Um, the above simply proves that whole ‘not an existential threat’ narrative, unequivocally false. They are a real threat, why do you think we are carrying out Operation Inherent Resolve if they were not. We are at war, already. Now, in the present.
First, this was Obama’s directive. Assad must go. Second, Syria is not Iraq and Iraq is not Syria. Mistakes of war do not have to be repeated. Ideally, NATO would be the proper body to lead such a thing. Whether or not they actually do their job is another matter. The point is moot since Assad, now bolstered by the Russians, is not going anywhere.
There were several failures in Iraq, one was underestimating the enemy, second was dismantling the entire infrastructure of the country when it did not need to be dismantled. And third, was leaving before the objective of leaving Iraq only after it was stable was realized.
The biggest myth surrounding Iraq, is that if we had not gone in in 2003 we would have never gone in and everything would be peaceful and rosy. That’s bunk. Saddam violated every single Security Counsel resolution put in place after the first war, was a state sponsor of terror, and a constant threat. President Clinton, in 1998 signed into law Saddam’s ouster. Removing Saddam from that point on, was a matter of American law. Saddam wasn’t going to stop being a problem and chances were, we were going to war with Iraq at some point. If not 2003, then 2004, 2005, 2008… as his violations and human rights violations mounted, there would have been more and more pressure to go to war with Iraq.
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OK, if not the Saudis, then who is/are the state sponsors of ISIS? What states are you proposing we “squash”?
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I said ISIS are occupiers. I am talking about countries say like Sudan, who knowingly harbor and support terrorists and their operations. Now Sudan, has taken some measures (largely thanks to continuous drone strikes) to reduce their terror footprint, but they would be an example of a state, prior to that, as a harbor and sponsor. As long as Sudan (reluctantly) acts to remove terrorists from their country then they should be fine.
The blood on the wall you should be watching is Syria, Yemen and Iran (separately from ISIS). We are a hair’s breath from massive escalations with these countries. It’s tragically under reported as the media tends to focus on celebrity feuds inside and outside the political sphere, one wrong move there could lead to massive escalations.
One of these days we are going to shoot down an Iranian plane harassing our navy, that may be the only spark needed for said escalation to take place.
The world is a very unstable place right now. Anything could happen. You have N.Korea doing their normal, but much increased saber rattling. You have China planting their flag in international waters in the S. China Sea, illegally. Russia bolstering Assad. Russia annexing Crimea. Increased American troops in Poland and Iraq. And we haven’t even delved into the quagmires in Africa. A lot of things can go wrong very quickly.
