Foreign Policy Disater followed by Disaster....

We should do little with the motive of propping up Iraq BUT we should move heaven and earth to provide for out own self interest. It is in the essential self interest of the USA to stop the barbarians there and not face them here...

 

""Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country," Obama said in a televised Oval Office address on Aug. 31, 2010. "This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office."

PolitiFact gave Obama another Promise Kept for that milestone.

Obama said 50,000 troops would remain in Iraq, focusing on "supporting and training Iraqi forces, partnering with Iraqis in counterterrorism missions, and protecting our civilian and military efforts." He said those remaining forces would leave by the end of 2011.

Which brings us to his announcement in October 2011 that all U.S. troops would depart Iraq before Christmas.

"Today, I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year," Obama said at the White House. "Our troops will definitely be home for the holidays."

A small force of a few hundred Marines will remain to help train Iraqi forces, as well as a large diplomatic contingent.

The war pre-Obama

Despite the goals Obama met, most of the timetable for leaving Iraq was in place before he took office.

The prevailing document, the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement, was negotiated between the Bush administration and the Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki. That’s what set the deadline of Dec. 31, 2011, for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq.

"He essentially implemented the plan that he inherited," said Chris Preble of the libertarian Cato Institute."
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...rack-obama/ad-says-obama-reason-iraq-pullout/

Now yes Obama did pull out but there was a force there. Not a lot, but a force. Second all he did was do Bush's plan. That means that Bush thought he did good enough of a job to warrant a withdrawal. Now it would be ludicrious to claim that Bush should have seen the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil war coming but with a withdrawal there's an unspoken meaning behind it. It means that the government in charge is capable of standing up to national security threats.

 

He refused to let conditions o the ground, reality, impact his political pandering...He behaved like a cartoon politician and not a President and today we see the result.

 

I could of told you that about Bush long long time ago had you asked.... Iraq should of been left alone... deal with Afghanistan and get our troops home

 

There was nothing remotely resembling 'victory' in Iraq. As ever your inept governments have totally screwed yet another country. Congratulations. If there was ever a clear definition of 'loser' it is America.

 

Should have considered that when you began your dumb war. But, of course, America knew best; 'here, try some of this delicious democracy...we insist'. I clearly remember telling a colleague in 2003, "this will end badly". It hasn't even begun to end, and we're into the second decade of an epic, US-inspired (*)(*)(*)(*)-up.

 

Head buried in the sand again I see....the 'If we leave the barbarians alone they will leave us alone' meme....simply silliness writ large.

 

bush only made us less safe by over-reacting, when these wars are over, the terrorists will just do it again hoping we over-react again

these countries were not the terrorists, they did have terrorists within their country

if 5 rouge Americans stole Russian planes and crashed them into a building, should Russia go to war with the unites states, would doing so cause the entire United States to be at war with Russia?

we see this in Iraq now, terrorist poke the USA's eye, then go into hiding while we swing at whatever we can swing at, then when we leave they poke again, then sit back and watch us over-react again until we destroy ourselves economically and politically


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Sorry, the Bush did it' meme is too silly to note except in passing...It is BoBo's mess and he is not stepping up.