Military What was done is being undone...Iraq

Here is the deal Red...what was started by the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and our support of the mujahedeen and the suppression of Muslim culture by their own dictators created a stew of fanaticism through out the Muslim ME that has boiled over. Bush 1 and to an extent B Clinton worked with the various Arab states to keep it contained but the fuse was lit. 9/11 was the first bang and our reinvasion of Afghanistan should have stopped when we dethroned the Taliban & pretty much decapitated AQ. Yes OBL and others were alive but they were the hunted and their end was sure even had we left the accursed country as many wanted. (I will say that was my feeling as I have read too much about countries that failed in Afghanistan). Unfortunately for the country (both of them US & AFGH) the Ds decided it was a good war and pushed W away from contemplating that (sure neocons like Mcain had the same view). Remember 2008 Red? Obama made that part of his campaign.

W believed his rhetoric about secular democracy being possible in the ME and probably to show up daddy launched Iraq 2. Poorly conceived and run it turned into a quagmire. (to be honest I supported the idea as the neocon line about Iraq being a potential secular state was very attractive, Also at first blush it seemed to be working when we were greeted as liberators. Likewise other ME countries ie Libya seemed to take notice and moderate.) The fools W chose to run Iraq fed the flames is so many ways. To his credit Bush shifted found a competent general in Petreaus and set the stage for a possible end game that President Obama finished. Unfortunately it was as much of a false vision as the invasion. As others have said the certification that Iraq could stand on its own was a fiction rubber stamped because the US wanted out.

Now with all that said president Obama did inherit a mess. What he has done is make the mess worse by pulling US leadership out of the discussion. He lost our ME allies confidence when he let Mubarak fall under the bus. He let the French take leadership in Libya (the French? when could they run an operation). He has backed off on his threats in Syria tried to reverse 60 years of policy in Israel. Imagine the Saudi of all nations working with Israel against Hamas. His poor handling of Iran allows them to get closer to being a nuclear power adding to the fears of all Sunni powers in the ME and Israel...making it less stable.

Basically he has taken W's mistakes too much to heart and by trying to avoid over reaching has surrendered initiative thereby losing the trust of those who have been supporters. If no one trusts him they don't trust the US. It is leaving a huge vacuum and chaos is following. More than that his enemies DON"T FEAR him. The pin pricks of drones are nothing and your claim ISIS is isolated and weak is shown to be false daily. Putin from his weak assed position is closer to getting what he wants than we are to stopping him. He may go to war over Ukraine. If that happens we are in a massive lurch. If we fight it will be ugly,,,if we don't the countries bordering Russia could go back out of fear and belief we will never support them.

All of the articles I cited point this out in one form or the other. Together the present overwhelming evidence that the President is out of his league and floundering, foundering through this critical juncture. I have said this is a very difficult time and there are no easy choices. However that as with the mistakes of his predecessors is no excuse for the level of incompetence he has shown. Our position in the ME and with our allies and enemies worse off than in 2008 by every measure. More than that our future is a greater risk because of his actions.

 

Of course you could take this evaluation from the left. http://www.salon.com/2014/08/09/is_obama_haunted_by_bushs_ghost_–_or_possessed_by_him/ Basically it says he has carried out the worst of W's policies. I guess Barry just can't win for losing.

 

The left dislikes his efforts as well as the right. They seem to be calling W's clone. I would call that losing.

 

Something from an Arab on the threat of ISIS. You gotta quick looking to the past (AQ) and look to the future threat. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...vene_because_isis_s_goals_are_absolutely.html

 

Again from Slate (not exactly right wing) on what is happening in Russia. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...ports_proves_that_we_can_t_achieve_peace.html

A key quote from the piece "In other words, a large country that contains internationally traded companies has just decided that it prefers a territorial war with one of its neighbors to full membership in the international economic system. A large country that contains plenty of people educated in global economics has also decided it can accept higher food prices the in name of national honor. It is not only possible to reject the “win-win” mantra of globalization in favor of different values and another sort of politics—it is happening right now."

 

My position has not changed. We need to bow the fuck out. Maliki made this mess despite being handed a country with trillions of US dollars backing reconstruction. His bigoted ways has cost him dearly and he should pay. At the very least if the US steps in to assist, we should insist that Maliki step down. He has no credibility as a leader.