By Mike Miller
Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. says Team Obama doesn’t grasp the consequences of failing to aggressively combat al Qaeda and suggests that Obama has been less engaged with Iraq than was George Bush.
Ambassador Lukman Faily told The Washington Times in an interview Wednesday:
The administration has to have a better understanding of any adverse impact of any delay in provision of support to Iraq. It cannot afford a whole town or province of Iraq falling to al Qaeda and becoming a safe haven. It’s against the U.S. strategic interest. It’s against the U.S. national security to do that.”
Asked whether the White House could do more to facilitate a tighter relationship with Iraq, Faily added:
“To a certain extent they can. But we are no longer in a period in which we had President Bush, who took ownership of that relationship.”
While the ambassador goes on to correctly identify “party politics” as a main cause of Obama’s lack of engagement, what he may not realize is that politics and elections drive nearly every decision this president makes. National security aside, Mr. Ambassador, Barack Obama is all about shoring up the base. Always has been, always will be.
Anyway, you know those familiar “Miss me yet?” billboards featuring a smiling George Bush? Sounds like they’d be pretty popular in Iraq as well.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/01/107359-iraqi-ambassador-slams-obama-guess-praises/
