Obama Ponders as Iran Sends Troops to Iraq

President Barack Obama answers questions on violence in Iraq
during his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As the most brutal jihadist group in the world storms Iraq's Sunni north threatening to crucify rule breakers Obama takes stock of the situation as Iran reportedly mobilises its forces into the country

Barack Obama was under mounting pressure to send military help to Iraq as Iranian forces were reported to have joined Baghdad’s government to quell an al-Qaeda-inspired uprising.

A defensive president, accused by Republicans of squandering the security gains won in Iraq by US forces, insisted that he was looking at “all the options” to prevent the country unravelling.

But even as he spoke, Iran seemed poised to steal the initiative by sending troops to fight what its president, Hassan Rouhani, described as the “terrorist group that is acting savagely” in Iraq.

Reports emerged that two battalions of Iran’s feared Revolutionary Guards were already in the country, where the government’s forces have shown little stomach for combat. Iran’s willingness to put troops on the front line will give it a strategic advantage in Iraq over America, which at most would offer only air strikes. The US State Department last night ruled out “boots on the ground”.

The developments of the past 72 hours raises the prospect of two bitter enemies – Iran and America – fighting the same foe, albeit for different goals. » | Colin Freeman | Thursday, June 12, 2014


My comment:

Bush and Blair should have left Saddam Hussein where he was. Saddam was a man who understood how to keep a modicum of order in Iraq. He understood his people, his country. Bush and Blair did not. They were naïve fools. They ventured forth where angels would have feared to tread.

As a result of Bush and Blair's folly, we now have this situation to deal with. How many more young people––US soldiers and British soldiers––will have to lose their lives in this cesspit?

Bringing democracy to Iraq was never on the cards. Had Bush and Blair understood the nature of the Middle East and the nature of Islam, they would never have tried to impose it upon those benighted people.

Obama, bringing home the US troops prematurely, has made matters ten times worse. Obama is a fool of a man. He dresses well and talks a good line, but the end product is just the same: He's totally inept at best, and sinister at worst. The man should be impeached for his total and utter mishandling of the situation. The sooner Americans rid themselves of this fool, the better it will be for America, and the better it will be for the West too. – © Mark

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