Obama removed troops from Iraq because the previous administration had already made the agreement.
Not so fast. The Obama wholesale troop withdrawal was NOT part of what President Bush had negotiated with the Iraq government. Bush had worked out an agreement with Iraq where we would leave a minimal force behind and would maintain control of our primary airbase within Iraq. This was key to US foreign policy because it gave us a permanent Mid-East airbase outside of Saudi Arabia, and it secured victory by ensuring a stable and effective transition to Iraqi military control. It also demonstrated American follow-through, staying power, and dedication which was key, because lack of this since the 70s is what caused all this problem to begin with.
Obama screwed all of that up. Bigtime. Instead of working with the Iraqis, he abandoned them. It left them with no choice but to sever relationship with us since they knew that America had once again given up, just like they did in Lebanon, Somalia, Kuwait, etc. Obama did exactly what Bush warned against - announcing a withdrawal date. Once that date was broadcast to the world, ISIS knew who to recruit, where to go, and when. Within 2½ years, Iraq's second largest city would fall to ISIS.
But Obama's abandonment of freedom for those seeking it had far worse repercussions. Young people in Libya, Egypt, Iran, and Syria were eager to see the Iraq experiment replayed in their own nations. Iran - a nation where nearly half its population under the age of 25 - was ripe for revolution. Yet instead of supporting those efforts, Obama's CIA betrayed the very people on the ground who could make it happen. Dozens of our assets were rounded up by the Iranian government and executed. Sparks of revolution in Syria was similarly squelched. Finally after Egypt bursts on the scene, Obama completely sabotages it by pushing Mubarek out of office and letting the Muslim Brotherhood take over. And Libya? Yet another Obama failure.
Obama tried to get authorization to act "legally"; his mistake was in believing others would behave with honor.
Obama already had that authorization. It was enabled him to give out the 'red line' threat to begin with. It was his lack of honor that did nothing while Assad gassed his people. Obama was simply in over his head. He lack the ability to successfully organize asbestos removal from a Chicago housing project, much less a response to a Middle East tyrant. To simplify, Obama couldn't lead ants to a picnic.
Incidentally, my friends who died in Egypt and Iran and Syria did not blame Obama. They blamed the West writ large. And history will prove them right. And now we are abandoning the Kurds again. Not to mention the Christians we've already refused to allow refuge in the US. We have learned nothing, and World War II was nothing more than a huge waste.
I could not agree more. And the ONLY President in the last 90 years who stood by his commitment was George W. Bush. He didn't withdraw from Somalia after 18 soldiers were beaten to death because they ran out of ammo. He didn't withdraw from Lebanon after 248 soldiers were blown up because the gate guard was not allowed to have his weapon loaded. He didn't renege on an agreement to come to South Vietnam's aid if North Vietnam violated the cease fire agreement. Bush didn't sell out Poland after WWII. Bush didn't let Cuba off the hook when a Soviet combat brigade was discovered in their country.
Bush didn't let Iraq violate the cease fire agreement from the first Gulf War again and again and again. Instead, he held them to it. He put the entire world on notice that America's word means something. That America will stand for Freedom, and that they will not cower when faced with difficult political situations. Throughout his Presidency, Bush stood firm. He finished the First Gulf War which his father had started, and he followed it through to the end. It took years to show the Iraqis and the rest of the world that he would not capitulate. And once the surge went into effect, he finally won the Sunnis over.
America's foreign policy has sucked for a long time because we can't follow through on anything. But George W. Bush was the exception. And it galls me to no end to see Trump supporters here bashing him and his war.
As for your friends, my heart goes out to you and to them. I am sorry for their loss, just as I mourn for the tens of thousands who ended up in mass graves under Saddam. We as a nation are spoiled, and have no understanding of how others in the world live (and die).
And we've given the Russians just the opening they sought.
Yep. Correct. Heck, we couldn't even stand by the Ukraine (or Lebanon for that matter), much less a small faction of rebels in Syria.
