Sunday, June 12, 2016

Middle Eastern Civil Wars--Background and Interests--What are we doing?

Originally published in social media--2013

What exactly is the American interest in Iraq now? 

What is overlooked (maybe not understood?) is the context behind what is happening in Iraq now.
This is a war between Shi'a and Sunni. That is Iran/Hizballah/Maliki/Mahdi/Assad against Al-Qaeda/ISIS. 

This is an unsettled struggle for supremacy in the area--the Levant and Mesopotamia--left over as a result of British/French/American ham-fisted division of territory after WW1 and WW2. We did not take into account the realities of culture/religion/ethnicity when we drew the lines in the sand to create Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and others. 

As is happening around the world (Congo, Sudan, Ukraine, Bosnia, Syria, Iraq, etc) people are sorting themselves out. Iraq will likely end up being three de facto countries: Kurdistan, Shia-stan, and Greater Sunni-land. 

The ISIS forces (Sunni) are already meeting Iranian (Shia) forces in Iraq, as they have been in Syria.
What is in it for us to become involved? Just like in Syria--whose side are we on? Al Qaeda? Iran? Kurds? 

Let 'em sort it out. We need to aggressively pursue American interests. Which in Iraq now are: protect American citizens, American property, American businesses. There is no American interest in supporting any of the sides in this conflict. 

We should be prosecuting a war on our own southern border. And a war against the crony corruption of Obama's handlers in DC and around the country. 

Convenient how IRS, Benghazi, Gitmo prisoner release, and all the other Obama regime scandals are forgotten isn't it?