The situation in Iraq has taken a very dangerous turn. Events there in recent days are reminiscent of those that led to virtual civil war in 2006 and resulted in the need for a surge in U.S. troop levels, a new strategy and very heavy fighting. Indeed, the places where the violence has erupted are eerily familiar, as many were strongholds of al-Qaeda in Iraq at the outset of the surge, before the spread of the Awakening movement that fostered reconciliation between disaffected Sunni Arabs and the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. The recent events come on top of increasing incidents of horrific attacks by al-Qaeda in Iraq, with last month seeing the largest losses in years — and they take place against a backdrop of increasingly serious political discord. These developments clearly require the attention and support of the international community, led by the United States.
Compared to the efforts that would be necessary to quiet Syria down, the level of effort to defend our gains in Iraq should have been a no-brainer for the administration. Sadly, the administration had the prerequisite lack of a brain to make that decision, so we left at the end of 2011.
Things may yet work out fine. But the odds aren't as good as they could be. More than deterring Iran from attacking Iraq, I wanted our troops to stay to provide outer limits to how Iraqi factions can settle disputes. With our troops as a safety net, it would be easier for factions to restrict their struggle to the political realm. Fear that others will use force first and lack of concern about American troops intervening to stop armed actions make it easier for factions to resort to force.
Oh, and the idiot comments about the article by people who have no clue about the actual history of the war and Saddam's record is just amazing. Funny enough, while we were battling al Qaeda in Iraq, our left denied al Qaeda was there (the "real" war against al Qaeda was in Afghanistan, remember?). Now they say Bush caused al Qaeda to arrive in Iraq. Here's a reminder of the history of jihadis in Iraq.
Really, right now the best thing we can do to affect the Syria rebellion from going really bad is to keep Iraq from spinning out of control. Perhaps John Kerry can spare some time from fighting global warming to address this, eh?
