Obama to Iraq: Solve Your Problems

Gary Fouse
fousesquawk
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com




"Good news, Davy. The president is weighing all options."

The bad guys are on the march to Baghdad. In Mosul, heads are (literally) rolling as sharia law is put in place. The Iraqi troops that we trained and armed are laying down their US-supplied arms and surrendering or running. In Washington, President Obama is huddling with James Clapper, Susan Rice, John Brennan and Chuck Hagel and weighing all options. In the meantime, Obama tells the Iraqis to fix their problems.

Oh yeah. John Kerry is telling the Iraqi government to be more inclusive.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/13/militants-vow-to-march-on-baghdad-as-obama-administration-mulls-response/

To be honest, one cannot totally blame Obama for telling the Iraqis to solve their problems. We gave them the chance to create a free and democratic country, and they blew it. So now we are supposed to send troops back into that country again to fight and die for Iraqi freedom? I wouldn't blame Obama one bit if he established the Fousesquawk Doctrine. Build a wall around the Middle East. You can even call it an Apartheid Wall if you want. By all means we should offer refuge to the Iraqi Christians who are fleeing for their lives, and we can also send food and medicine to the civilians. However, I am sick and tired of the Middle East, and I don't think their freedom is worth one more American life. The only country that we should ever send boots on the ground to defend is Israel, and that day may not be far off. When you think about it, we could be sending in troops to fight in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria, Mali, the Central African Republic, and the lawless provinces of Pakistan. (Which provinces are not lawless?) Is this what we want?

Yet, on the other hand, there is nothing wrong or dishonorable about providing air power against the ISIS fighters as they proceed on the road to Baghdad. Drones, highway of death, or daisy cutters, it doesn't matter. These are bad guys, and we will eventually have to face them again. When and where? How about World War III? Laugh if you want, but this is what we are bequeathing our children.

In one respect, the bad guys are doing a pretty good job of killing themselves-witness Syria. Even Iran is weighting the option of sending in the Revolutionary Guards to assist the (Shia) Iraqi government against the Sunni rebels. Imagine if both Iran and the US send in troops to fight on the side of the Iraqi government. That is just how crazy this world has become especially in the Middle East.

When and if Iraq falls, there will be plenty of time to assess blame. That will include once again debating the decision by President Bush to invade and topple Saddam Hussein from power. That is fair game. It will also be fair game to criticize Obama's decision to get all US military out of Iraq after all that cost in lives and treasure, setting the stage for what we see now.

What we are also seeing is a world that no longer respects America or fears its power. Everybody knows that Obama is a weak and feckless leader. At a time when our adversaries are gearing up and are on the march, Obama and his stooges (Hagel) are hollowing out our military. This is a time when we need strong and sensible leadership that will restore the military and restore its morale. The idea should be peace through strength.

Instead we get "weighing all options."

And we are also going to have to face the problem of more refugees. I have no problem with doing the honorable thing and offering refuge to those Iraqis who laid it on the line for us and will face certain retribution. However, I think we should give the next priority to Iraqi Christians who are under immediate threat as well. What we don't want are more would-be Tsarnaevs who would set off bombs to kill us or people who murder their wives out of some sense of honor.  It may be harsh and it may be unfair to a lot of  decent people, but until the madness and the hate emanating from Islamic countries ceases, we should call a halt to any further immigration from those countries.

If only our government would weigh that common sense option.