Iran, unfortunately gained a strong foothold during the effort to oust ISIS in Iraq. They are largely in control in Baghdad.
The 2 tribes of Kurds were our allies, but lately they have partnered with Iran on some level. Not a good thing.
Syria is not like Iraq on this level. Nor are they tribal and dominated by a few families.
It is as Mattis said, an incredibly complex region.
“Iran, unfortunately gained a strong foothold during the effort to oust ISIS in Iraq.”
That is one of Iran’s merely latest efforts. They - the Mullahs of Tehran - had been gaining ground among the Shia of Iraq, politically, from the time GHWBush decided to leave the Shia or Iraq “occupied” by Saddam Hussein when GHWBush had the chance to eliminate him, and didn’t. Iran then had another 12 years to build it underground organizations and support for special Iraqi Shia mullahs who would become the heads of militias once and whenever there was an opportunity to get rid of Saddam. The multi-pronged “civil war” that followed the U.S. invasion in 2003 was MOSTLY NOT the people of Iraq against the U.S. We were merely in the way of the Iran sponsored Shia militias against Saddam’s minions, Al Queda types, and Sunni militias supported by the Saudis and the Gulf States. They were all fighting against each other and we were fighting all of them in an attempt to end their fighting with none of them the winner. The thing that got me the most was that we KNEW Iran’s involvement and we did not so much about it. Then when Obama pulled out, it was one final gift to the Mullahs of Iran - the U.S. would not keep a presence to try to have some influence on the political class of Iraq.