Barack Obama tileIn his own “Mission Accomplished” moment, President Obama declared a couple of years ago that he had brought a “responsible end to the war in Iraq.” As it turns out, not so much.
A destabilized Iraq ushered in the rise of ISIS, which Obama dismissively called the “junior varsity.” Now ISIS is on the rise and has recently taken the Iraqi provincial capital of Ramadi, 70 miles from Baghdad. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Sunday that Iraqi soldiers, while “vastly outnumbering” the ISIS insurgents, lacked “the will to fight.” Another E-Harmony success story for this administration. The next foreign policy decision it gets right will be its first.
What the USA really needs is someone who can keep order in Iraq: a strong leader who can keep militant Muslims in line and the oil flowing, stabilize the country, make Shiites and Sunnis get along, keep the Iranians at bay and crack the whip when needed. We did have such a man, but we hanged him a few years back.
On Obama’s watch, ISIS has captured city after city in Iraq and Syria. ISIS is seizing equipment we gave Iraqi soldiers, who then turn tail and run. Ramadi, where 80 U.S. soldiers were killed nine years ago in taking that city, is the latest failure in a war of occupation I said we never should have waged. It’s not a surprise that this government lost control of Ramadi; it cannot even control Baltimore.
Ever the administration of clever messaging, the president’s team simply called the fall of Ramadi a “setback” and said they were “not going to set their hair on fire” over it. And why should they? Their only interest in it would be if an Iraqi policeman shot a black man. Then the full focus and force of the Obama administration would be brought to bear on the situation.