We may soon be at war with Iran. Wait, in this day and age of endless conflicts without so much as a decent declaration, are we not already at war with Iran?
Clearly, the drone-strike killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, described by The New York Times as “the architect of nearly every significant operation by Iranian intelligence and military forces over the past two decades,” was an act of war. The Trump Administration predicated the U.S. assault on previous Iranian acts of war — including involvement in the recent storming of parts of the sprawling 104-acre U.S. embassy in Baghdad and, moreover, deadly attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq.
Iran vows revenge. I want to bring U.S. troops home from the Middle East. And so did President Obama and so does President Trump, no? But several thousand more U.S. soldiers are now headed to the region.
The world’s policemen.
But, then, miraculously, a possible way out. News reports announced that Iraq’s legislative body, the Council of Representatives, would take up a resolution on expelling U.S. troops — er, well, asking U.S. troops to leave.
Please, Iraqi legislators, please: don’t throw us in that briar patch!
The vote was held. The measure asking all foreign troops to leave … passed.
It is an understandable request, one that we can only presume the U.S. will respect … once the legislation is signed.
Oops! The prime minister has resigned; there’s no one to sign it.
Plus, the resolution is “non-binding.”
Training the Iraqi army has been difficult, but how proud our nation-builders must be to see Iraqi politicians show a professional understanding of political sleight-of-hand.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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2 replies on “Bye-Bye Iraq?”
When the Iraqis first broached the idea of a resolution requiring all foreign troops to leave Iraq, my only thought was: Go ahead. Make my day!!!!!!
Now that they have opened this can of worms, there may be no going back. Given the Iraqi government’s failure to prevent militias from entering the Green Zone and attacking our embassy, any exit of US troops from Iraq should also mean the closure of our embassy and whatever consulates we have in Iraq. The Iraqi military and police stood down and let militias attack a supposed ‘ally’. It’s time to leave for good. Put simply, the Iraqi government (and people) cannot and should not be trusted.
Trump still wants to get us out but he never said that America should just turn the other cheek and walk away, when attacked. That is a position he has clearly held, from thew beginning.