U.S. has made things worse in the Mideast

by confuzzled dude Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:30 pm

"The Middle East is in the midst of a sectarian struggle, like those between Catholics and Protestants in Europe in the age of the Reformation. These tensions are rooted in history and politics and will not easily go away."

"Three factors have led us to this state of affairs. First, the structure of Middle Eastern states. The modern Middle East was created by the colonial powers at the end of World War I. The states the British and French created, often with little forethought, were composed of disparate groups that had no history of being governed as one entity. Iraq, for example, was formed by putting together three Ottoman provinces that had little in common."

"The second factor at work has been the rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism. "

"The third factor is one involving Washington deeply: the invasion of Iraq. If a single action accelerated the sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, it was the decision of the George W. Bush administration to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime, dismantle all structures in which Sunnis had power and then hand over the Iraqi state to Shiite religious parties."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fareed-zakaria-us-fuel-to-the-middle-east-fire/2014/01/16/489c2424-7ef1-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html?hpid=z6

by confuzzled dude Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:33 pm

"Washington in those days was consumed with the idea of transforming the Middle East and paid little attention to the sectarian dimensions of what it was unleashing. I met with the current prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, in 2005 when he held no office. I described him then as “a hard-line Shiite, unyielding in his religious views and extremely punitive toward the Sunnis. He did not strike me as a man who wanted national reconciliation.” It was also clear that, having lived in exile in Syria and Iran for almost two decades, Maliki was close to both those regimes, which had sheltered him and his colleagues. Bush administration officials dismissed these concerns and told me that Maliki believed in democracy and pluralism."

by Hellsangel Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:41 pm

Discussions over tea in a kebab restaurant after Friday's salat-e-asr, Comrade?

by truthbetold Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:07 pm

I am not as knowledgeable or as well travelled as fareed but I said the same as early 2003. Isaid if Bush is not careful he will end up handing over Iraq to whites of Iran.
I was wrong. It was obama's responsibility to handover Iraq.

by confuzzled dude Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:17 pm

truthbetold wrote:I am not as knowledgeable or as well travelled as fareed but I said the same as early 2003. Isaid if Bush is not careful he will end up handing over Iraq to whites of Iran.
I was wrong. It was obama's responsibility to handover Iraq.

Really! you think we should've stayed there forever like in Korea and host of other places around the world.

by Hellsangel Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:44 pm

confuzzled dude wrote:
truthbetold wrote:I am not as knowledgeable or as well travelled as fareed but I said the same as early 2003. Isaid if Bush is not careful he will end up handing over Iraq to whites of Iran.
I was wrong. It was obama's responsibility to handover Iraq.
Really! you think we should've stayed there forever like in Korea and host of other places around the world.

Dear Comrade, do you think the US should withdraw it's ground forces and the Seventh fleet from South Korea and Taiwan?

by confuzzled dude Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:49 pm

Hellsangel wrote:
confuzzled dude wrote:
truthbetold wrote:I am not as knowledgeable or as well travelled as fareed but I said the same as early 2003. Isaid if Bush is not careful he will end up handing over Iraq to whites of Iran.
I was wrong. It was obama's responsibility to handover Iraq.
Really! you think we should've stayed there forever like in Korea and host of other places around the world.
Dear Comrade, do you think the US should withdraw it's ground forces and the Seventh fleet from South Korea and Taiwan?

They might as well given the dire situation America is slipping to No. 2 — and that’s okay

by Hellsangel Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:56 pm

confuzzled dude wrote:
Hellsangel wrote:
confuzzled dude wrote:
truthbetold wrote:I am not as knowledgeable or as well travelled as fareed but I said the same as early 2003. Isaid if Bush is not careful he will end up handing over Iraq to whites of Iran.
I was wrong. It was obama's responsibility to handover Iraq.
Really! you think we should've stayed there forever like in Korea and host of other places around the world.
Dear Comrade, do you think the US should withdraw it's ground forces and the Seventh fleet from South Korea and Taiwan?

They might as well given the dire situation America is slipping to No. 2 — and that’s okay

Dire situation? Did you even read that article?

by truthbetold Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:33 pm

Cd
I am not implicating obama. I am just trying to imply even though obama handed it over, it was a mere technicality. Responsibility for losing was in the decision to invade Iraq.. Decision to remove Saddam has only one ending. Iraq's shite gained control and opened doors for Iran.

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