Posted on 05/01/2016 9:18:49 PM PDT by Trump20162020
It was only a matter of time before ordinary Iraqis stormed the walled-in palaces of their corrupt politicians.
hile the United States has been fixated on the Islamic State and the liberation of Mosul, the attention of ordinary Iraqis has been on the political unraveling of their own country. This culminated on Saturday when hundreds of protesters breached the U.S.-installed “Green Zone” at the heart of Baghdad for the first time and stormed the Iraqi parliament while Iraqi security forces stood back and watched. The demonstrators, supporters of radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, toppled blast walls, sat in the vacated seats of the parliamentarians who had fled and shouted out demands for the government to be replaced. A state of emergency was declared.
This incident should be a jarring alarm bell to Washington, which can no longer ignore the disintegration of the post-Saddam system it put in place 13 years ago. The sad reality is that Iraq has become ungovernable, more a state of militias than a state of institutions. As long as that state of affairs continues, even a weakened Islamic State, which has been losing territory and support, will find a home in Iraq, drawing on Sunni fears of corruption and incompetence by the Shia-dominated government.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
How symbolic of 0dunga to nudge the destruction of the ‘American built’ Green Zone before he (hopefully) leaves office. And the Arab Spring in Egypt and Benghazi anti-video protest were organic too yeah right!
Arabs.
Useless.
That’s what the Turks say as well.
The Turks are pretty useless also - except for aiding ISIS.
The beginnings of a Shia Muslim spring?
America’s elite should be worried - they only have the beltway as a fortress.
I will never understand why we did not take Sadr out in 04.
Another failed green endeavor.
Sounds like DC and the corrupt politicians.
I don’t know about the movie, but; I watched a military that was ill trained cross into Iraq. Hell, these guys on the ground did not know how to call in or direct ARTY or TAC AIR, they let bus loads of bad guys get behind them, and; that stupid retired Gen that Bush made boss turned 500K troops loose with AK’s over 50 bucks back pay. I never saw such a screw up. Admiral McRaven wrote some article that stuck up for a friend, another admiral. He said zip about fags and lesbians plus many things that are lowering combat effectiveness. Hell, these guys have mandatory white privilege classes. What a sick military.
The best we can hope for is to help the Kurds. They seem to be the only level headed ones in the entire area. I can't see ever getting involved in that area again accept to stop Iranian Imperialism in the area. Let the rest of the warlords fight it out until they can establish a viable government. Support the factions trying to mind their own business from the rest of the jerks.
Politico writes the piece implying there is some better way. But the world is filled to the Brim with corrupt politicians so how is this different from any other place on earth save for the fact that in the middle east they will blow each other up at the drop of a hat.
There are a lot of questions like that from the Bush years, and not just regarding Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement continues to unravel.
But it (Sykes-Picot) was fun while it lasted.
I agree.
Iraq needs to be divided into three parts: Kurdistan and the two factions if Islam.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.