BlackFive

President Obama is learning a lesson about strategy, but the price is beig paid by the Iraqi people (and the Afghans for that matter). You can declare a war to be over, or ended responsibly, and then pat yourself on the back for it. But if the enemy doesn't agree, their vote counts more than yours. 

The enemy voted in Iraq and the results of that are dreadfully evident in the decapitated corpses lining the streets of several of Iraq's major cities. To make it worse the Iraqis dialed that global 911 number that is supposed to ring at the Pentagon, but it has been disconnected for five plus years now. So they called in the local Sharif and his deputies from Teheran. That's right, Iranian Revolutionary Guards  are now busy doing the job Americans won't do- Killing Islamist terrorists in Iraq. The irony of that is sublimely painful since it is not that long since the Revolutionary Guards were sending Explosively Formed Projectile IEDs over the border to shred armor and the flesh and bones of our troops.

Obama's decision to cut and run from a responsible peace led to a complete withdrawal of US forces. He torpedoed negotiations that would have allowed us to stay and help them learn how to run their new democracy. To be clear, yes Bush agreed to a full withdrawal of troops, but that was understood by both us and the Iraqis as a temporary way to allow the Iraqi groups to assert their independence. When Obama went in to finalize a deal, he required that it be ratified by the Iraqi Parliament instead of an Executive Agreement. That was the kiss of death as there was no way many Iraqis in favor of our continued help could go on record voting for it and be seen as American stooges. Obama had been told this and knew it would kill the deal, but if your goal is to simply get us out of Bush's war it is easier if you have no agreement to stay.

 Now the war our troops won in Iraq is being lost in their absence. The black flag of a group even al Qaeda disowned is flying freely. And the chance to have an ally in that troubled region is also being lost as the Iraqis see who they can count on, and it isn't us. Wars can't be ended with empty words; they are won or lost. That is the advice I gave in this video to a freshly minted Commander in Chief right after his first inauguration. He didn't listen about Afghanistan and sent troops there with no intention of fighting to win. Their blood and that shed in Iraq as well is on his hands.