Keukasmallies Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 There is a valuable lesson for the United States to learn by watching events in Iraq as it implodes following withdrawal of US support. We do not, and can not, understand the hundreds of years of relationships between and among sects, religious offshoots and warlords. We need to resist the desire to export our social, political and economic mores to people who neither understand, nor want any part of them. Will we learn the lesson currently being taught in the middle East; not if yesterday is the best predictor of tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Will we learn the lesson currently being taught in the middle East; not if yesterday is the best predictor of tomorrow. No, we won't. We haven't learned that lesson in more than 70 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 North American energy independence is the key to solving the Middle East problem as far as the U.S. is concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 If only they had a strong leader to help unify their country. Oh wait..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Al Qaida is on the run.....forward! !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 If only they had a strong leader to help unify their country. Oh wait..... Like we have? Oh, wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 In 2007, Harry Reid said that the Iraq war is 'lost.' In 2014, Barack Obama made sure he was right..................that's leadership. it took seven years, but President Peace Prize has validated Harry Reid’s dire pronouncement about the Iraq War: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Large Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 There is a valuable lesson for the United States to learn by watching events in Iraq as it implodes following withdrawal of US support. We do not, and can not, understand the hundreds of years of relationships between and among sects, religious offshoots and warlords. We need to resist the desire to export our social, political and economic mores to people who neither understand, nor want any part of them. Will we learn the lesson currently being taught in the middle East; not if yesterday is the best predictor of tomorrow. Why can't those brown people just have a god damn Democracy and favorable view of America? I do have empathy for the average person caught in the cross fire- Saddam was bad, but what is coming may be worse by many a measure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Why can't those brown people just have a god damn Democracy and favorable view of America? I do have empathy for the average person caught in the cross fire- Saddam was bad, but what is coming may be worse by many a measure. Perhaps you forget how truly awful Saddam was. A friend of my wife's was working mass graves' registration after the invasion. I saw the pictures. Saddam was Hitler-level evil. "Worse" would be an accomplishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 It was horrible under Saddam, and after the liberation and occupation and mission accomplished, it even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 (edited) It was horrible under Saddam, and after the liberation and occupation and mission accomplished, it even worse. Please. You can't even complete a full sentence. How would you know what is better or worse? Leave this discussion for the adults and we'll let you know when it's time to set the table for dinner, okay, Skippy? Edited June 13, 2014 by LABillzFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 (edited) From Slate: We Never Should Have Left Iraq : A U.S. military presence could have mollified Sunnis and prevented the new civil war. by Reihan Salam The United States made a grave mistake by invading Iraq in 2003. Yet it also made a grave mistake by withdrawing its military forces in 2011. The notion that we were wrong to go in but that we were also wrong to get out is hard to comprehend for many people. Once Americans collectively settled on the idea that the Iraq War was a disaster, it was perhaps inevitable that we’d want to wash our hands of the whole ordeal. President Obama appeared to do just that when he declared in December of 2011 that “we’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq,” knowing full well that we were doing no such thing. The disaster that is the Iraq War did not end when the last convoy of U.S. combat troops left the country more than three years ago, as many of us are now learning as the fragile Iraqi state loses ground to Sunni extremists. More at the link: . Edited June 13, 2014 by B-Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 It was horrible under Saddam, and after the liberation and occupation and mission accomplished, it even worse. Its because of the ongong rift between shia and sunni, and the messed up way British carved up Iraq. So was Saddam so bad or was he a reflection of the elements he had to deal with? I dunno but we sure loved him when he invaded Iran. And seems like every time we install someone else it does get worse .... For us and them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Its because of the ongong rift between shia and sunni, and the messed up way British carved up Iraq. So was Saddam so bad or was he a reflection of the elements he had to deal with? I dunno but we sure loved him when he invaded Iran. And seems like every time we install someone else it does get worse .... for us and them. Gatorman and JT6P. There really is someone for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronc24 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 There is a valuable lesson for the United States to learn by watching events in Iraq as it implodes following withdrawal of US support. We do not, and can not, understand the hundreds of years of relationships between and among sects, religious offshoots and warlords. We need to resist the desire to export our social, political and economic mores to people who neither understand, nor want any part of them. Will we learn the lesson currently being taught in the middle East; not if yesterday is the best predictor of tomorrow. Are you kidding me? America knows all! Where next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Are you kidding me? America knows all! Where next? There....next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronc24 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 There....next. Bring Colorado's pot laws and you have a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truth on hold Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 (edited) Nice work bro, military strikes against the terrorists we armed in Syria! ! Obama warns of US action in Iraq President Barack Obama on Thursday threatened US military strikes in Iraq against Sunni Islamist militants who have surged out of the north to menace Baghdad and want to establish their own state in Iraq and Syria. http://www.iol.co.za...90#.U5qFbfk72Ag Edited June 13, 2014 by Joe_the_6_pack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Oh boy! More red lines that feckless B. O. will walk away from. He stinks more than his initials suggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdog1960 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 (edited) we need to stick to the principle that involvement in war is justified only by major national security risks. that criteria would have kept us out of at least 2/3 of our most recent wars. i'm reminded of a military analyst i recently saw commenting on d- day. "soldiers are the currency of war", we need to think long and hard before spending that currency and it should never be a trade of one currency for another. Edited June 13, 2014 by birdog1960 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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