Iran and the U.S. have been vying for influence in Iraq. Throughout the Iraq war, Iran sought to influence the Shia-dominated government in Iraq, often to the detriment of the Sunni minority.
Iran also provided arms and training to Shiite militias, U.S. officials say, so they could attack U.S. forces and pressure them to leave the country.
Iran's influence was one reason I desperately wanted America to remain in Iraq after 2011, rather than leaving as we did.
And don't forget that Iran's hand puppet Syria funneled Sunni suicide bombers into Iraq from the west, making sure they had proxies fighting on both sides of the Sunni-Shia divide.
But don't you dare blame Bush 43 for failing to stop Iran. Do you even remember the Bush Derangement Syndrome rampant on the left at the time?
Democrats who had evolved from voting for the Iraq War to working to lose the war would have impeached Bush if he'd taken consistent steps to stop Iranian interference inside Iraq.
And if Democrats had started down that impeachment path, they would have enforced a loss in the Iraq War before the surge and Awakening could bring victory just as surely as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Vietnam.
Iran has been at war with America since the 1979 Revolution. "Death to America!" is no mere empty slogan. The 2015 nuclear deal was just another part of their war against us, designed to safely get them over the nuclear threshold. From Iran's point of view the deal was perfect--why would they want to renegotiate terms now?
No doubt we will get the full story of that part of Iran's war against their Great Satan one day.
