SMRs and AMRs

Sunday, June 15, 2014

A Shared Blame for Iraq

Obama, McCain, Maliki... Oh my!

Nickolas Kristof, NYT
JUNE 13, 2014

THE debacle in Iraq isn’t President Obama’s fault. It’s not the Republicans’ fault. Both bear some responsibility, but, overwhelmingly, it’s the fault of the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.

Some on the left suggest that President George W. Bush is at fault because he invaded Iraq in the first place. Senator John McCain argues that the White House bears such responsibility that President Obama should replace his national security team.

Let’s remember that Iraq isn’t a political prop. It’s a country whose 33 million people are on the edge of a precipice. Iraq is driven primarily by its own dynamic, and unfortunately, there are more problems in international relations than there are solutions.

The debate about who lost Iraq is an echo of the equally foolish debate in the mid-20th century about “who lost China.” China wasn’t ours to lose then, and Iraq isn’t ours to lose today.

(More here.)

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