New developments in Obama’s handover of Iraq to Iran…
We interrupt President Obama’s celebration of keeping a campaign promise to bring you news from Iraq, where a political crisis has been unfolding since just hours after Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta departed on Thursday. The ethno-sectarian settlement achieved at such cost to Iraqis and Americans is unraveling rapidly. The principal Sunni bloc has withdrawn its members from the Iraqi Parliament and is threatening to withdraw from the government altogether within two weeks unless Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki adheres to the written commitments he made during the negotiations to form a government.
Maliki prompted their action by arresting and torturing the bodyguards of Sunni vice president Tariq al Hashemi. Multiple unconfirmed reports indicate that on Thursday night, Maliki moved elements of the Baghdad Brigade, commanded by his son, to surround the residences of Sunni political figures, including Hashemi. In retaliation for the Sunni parliamentarians’ walkout, Maliki has demanded a no-confidence vote for Sunni deputy prime minister Salah Mutlaq, and indicated his intent to bring charges against Hashemi and others for conspiring to assassinate him.
[…]
Above all, however, now is the time to show that this administration actually cares about what happens in Iraq. It is not enough for the vice president to phone it in. The secretary of state should go to Baghdad, not to celebrate our withdrawal, but to play an active role in mediating the aftermath. Obama should invite Maliki and his Sunni and Kurdish counterparts to a summit somewhere in the West to hash this out. If not, we will no doubt be treated to yet another series of visits by Iraqi leaders to Tehran as the Iranians again demonstrate their willingness to engage where Americans withdraw.
If things get out of hand, the Turks will take care of business. Ask the Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks. I suspect they would love to lynch some Shiites and kill some more innocent Kurds. Iranians might think twice about tweeking Turkey’s nose.
Oops! Forgot to comment on Obama. What an A hole. The financial and human cost to maintain the situation is almost nothing but he cuts and runs.
PNAC promised a generation of conflict in the ME to secure Iraq and the new gen of chicken hawks in BamBam’s regime intend to deliver. They are intentionally bolixing up ME relations and policy to guarantee the nex administration will have to use military intervention to un-FUBAR things.
Man this crap just goes on and on. Let the world solve its own problems , worry about the debt and recession at home.
How about we let this miserable country return to its 16th century roots, and slaughter each other due to a religious rift from the 8th century. And for all the lives ruined and wasted by 8 years of nation building, please, we all knew this was coming. The instant we left Iraq, the bell sounds and the parties come out fighting. The best news, between Canada tar sands, shale oil and coal to gas technology, we are no longer obligated to care any more about this country than we care about the Central Africa Republic.
Let the message be heard – no more nation building. No more US blood and money to pay for democracy for 16th century feudal kingdoms…
it just keeps getting better…
“pay the jizya or get the sword”
they’ll keep it up as long as they have women and children to hide behind but if they ever venture into open battle in the open…scratch one islamic army…posthaste.
hopefully this time the powers that be will have enough sense to say “if you’re being fired on from a mosque, let them build a new one”…or at least the troops being fired at have enough experience to ignore the ‘rules of engagement’ and end the farce in a week instead of 8 years.
http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/3238.htm
Following are excerpts from an address by Jordanian Sheik Nader Tamimi, Mufti of the Palestine Liberation Army, which was posted on the Internet on December 15, 2011:
Nader Tamimi: In the Levant, we are involved in a fierce battle, and we will bring about a change in Syria and in the Levant in its entirety. The infidels divided the Levant into four states, and we will reunite them into a single state. The Safavid enterprise that led to Iran occupying Iraq, along with the Americans and the Zionists, will end in the garbage bin of history. The Caliphate in the path of the Prophet will return.
[…]
We await the caliph who will address the leaders of the US and Europe and say: From the Emir of the Believers from Jerusalem…
Crowd: Allah Akbar.
Nader Tamimi: to the rulers of the West, this is the religion of Allah. Either you pay the jizya poll tax, or else you will bring the sword to your necks…
Crowd: Allah Akbar.
Best plan going forward. Ban all Moslem Immigration and Refugees. And sell as many guns, knives etc and dynamite as possible to all Moslem nations at discount. Let them take themselves back to the age of Mohammed and his camel…
And where oh where is our pretty vacant president? Amazingly he did not leave for Hawaii this morning, but I think that had more to do with North Korea and not Iraq.
