Iraq

There are no good options with the current situation. The last thing that we need is to be dropping bombs on targets, for which we have no human intel to guide us, to wind up as propaganda for ISIS. Iraq was 'created' by Great Britain after WWI - before that it was 3 separate states - Kurds, Shi'ites and Suni's - which is what it is headed to becoming once again; only with a lot of bad actors involved.

I believe we should get our people out of the embassy; which will not be an easy task and that is it. We have tried diplomacy but Maliki refused to budge on the Status of Forces Treaty - there was no way we could stay in a country without that being renegotiated.

Two things that really bother me - 1. All that Congress has been saying since President Obama took office is that we have a huge deficit and cannot afford to pass, say, a job's bill with heavy emphasis on infrastructure which is falling apart here. So the bill doesn't even come up for a vote. Cut food stamps cause they are a drain on the economy. But whenever there is a foreign conflict; that flies out the window and money is no problem. I have a huge problem with this.
2. We no longer have a draft; so 1% of the country fights our wars. I am not in favor of the draft, but I do not think that the same neo cons who said we'd be in and out in 6 months tops and greeted as liberators back in 2003 should be showing their faces on every damn news show saying how weak & clueless Obama is (par for the course) and talk about war like they are in any position to even utter a word - all of them should be banned from speaking about this situation. And if they have such a hard-on for more Middle Eastern war - then the first people to go over should be those of fighting age from their families; followed by Congress and the Senate's families. How eager would they be then?

Bush and his crew screwed up royally in 2003, and i do not believe that this country has to continue to pay for their stupidity and complete ignorance of the history of Mesopotamia. Do I hate seeing people being killed - hell ya. is there a part of me, as an American, who feels we should help - yes. But we are not the only country on this planet and Europe, especially, has been allowing us to do the dirty work for decades and decades. All of the people involved are enemies of ours. And if we talk to one- we are pissing off another one who hates us more. Al-Maliki needs to go - he is doing just what Sadam did except the loyalties are switched. He refused to work with us to help build a representative government. We did not break Iraq - specific people did. We are not obligated to fix it. And we are extremely narcissistic if we think that we can fix this problem which has existed for hundreds and hundreds of years.

just get our people the hell out of there. Attempt some diplomacy, but I think that a better understanding of the Arab history and people are necessary.

And, as stated above, in our absence will come Russia - no doubt. No wonder Presidents turn grey. This is truly a clusterfuck - has Bush had any comment? Or is he painting shower portraits? ~X(

^^ty

brianlux said:

^^^ Well said, njnancy. The fiasco created during the Bush Administration is showing ripple effects that will run across long stretches of time. It almost seems as though this whole... well, clusterfuck it is... will not go away until the people there are scattered, the oil is all gone and the sands have blown over the entire region.

I think it is worth remembering that the wars in the middle east, especially in Iraq, have destroyed for all time a vast amount of incredible art and architecture- really, much of their culture as a whole. Disastrous.

You're right - when we went in 2003, no one was protecting the museums or cultural sites. They were guarding the oil fields. Not the soldiers' fault, they were following orders.

Another player is Saudi Arabia - our 'great' friend. From where did most of the 9/11 hijackers originate? And who has Saudi Arabia been funding during the Syrian tragedy?

I really can't think of one good option; but there are people far wiser than I who are without answers (and i respect those who actually say that). They don't want us there; we invaded their country; let's leave them alone.

While US diplomacy is being rightfully criticized, what about the effects of papyrus, parchment, ink and words written long ago in the current situation? Did Bush have a DeLorean and flux capacitor back in ‘03?

Money, air strikes, and reparations aren’t going to solve what’s going on right now. Education is the key.