Osler's Razor

I completely agree. As a Veteran who served in Iraq twice, the rapid deterioration of the government and its U.S. trained military is painful to watch, given the amount of money, time, and blood that was given by so many to stabilize the Iraqi government. It's extremely upsetting to see and hear the reports about ISIS's march towards Baghdad , and even more so confusing, when I try to reconcile the present with the question of what was our (and my) purpose in Iraq. There are Soldiers who spent 2-4 years of their life overseas in Iraq, some giving the ultimate price and the answer that is "duty," is not enough to satisfy the present personal restlessness.

Roger A. Maldonado
 

I hesitated before I commented because I didn't want to post my flat agreement with the potential for disrespect floating in the air towards our soldiers, and our military families who have lost loved ones over the last decade+, so I appreciate even more Roger's perspective, and I know he is not the only veteran that shares those feelings. I'm grateful for his comment, it gave me a permission of sorts to say that I think in this instance it's time to just stay home and let the Middle East take care of itself. We are stretched to the limit, our economy barely hanging on, public apathy and political discord pushing new heights. We cannot go back into this war.
 

We should suck it up and do the best thing for Iraq. We should not take sides nor hand out weapons. We know now what didn't work and seldom does.
We used to say "give peace a chance". It isn't as easy when leaders continue to give guns to their youth and throw them at their problems. Again, Martin Luther King Jr had it right about the importance of breaking the cycle of violence. That sometimes means making difficult policy decisions for the long term good of all parties. We should only work to to stabilize the region. Military action is not the answer. Stay out.
 

I was opposed to the invasion in 2002 and 2003, even though I do support our military men and women, and especially the veterans who served in the violent places of this world. I think we gave the Shia majority in Iraq an opportunity to get it right and to be at peace with their Sunni brothers, and they have refused, resulting in the Iraqi Sunnis either joining or not resisting ISIS. They have brought this on themselves and they need to resolve it, without U.S. assistance. Maliki refused a status of forces agreement that would have left trainers and advisers there. Now we have a similar situation in Afghanistan where the government is resisting a transition agreement. Perhaps the Afghan govt will learn a lesson from Iraq.
 

The Afghanis will learn nothing from this. I will guarantee that. The tribal hatred and striving will never stop there.
 

I think it's a mess. I just finished a bio of Lawrence of Arabia. I've mentioned before a book called "Paris 1919" about the Versaille conference. A lot of this mess was created there, and Lawrence, along with Winston Churchill and others forsaw some of these conflicts. It would be nice to compare the Sunni/Shi'ite wars to the Catholic/Protestant wars of Europe that lasted from the 1500's to the late 1700's (or the 1990's in the case of Ireland), but these people have a lot more firepower and the implications for the rest of the world are a little daunting. Sadly, I think it is more like Vietnam and Cambodia. We walked away, a lot of people died and eventually there was stability. Much as we regret mass killings like what happened in India/Pakistan in the 40's (and over and over again since then), Cambodia in the 70's and Rwanda in the 90's, that apparently is what is going to happen in the Middle East until the Shi'ites and the Sunnis kill enough of each other, relocate enought people to other sides of walls, exhaust themselves and their resouces and go back to just seething with hatred. At some point, Iran and Saudi Arabia may go to war. Let's just hope that no one with access to nuclear weapons completely loses sight of reality. But that may be what it takes - a "nuclear error" to get people to take a step back and stop the killing. I hope not, but I would not be surprised. The potential for "collateral damage" is super troubling.
 

IPLawGuy spelled it out just right. A personal note would be that I just don’t understand why is it still not clear (to those in a position of making crucial decisions) that American brand democracy is most definitely not the one-size-fits-all solution to every flavor dictatorship out there. It is a sad fact but often times the only thing holding back some countries from pure anarchy is the rule of totalitarian regimes and American militarism is not the answer for keeping them in check. Anyway, I join those who say: stay out!