The transition to Muslim reality was as smooth as silk wasn’t it? Torture, assassination, arrest, and threats seamlessly take over.
A really important thing America missed and still hasn’t quite picked up on is the idea of “know your enemy”. It often and always leads to conclusions like this when your own agenda and image of yourself blinds you to the realities of the world. Of course self censoring any such information about the enemy out of respect for your enemy allies is stupid squared. So what can you do but lose?
This is no surprise; the job should have been finished regardless of what the lame stream media and the Eunich Nations had to say about it. And, this time it won’t be like Vietnam where the fall of Saigon’s only major affect to us was the refugees coming in the boatloads to North America. Not only will Iraq and Afgasistan revert back but they’ll be back on our doorsteps sooner rather than later.
Unlike Vietnam, where the North and the Viet Cong just wanted us out, the Taliban and Al Queda kicked us on our own doorstep.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s there were no attacks in Paris or New York by the Viet Cong protesting French colonialisation, etc.
The Islamic groups in question simply do not like us. Right or wrong, in their mind, we are an evil immoral blight that must be eliminated.
While we were over there we at least had them pinned down in their back yard. Now they can move about and properly plan their next move unimpeded.
It is my hope that I’m proven wrong.
8 years,thousands of American lives lost and Billions of dollars wasted on a 3rd world septic tank of a country that is intent on self destruction.From now on lets just leave them alone to murder each other,the world will be better off when they are all dead and gone.
Obama promised the radical left he would hand Iraq back to the terrorists, and to stand aside as Iran built the bomb.
He is keeping those promises.
Maybe the Iraq democracy has taken its behavioral MO from that of the US Administration and Congress (deceit and obfuscation).
In any event, the Islamic wastelands will not be otherwise until you take the Islam out of the wastelands. Good luck with that!
With the imminent unravelling of the Western economies from over-indebted quasi-socialist multi-culti leviathan states, the West(US) has more than enough on its plate. Keeping the Islam out of the West is a bonus challenge.
Gee, sectarian problems? In Islam? How UNEXPECTED…
SO while we play the game of what if….should the US have left after Saddam was captured? Should the US have stayed to ensure a proper democracy or did they leave at the best available (there may be no “good” in this) time.
Personally, I think the US is clearing its troops out of the region early so they arent vulnerable to an Iranian wave/bombing/whatever.
Its a mess, was a mess and will remain a mess. Iraq may well sever itself into 3 parts. WHich of course will NOT be bloodless exercise.
History will record that it was Obama who lost Iraq and Egypt.
Somebody should have warned Obama to not let the door hit him as he was leaving.
Perhaps it’s all for the best….
Turkey has aspires to revive the Ottoman Empire with out the resources(manpower).
Iran seeks to recreate a Persian Empire with out the resources(manpower).
The Arabs aspire to recreate the Caliphate.
The Turks and Iranians demographics are like Russia’s a thing of the past. The arabs have an exploding population without the social structure needed to dominate in the modern world. Illiteracy, tribalism and no middle class doom them despite the oil wealth.
If the Turks can somehow harness the arab masses against Iran….
The Kurds…are once again caught in the middle……
A re-hashing of the Iran-Iraq war is what we need right now…
Keating Willcox >
Well said. We owe these country’s nothing. We also don’t need to trade, send aid, rebuild, or take in countless “refugees” at every drop of the hat.
Keep our troops at home, unless it’s unavoidable to drop a nuke on a blatant aggressor to our nations, which would only happen once. Close the borders to the welfare and healthcare thieves and insure that we don’t continue to fill our cities and streets with third world criminals and terrorists.
We would do very well as a nation, and actually have something to leave our decedents, as it was left for us.
“…Obama should invite Maliki and his Sunni and Kurdish counterparts to a summit somewhere in the West to hash this out.”
Heck, why not make it the Whitehouse.
