Iraq and ISIS Discussion

While I'm a little young, my first thoughts is this sounds very reminiscent of Vietnam. Corrupt government that we could never win with. Eventually you say enough is enough and when you leave the bad guys take over because the corrupt government is still corrupt an incompetent.

Afghanistan's will follow suit sooner than later. Karzai better get that money sacked away in a safe location along with many exit plans because his ass is next.

The lesson that should've never been forgotten. A legitimate and non-corrupt local government is mandatory for nation building. Without that partner your wasting your time.
 
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I'm curious as to what will happen to the supply of oil if the islamists take over the country.

They will want to be paid after they acquire the power just like everyone else who acquired a lot of power, religion or no religion.

What happens to all the foreign companies invested in the oil business in Iraq? Well they will lose and should have seen it coming a long time ago.

Long term oil production will probably suffer after they nationalize the oil industry because of mismanagement. At their heart they are fighters not managers.
 
They will want to be paid after they acquire the power just like everyone else who acquired a lot of power, religion or no religion.

What happens to all the foreign companies invested in the oil business in Iraq? Well they will lose and should have seen it coming a long time ago.

Long term oil production will probably suffer after they nationalize the oil industry because of mismanagement. At their heart they are fighters not managers.
Funny thing, they essentially froze US Companies out of the bidding, so we don't lose too much (sucks to be China).
So the new story is they asked for airstrikes.

We should have just sent an ICBM with a cc: to their president saying "we figured you were underestimating the severity of your situation"

They have an Air Force, deal with it.

LOL.
 
I should care about Iraq, but it is time for them to reap it.

Knowing that the Afghans in charge of my 'hood lived through the 92-96 "Internal Contingency Operation" and they can see how Iraq is winding up, I wonder how many are regreting the whole "Americans out by 2016" argument?

They can decry night raids and airstrikes, but no one bothered to consider they helped keep the barbarians at bay. We've made plenty of mistakes, but in the end we kept this sewer from backing up...for a time at least.

Bagram sits on the Shomali Plain. When I first arrived in '04, it was dark. Bleak. Barren. Night time revealed only a handful of lights outside the base and day time was a dust bowl. Now it is green and well lit. A few dozen vehicles are replaced by hundreds. Sure, we've made mistakes and I think this will go down as an L on the scoreboard, but a misguided and flawed American presence is better for the average Afghan than the TB's holy mandate. I doubt Iraq was any different.

Reap it, Iraq. America u-Akbar.
 
Too late.

I give the GOI about 90 days.

I imagine the Kurds will maintain their control in the north. Only issue could possibly be ISIS gaining power over Iraq and the Turks siding with ISIS to attack the Kurds on all fronts.

The Sunni and Shia will kill each other off for sure.

I think its high time that some maps get re-drawn and they divide that region up by tribe. I think that's the only way it will stop the fight for power and influence.

My $.02
 
Back in the QC era, I was for the Arab Spring primarily as they deserved a chance to sort it out for themselves having been ruled by others for about 300 years. So for me the Clinton view is similar, they deserve a chance. It didn't quite work out too well in certain areas. So they have no-one now to blame but themselves, win, lose or draw. They cannot accusingly point the finger at any other foreign power for "meddling."
 
Back in the QC era, I was for the Arab Spring primarily as they deserved a chance to sort it out for themselves having been ruled by others for about 300 years. So for me the Clinton view is similar, they deserve a chance. It didn't quite work out too well in certain areas. So they have no-one now to blame but themselves, win, lose or draw. They cannot accusingly point the finger at any other foreign power for "meddling."

True, but that won't stop them.
 
"The U.S. just sat there and watched us fight on the Square for two years while the Muslim Brotherhood took over!"

FoxNews: U.S. does nothing to aid Egypt in burgeoning political crisis, terrorist group rises to power

In all seriousness, I hope El-Sisi can sort the place out. Egypt has some serious issues.
 
Though most/many (?) of you weren't around then. This was a bad time for the military. In the evacuation of the Phonm Phen the Marine Amtrac Bn Cdr was fragged (had a friend in the Bn) and we lost Marines to rocket fire at Ton Son Nut. We accepted thousands of Vietnamese refugees who fled the communists....

I just don't seeing using being that generous with Iraqi's or Afghanis; even those that worked for us or the Christians. Though a lot of the Christians have bailed already from Iraq already...

URGENT – U.S. Embassy prepares evacuation plans
http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/urgent-u-s-embassy-prepares-evacuation-plans/

The potential blood letting will make Ghengis Kahn look like a piker....
 
I'm wondering if things are worse than anyone's letting on? "We're standing by Iraq even as we pull our advisors and trainers out of the country. But we're totally with you, shoulder to shoulder."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/12/americans-being-evacuated-from-iraqi-air-base/

A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that Americans were being evacuated from a base in Balad, which had been one of the largest training missions in Iraq.
The three planeloads of Americans are mostly contractors and civilians. The State Department said Thursday that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is operating as usual.

"We need places to land, we need safe and secure airfields," one source said, noting that the militants are "seizing airfields and they have surface-to-air missiles, which very clearly threatens our pilots and planes if we do go into evacuation mode."
Sources said "all western diplomats in Iraq are in trouble," and American allies are scrambling to put together an evacuation plan. Military officials said there are "not a lot of good options."
 
Contractors in Iraq should have known this was possible.

That said, yeah, we have to rescue them, and the State NAGs too (though a few less State Department employees may not be that bad).
 
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