[piasa]

Some of them had fought against al-Qaeda after changing sides and aligning with the American-backed Awakening movement during the surge of troops in 2007. When U.S. troops withdrew and the Iraqi government abandoned the Awakening fighters, the Islamic State was the only surviving option for those who felt betrayed ...

Love how the paragraph is framed to imply US troops were withdrawn in 2007...

[Sherman Logan]

Love how the paragraph is framed to imply US troops were withdrawn in 2007...

They were, in the context meant. US troops remained in the country, but we abandoned those who had fought alongside us in the Awakening to the not-so-tender mercies of their sectarian rivals.

The alternative, of course, would have been to set up Iraq as a de facto colony and impose our own ideals of religious freedom and non-discrimination on all parties.

There was then and is now effectively zero support in America for such a policy. Don't support it myself.

But let's not kid ourselves that we didn't abandon those who fought with us in Anbar, as we abandoned the Kurds, the Montagnards, the men of the Bay of Pigs, and many others over the last 70 years.

People who believe the US won't abandon them if it becomes convenient are idiots. Sadly, that applies to all administrations, not just Obama's.

[driftdiver]

I didn’t see Iran mentioned anywhere.

Summary- Bush’s fault.