You know, if a beer with ‘bama can smooth out the differences between a cop and an arrested homeowner, imagine what could be achieved with a few shots of presidential whisky and free Buck knives with this lot.
desert wars are tank wars and of course ‘bama conveniently left behind 140 M1A1’s for every potential enemy to study…and use…and handed iran one of their most sophisticated drones.just to make the upcoming war between Israel and everyone else with a gun and a koran ‘fair’
Among the most predictable actions of Obama was his goal of achieving defeat in Iraq. Then in his eye’s no one could deny that he is smarter than George Bush.
Let’s hope he is re-elected that way California will revert to Mexico and we can be done with the place.
Pity he can only serve two terms. Given a third term he could lead the US back to being a colony of Britain.
So what are you suggesting Kate? Should America stay there forever? How about these people just figure it out for themselves instead of America endlessly pouring money into warding off a hypothetical Tom Clancy scenario.
Obama wants the Sharia ridden monsters to win.
It makes his day.
>>So what are you suggesting Kate? Should America stay there forever?
There are a ton of options between 9 years and forever…
Pffffft, an unfortunate waste of time, energy, dollars, and unfortunately lives.
Since the beginning of time, the Middle East has been an ungovernable morass, EXCEPT, by strongmen. To somehow believe that we can instill democracy, rights, etc in this cesspool is and has been beyond belief. Brought to you solely by the elite and social equity crowd.
We must value and preserve Western Evolved culture and values, and recognize that others wish other governance models, we don’t necessarily agree, but, do as you please, it’s your choice.
Arab Spring??, dream on, it’s about to unravel, prepare for more chaos, prepare for fundamentals. Just like socialism, someone else is to blame, and they have to pay. It takes time for change, it’s an evolution, not an awakening.
Until the general population evolves and progresses, evolves change, no amount of money, sacrifice by others, or “pressure” will change the natural order. Until it evolves itself, and progresses, it’s same old, same old.
The UN is a cesspit, consuming money, everyone, no matter how small, how repressive, backward, insignificant, is involved and allowed to vote. underlying it all, today it a “make the rich pay”, “we are entitled”, and, “they are to blame” mindset versus it’s original and primary purpose which was to provide a neutral ground for “influential” powers to negotiate peaceful settlements to conflict issues.
Hmmmm, US and others does not pay….UN dissappears. No one else pays, they just take…..socialism and entitlement 2011. Grab your free cash from room 101.
Middle East….unfortunately….but necessarily….will and must determine it’s own future. Israel…..will and must be supported and defended, do as you please crazies…., but tread not on those whose values we DO share and respect.
Surprised it took this long. The sunni, shiite and kurds have always hated each other. Iran is Shiite and about 90% of Iraq is too. The Kurds and Turks have also hated each other for decades. Al Queda was never in Iraq while Sadam was in charge but are a major influence now.The Sunni were Sadams chosen people and held most of the influential government positions and now it’s payback time for the Shiites. What a can of worms we leave behind, but hey….at least we brought them Democracy.
I personaly think the Americans should just rule it directly through a Governor General for a couple of generations or so .. say, 200 years. Then they will be civilized. Currently they are at a mediaeval stage of development, if they’re lucky.
Scar at December 19, 2011 10:40 AM
I actually worked with a guy in Montreal, and I said to him one day: “You remind me of an Assyrian statue”. He replied, “well, yes, I am Assyrian”. I told him I thought they had all died out 2500 years ago. He informed me that there are more Assyrians alive today, than at any time in the past.
Mind you, they have been horribly persecuted by the muslems as they are Christian. Check out the http://www.aina.org . I was utterly gob-smacked .. but pleasently surprised. History lives! The middle east is more complex than the muslim appologists would have us believe.
“we will no doubt be treated to yet another series of visits by Iraqi leaders to Tehran as the Iranians again demonstrate their willingness to engage where Americans withdraw.”
All part of Barry’s plan….all part of the plan.
There will be more to come and it will be clearer in about 5 years. Unless, of course, conservatives win the U.S. back in next year’s election.
It’s all just show. The US moved troops out of all the cities. That doesn’t mean they’ve evacuated all the bases they built to secure the oil fields.
As to my post at 6:53 , I see the payback against the Sunni has already started.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16270186
@ North of 60
They handed control of the bases over to the Iraq army but now that the USA is gone the incentive to attack them is also gone. All the players including Iran know a cash cow when they see it. The only question is who the customer will be. Once Iran establishes enough influence, my guess would be China.