Washington Post (January 17, 2014)
“Over the past few months, the Middle East has become an even more violent place than usual. Iraq is now once again home to one of the most bloody civil wars in the world, after Syria of course, which is the worst.” There is no quick fix that outsiders can provide. “In fact, the last thing the region needs is more U.S. intervention.” The Middle East’s deep-rooted tension is part 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.”
Tags: Catholics, Civil war, Europe, History, Intervention, Iraq, Middle East, Politics, Protestants, Reformation, Struggle, Syria, Tensions, U.S., Violence
Los Angeles Times (January 12, 2014)
“The United States no longer knows how to win wars, but it continues to start them.” From hardware to preparedness, the U.S. military remains in a league of its own. Yet, since the end of the Cold War, “when it comes to finishing the job on schedule and on budget, their performance has been woeful.” The fighting in Iraq didn’t end when the U.S. left, nor is the fighting in Afghanistan likely to cease with the scheduled departure of U.S. troops. “For the United States, victory has become a lost art.”
Tags: Afghanistan, Budget, Cold war, Iraq, Military, Preparedness, Schedule, Troops, U.S., Victory
The Economist (December 23)
American troops departed Iraq on December 18. Less than a week later, dozens were killed when bombs exploded in Baghdad “stoking fears that without American soldiers, an unravelling political situation could herald a return for Iraq to the bad old days of sectarian bloodshed.”
Tags: Baghdad, Boms, Instability, Iraq, U.S.
The New York Times (October 22)
President Obama announced that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011. This “signals a welcome end to a war that was started under false pretenses and went on far too long — killing more than 4,400 Americans and many more thousands of Iraqis and costing $1 trillion over nearly nine years.”
President Obama announced that all U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011. This “signals a welcome end to a war that was started under false pretenses and went on far too long — killing more than 4,400 Americans and many more thousands of Iraqis and costing $1 trillion over nearly nine years.”
Wall Street Journal (March 24)
Nato’s efforts in Libya are in disarray. There is no consensus about how operations should be conducted or who should lead them. Already tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. really does not want to lead the Libyan coalition. It may have to. “In the absence of U.S. leadership, everyone else quarrels, frets and cavils, and we get a concoction like a “political steering committee” to run orders of battle.”
Tags: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Nato
The Economist (August 26)
Is America turning inward? Next week, America is pulling combat troops out of Iraq. Some Americans would like to escape other overseas commitments, such as Afghanistan, to focus solely on solving America’s economic difficulties. The Economist applauds President Obama for maintaining international commitments, pointing out this also protects America’s self-interest. “If America does not take on the task of containing such threats, who else will, or can? For all the difficulties at home, the fact remains that the biggest gainer from a strong America abroad is America itself. “
Tags: Afghanistan, Economy, Iraq, U.S.
