Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumAmerica’s Lost Gains in Iraq
http://watchingamerica.com/News/240617/americas-lost-gains-in-iraq/Thirteen years after 9/11, global terror is on the advance in Iraq as well as in Syria and North Africa. President Obama's policy of withdrawal has failed.
Americas Lost Gains in Iraq
Die Welt, Germany
By Clemens Wergin
Translated By Simon Wood
11 June 2014
Edited by Bora Mici
The world still remembers that "mission accomplished" moment in May 2003 when U.S. President George W. Bush, in full flight gear, arrived on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and declared that the war in Iraq was over. Only afterward did the civil war in Mesopotamia really get going, claiming the lives of countless Iraqis and thousands of American soldiers.
At the time, that "mission accomplished" brought Bush in for a lot of ridicule and criticism from Barack Obama's Democrats even years later, when Bush's executive decision to increase the number of troops and implement a new strategy in the fight against the insurgents had actually changed the situation. Now, Obama is experiencing his own mission accomplished moment. Ultimately, at Fort Bragg, on the occasion of the departure from Iraq in December 2011, he gave a speech in which he praised the "moment of success" and stated that America was leaving behind a "sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq."
The recent gains on the ground in Iraq by the Islamic terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, however, make it clear that much of what the Americans achieved, at a very high cost, has now been lost again. Mosul and the provinces of Anbar and Niniveh are now in the hands of radical Islamists. In his desire to withdraw from Iraq as quickly as possible, and his inability to wrest an agreement from Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki, the president has jeopardized what the Americans had achieved through nine years of stabilization and reconstruction efforts.
The Culpability of the Iraqis
It's not fair, however, to heap the entire blame on American shoulders for the renewed disintegration of Iraq. The sectarian-minded Prime Minister al-Maliki carries a certain amount of the blame for the triumphal procession of the Islamists. While the Americans initiated reconciliations between the Sunnis and Shiites, the Shiite al-Maliki has done everything to re-alienate the Sunnis rather than integrate them.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 634 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (0)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
America’s Lost Gains in Iraq (Original Post)
unhappycamper
Jun 2014
OP
Shivering Jemmy
(900 posts)1. You wasted bandwidth in posting this
Obama gets zero blame for Iraq.
Zero.
No debate.
unhappycamper
(60,364 posts)2. "Obama gets zero blame for Iraq" - agree.
The reason I read a lot of (not) conus news is because I would rather hear what the locals think.
I may not agree with an article but I think opposite viewpoints are worth understanding, hence this post.