Nearly 900 civilians and more than 4,000 members of Iraq’s security forces have been killed over the last six months – including the daughter and 11-month-old grandson of local sheik Mahmoud Abdel Rahman.
Rahman’s relatives were killed Monday – along with more than fifty others – when a coordinated series of car bombs went off in mostly Shiite neighborhoods in and around Baghdad. Behind the attacks? Insurgents linked to al-Qaeda – who have an interest in stoking tensions between Shiites and Sunni Muslims and bringing the nation back to the brink of civil war.
The last time this happened the U.S. government – under the leadership of former president George W. Bush – announced a surge of American troops into Iraq with the goal of making the country a sustainable democracy and an “ally in the War on Terror.”
“Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs,” Bush said.
Yeah … mission NOT accomplished.
Bush’s surge was “reluctantly” carried forward by U.S. President Barack Obama, who last month went to the mat in an effort to get U.S. forces to fight with al-Qaeda in Syria.
Obama ultimately retreated on Syria when the tide of public opinion turned dramatically against him and his warmongering GOP allies (led by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham).
Wonder why that happened?
A total of 4,486 American soldiers died in Iraq from 2003-2012. Thousands more were wounded and/ or returned home suffering from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.
And for what? Seriously … what did these troops fight and die for?
Meanwhile U.S. taxpayers shelled out $1.7 trillion in borrowed dollars to fund the war effort – and owe an additional $500 billion in benefits to veterans (a figure which is expected to skyrocket in the coming years).
Again … why? What did we spend all of that money for?
Recent events have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that Iraq is not safe … for democracy or anything else. And it was foolish for America’s leaders to think they could make it that way. Oh, and as for the oft-proclaimed “dismantling” of al-Qaeda as a global terror threat?
It’s looking increasingly as though America’s leaders may have jumped the gun on that assessment, too.
“Core al-Qaeda is a shell of its former self,” Obama said back in May, boasting that its “remaining operatives spend more time thinking about their own safety than plotting against us.”
Maybe so … but somebody forgot to tell that to the Baghdad bombers.
The bottom line is things are once again falling apart in Iraq: the country America spent thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars propping up as a “partner” in the War on Terror.
But hey let’s go invade another Middle Eastern nation, right? Right?
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American intervention in the Middle East
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_intervention_in_the_Middle_East
“The United States’ relationship with the Middle East prior to World War II was minimal. Moreover, in comparison to European powers such as Britain and France which had managed to colonize almost all of the Middle East region after defeating the Ottoman Empire in 1918, the United States was “popular and respected throughout the Middle East”. Indeed,
‘Americans were seen as good people, untainted by the selfishness and duplicity associated with the Europeans’. American missionaries had brought modern medicine and set up educational institutions all over the Middle East. Moreover, the United States had provided the Middle East with highly skilled petroleum engineers.”
Yep, duplicity will do it every time.
Thank you W, aka “Shrub”
It may never be “accomplished” but it’s sure going well so far.
Saddam (whom the Bushes seemed to have some personal issues with) is dead.
Iraqi oil production has been stymied for over 20 years and far into the foreseeable future; resulting in higher oil prices which benefit our allies– the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, while keeping the Russians fat and happy, and even creating a thriving domestic petroleum production program (which is a Good Thing, that would not even be possible with $35 a barrel oil.
Halliburton and the other petroleum drilling, construction, and repair firms have made off like bandits as have suppliers to the US military complex .
This has all been accomplished with a historically low loss of American lives, thus ensuring that the American people don’t get too riled up, like in Viet Nam.
Come on, none of y’all really believed it was about establishing democracy in Iraq, did you? DID YOU?
I’m not sure whether our foreign policy has been motivated by GREED so much as by naïveté and ignorance.
ITBGHO, plenty of all three to go around.
Yes.. probably so. And I hate it.
Not so funny thing – we still have soldiers in in Iraq….
Just as we will have soldiers in Afghanistan long after we “leave” next year.
AND we still have soldiers in Kosovo!
Actually the folks in Kosovo (KFOR) are doing some good and it isn’t costing us a bajillion dollars. We have about 750 soldiers of the 5,000 man force doing a variety of peacekeeping jobs. KFOR is a (very) rare UN success.
EVERYWHERE we go, we do some good, Colonel. But that’s not the point. The point is we are all over the globe without any real direction. Again, I’m not even griping about the dollar cost. I’m talking about the morality of putting our youngsters on the line for the sake of hubris. We have no business leaving Iraq, once we subdued the bad guys. Look how long we were in Germany and ARE in Kosovo. When you invade a country, you have to breed partisans. That takes time and dedication, and if we’re not going to do that, we don;t need to be there. I’ve got about 25 years left on this worthless carcass I inhabit. I bet we’ll be back in Iraq by the time I expire, and STILL be in Kosovo.
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I DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THAT. ITS THE GOD DAMN TEA PATRTIES FAULT MF.
If we actually backed our allies and fought our enemies, we would not be in Iraq or Afghanistan. Our allies are not in the UN. Neither are our allies in Russia or Red China. We have one ally in the middle east, maybe two in Europe – if you believe the Germans and count England in Europe. We have an ally in Australia and maybe South Africa and Liberia. The rest are either questionable or cyphers. Iran and ALL Muslim terrorists are our enemies.
Having said all this, it must be admitted that because of our profligate buying of friends and our profligate propping up of the Euro, our profligate printing of money has had less of a world-wide effect.. but only for now.
No matter if true conservatives and/or libertarians get in power, the solution will take as long as the problem took to happen and as painful as it was easy for the powers that be. That’s why so many RINOS, I believe, are beginning to see the political advantage of becoming fascists after the manner of our 1930’s Italian President.
American blood and treasure was recklessly spilled in the Iraqi desert Thanks alot George, Dick, Donald, and Condi. Good thing Barry and John were smart enough to avoid Syria.
WOW…..look at the comments on this piece of propaganda..!
The Iraq Mission may not be accomplished; but the overall wisdom shown in this comment section and article itself illustrates that the “Fitsnews Mission is not accomplished either”…!!
This is just stunning….
Amen, brother.