Withdrawing from Iraq was ordained from back in the W era. You can argue that Obama/Hillary SHOULD have renegotiated the terms. But, they didn’t. I doubt President Romney would’ve been able to either.
Next week, no one will remember this. I hope it won’t lead to another American quagmire.
You are simply wrong. The US was occupying Iraq. Negotiations certainly would have occurred but, ultimately the US would have been in position to do what it wanted in Iraq. We could have left 100,000 troops. Instead we left none. Stupid!!!!
Here’s the real issue. No one felt sorry for Japan or Germany after WW II. The west sat on both of those countries for over 25 years after the war until they figured out how to play nice with each other and the rest of the world. Today, they are both strong vibrant democracies....and their cultures are in tact.
This was the perfect model for Iraq. But, today’s generation doesn’t have the courage of their conviction, doesn’t trust their instincts about ‘right and wrong’, doesn’t believe in human rights when push comes to shove and isn’t willing to fight for women’s rights either. Instead you painted a picture (and ultimately convinced most voters) the US was an evil force oppressing Iraq.
Congratulations!!! You got your way.
But, what did you get for your rhetoric? ISIS!! Now, that group truly is an evil force occupying Iraq. Good job, guys!! Now that you’ve also surrendered to Iran, you can surrender to ISIS to complete the trifecta.
You guys are Brilliant!!! I need a drink.
Total Nonsense. Under the Status of Forces agreement we were going to have basing rights in Iraq and leave training/support groups, mostly SOF, to train the Iraqs. O, despite all the advice to the contrary from Intelligence/Military sources, pulled all forces out of Iraq. He did it so he could claim "I ended Bush's war" in 2012. So you cannot have it both ways.0 cannot claim "he ended Bush's war" then refuse to Hold 0 accountable for withdrawing our forces
The SOF agreement left open leaving US troops in place in Iraq. 0 withdrew them and claimed credit for withdrawing them from Iraq.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.%E2%80%93Iraq_Status_of_Forces_Agreement
Negotiations between the U.S. and Iraq for a new SOFA began in fall 2010. There were late-night meetings at the fortified compound of then Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, and in video conferences between Baghdad and Washington. In June 2011, diplomats and Iraqi officials said that President Obama had told Prime Minister Maliki that he was prepared to leave up to 10,000 soldiers to continue training and equipping the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). Mr. Maliki agreed, but said he needed time to line up political allies. Eventually, he gained authorization to continue talks with the U.S. on keeping troops in Iraq.[69]
In August 2011, after debates between the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House, the U.S. settled on the 3,000 to 5,000 troop number. An American official said intelligence assessments stated that Iraq was not at great risk of slipping into chaos in the absence of American forces, which was a factor in the decision.[69]
In October 2011, American officials pressed Iraqi leadership to meet again at President Talabani’s compound to discuss the issue. This time the U.S. asked Iraq to take a stand on the question of immunity for troops, hoping to remove what had always been the biggest challenge. However, they misread Iraqi politics and the Iraqi public. Having watched the Arab Spring sweep across the region and still haunted by the traumas of this and previous wars, the Iraqis were unwilling to accept anything that infringed on their sovereignty.[69]