Posted on 10/21/2017 2:27:56 PM PDT by george76
The U.S. military must figure out how to keep Iraq from breaking apart while also preventing neighboring Iran from turning Iraq into a proxy state..
It makes no sense for a nation to treat its enemies kindly and its allies harshly. Any nation that tries this foolish approach will see its enemies grow stronger and more dangerous, and will lose its allies when it abandons them.
...
The man most responsible for the failure of the U.S. to give adequate support to the Kurds is Brett McGurk, President Trump’s special envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS. He held the same position in the Obama administration and has been allowed to keep his job.
resident Obama replaced one of our most respected military leaders – Marine Corps Gen. John Allen – with lawyer McGurk. While serving as envoy to Iraq, McGurk has presided over the Iranian takeover of what’s left of Iraq.
Shamefully, the State and Defense Departments followed McGurk’s strategy and gave tacit approval for the Iraqi government and its Iranian allies to move against our dedicated Kurdish friends.
...
the hard-line that McGurk took against our Kurdish allies – warning them harshly against their peaceful independence referendum – had the effect of convincing the Iranian-backed militias and the political leadership in Baghdad that they had a green light to enter Kirkuk.
...
If President Trump wants to push back against Iran he should do so in the Kurdish areas of Iraq. This is where he can stop Iran from creating its highly coveted land bridge through Iraq and from eventually controlling northern Iraq as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“Enough is enough. Let the Kurds have their own state.”
Ok? They can go right ahead.
But apparently the Rambo brigade here seem to have skipped over the times we got involved in the Russian civil war, Korea, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia in their burning desire for US troops to get into another civil war scenario because of strong feelings.
Odd, given that almost all terrorist attacks on the west are by Sunnis, that they are so fixated on Iran.
Re-bumping this in light of McGurk’s overdue resignation...
opposition to McGurk from some Iraqi quarters appears to be weakening. When his nomination was first announced, the main opposition coalition declared that it would have nothing to do with him because of his alleged close ties to Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The self-described nonsectarian Iraqiya List has accused Maliki of a power grab and has hired a U.S. public-relations shop to draw attention to the deteriorating political situation since U.S troops left the country in December.
“I would like to inform you that al-Iraqiya bloc and the liberal trend will not deal with new assigned ambassador to Iraq Mr. Brett McGurk for his loyalty and bounds with the Islamic party,” the Washington representative of former Prime Minister Ayed Allawi, a leader of the coalition, wrote to lawmakers in March.——Obama’s ambassador pick brings fight over Iraq policy back to Capitol Hill, By Julian Pecquet - 06/04/12 09:00 AM EDT , https://thehill.com/policy/international/230621-obama-ambassador-pick-brings-iraq-fight-back-to-capitol-hill
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.