Posted on 10/17/2017 1:19:13 PM PDT by TBP
If President Trump wants to stop Iran from making the entire country of Iraq a subsidiary of the Revolutionary Guard, he’ll need to intervene in the burgeoning crisis in Kurdistan — and fast.
On Monday, Iraqi forces trounced Kurdish fighters and emerged victorious in a short fight for control of the oil-rich northern Iraqi town of Kirkuk.
And they couldn’t have done it without us.
When ISIS stormed Iraq in 2014, the demoralized Iraqi army collapsed, its troops deserted and fled. Baghdad was utterly humiliated. Then Kurdish fighters, known as Peshmerga, entered Kirkuk, secured the key city and kept it jihadi-free.
Problem is, the Iraqi army wasn’t alone in defeating the Kurds. Much of the fighting was done by Iraqi Shiite militias — many of which swear allegiance to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Tehran’s vanguard, even as they, too, get American arms.
On Friday, President Trump declared the IRGC a terror organization. The Treasury Department hit the group with new sanctions to confront its growing global influence.
It’s a civil war. The kurds took it one step too far.
What exactly do we do to change anything in Iraq? The headline is totally false. Obama gave Iraq to Iran.
Unless we re-invade Iraq and occupy it permanently, there’s nothing really we can do at this point. I know McCain wants that, but I don’t think the USA can stomach that right now.
If we wanted this country's foreign policy overseen by corrupt, incompetent clowns, we would have voted for Yeb Bush or Hillary Clinton.
If we sent tens of thousands back to Iraq, we would see 1000x that many marching on the mall. It would make The Moratorium days look like scout camp.
Iraq has opted not to give the Kurds full independence. They have until now allowed a fair amount of autonomy.
While I wouldn’t mind at all seeing the Kurds have their own nation, it’s really between the government of Iraq and the Kurds.
This is like Russia supporting Texas leaving the United States with the promise of military support.
It seems for one reason or another, many folks want a war that involves the U. S. in that region.
I’m looking forward to more draw downs.
Isn’t our fight. The Kurds do not deserve anything from us. The GCC will settle this fight.
Yeah. More troops! More blood! More money! More arms purchases! That’ll fix everything. For the first and only time in human history a stable ME will finally happen. /s
Iran will be no more successful in uniting the ME than any other tribe. Let them have the Iraq headache. They’ll all be fighting each other because that’s what they do. That’s all they do.
Iraq fell into Iran’s hands the minute the US invaded.
“Obama gave Iraq to Iran”
Yep, that’s been a fate accompli for over 5 years. Of course one could argue it twas Bush that gave Iraq to Iran and NOT be wrong.
It was the natural outcome of ousting Saddam. Just like ISIS.
But to suggest that Trump has or had any role in this is ludicrous.
He will now deal with Iran. Just as the Norklandia can has been kicked down the road for decades, so too has the Mullah problem.
When that problem is fixed, much of the middle east is fixed.
we should have dealt with Iran in 1979 and then in 2002 instead if Iraq. Now we pay the price and so will Iraq. We have labeled them the largest terrorist state in the world and yet, that’s not enough to deal with them.
I know McCain wants that, but I don’t think the USA can stomach that right now.
>><<
Our military is worn out and not capable of doing it again.
It would be criminal to send our troops back in. Some have more than 6 tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I couldn’t care less.
Isn’t Iraq 60% Shiite?
Is it really in US interest to meddle and diminish their say in their own country?
The Kurds aren’t.
Iran was asserting itself in Iraq the second Saddam went into hiding.
This article is lacking in details and reasons for its ominous conclusion. Is the Iraqi government completely defunct? What does the US military say? How about an expert or two supporting the author’s conclusion?
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for enough good men to do nothing.
Iran is on the march, seizing territory, assets and subjects that will make it stronger in the future. They must be stopped at some point, if Western society is to survive.
When Iran's Revolutionary Guard starts taking a hundred casualties a week, with no end in sight, maybe they will lose their enthusiasm for expanding their empire.
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