what is happening as he continues to thump his chest about his success in “ending” the war? He should.
The polls may show wide approval of the withdrawal now, but if Iraq spins out of control, the verdict of voters–and historians–will not be so charitable. Indeed, history may conclude that the only blunder greater than the manner in which the U.S. entered Iraq was the manner in which we left it.
Sorry Max, if I was the parent of a young soldier, I would not want them in Iraq, or Afghanistan, fighting under the rules of engagement laid down by Petraous and the new mavens of PC war fighting.
Nation building – trying to give these people democracy – while bad guys take potshots at them and blow their vehicles 20 feet into the air, lopping limbs and shredding brain connections, using IEDs imported from an Iran the administration keeps begging to ‘engage’ with is, as Iran does everything in in its power to thwart our goals in Iraq, is just not acceptable. This is an incompetent, far too casual wasting of young American lives and limbs.
And this goes triple for Afghanistan.
They do something bad to the USA? Go in, decapitate the regime by remote control, and tell them don’t do it again. Rinse, repeat as necessary.
Trying to force the gift of ‘democracy’ down their throat is a fool’s errand. They don’t want it, and clearly are not ready for it. Until they are defeated, utterly, WW2 style, and rebuilt from the ground up like Germany and Japan, it is arguable that they ever will be.
To risk a soldier’s life on the project as it was currently conceived, when the real opposing puppetmasters – Iran and Saudi Arabia – go untouched – is outrageous.
Sorry Max, if I was the parent of a young soldier, I would not want them in Iraq, or Afghanistan, fighting under the rules of engagement laid down by Petraous and the new mavens of PC war fighting. n nNation building – trying to give these people democracy – while bad guys take potshots at them and blow their vehicles 20 feet into the air, lopping limbs and shredding brain connections, using IEDs imported from an Iran the administration keeps begging to 'engage' with is, as Iran does everything in in its power to thwart our goals in Iraq, is just not acceptable. This is an incompetent, far too casual wasting of young American lives and limbs. n nAnd this goes triple for Afghanistan. n nThey do something bad to the USA? Go in, decapitate the regime by remote control, and tell them don't do it again. Rinse, repeat as necessary. n nTrying to force the gift of 'democracy' down their throat is a fool's errand. They don't want it, and clearly are not ready for it. Until they are defeated, utterly, WW2 style, and rebuilt from the ground up like Germany and Japan, it is arguable that they ever will be. n nTo risk a soldier's life on the project as it was currently conceived, when the real opposing puppetmasters – Iran and Saudi Arabia – go untouched – is outrageous.
The looming disintegration of Iraq may, in fact, obscure the biggest blunder of all. The semi-porous borders which have been such an affliction have also represented the only potential game changing opportunity vis a vis Iranian ambitions at our disposal. Influence, intelligence and incursions can flow two ways! The Obama Administration's complete lack of interest, if not resolute resistance to cultivating a pivotal ally at the very heart of the Middle East is a strategic failure of the first order. Where we could have reshaped regional dynamics incrementally on the ground, we are left, once again, with nothing but dubious sanctions and implausible sabre rattling in our increasingly remote toolkit. Where the surge in Iraq did, indeed, create the space for "winning hearts and minds" diplomatically, institutionally and economically, it is, once again. our lack of commitment which will be remembered when chaos fills the void we so fecklessly leave behind. We make an even more convenient Great Satan in absentia.