Obama and his mistakes in Iraq and the Middle East

by Ian Bach
President Obama recently said that ISIS is the consequence of our invasion of Iraq.  Unfortunately, the interviewer did not challenge him or ask a couple of follow-up questions.  For example, why didn't ISIS exist when we had troops as late as 2011?  Is it just a coincidence that ISIS filled the vacuum that our departure created?

The truth is that when Obama pulled the troops and advisers out of Iraq in 2011 Maliki was propelled into the position of having to consolidate his power and the government to people who he did not fear i.e. Sunni or Kurdish. So as soon as the USA left in fact while we were leaving this all began. The USA had to help get some of the high up Sunni and Kurdish politicians and leaders out of Iraq and to safety as a cleansing was under way by the Shia lead Government and Maliki. Even counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen has talked about this and is constantly frustrated by people who wonder why Iraqi had fallen into this dark hole.

So the reality is it is Obama who is much to blame not only for Iraq's sectarian divide but even more so for the rise of ISIS, and not George Bush. Had Obama listened to David Petreaus, David Kilcullen, and Ryan Crocker we would likely not be where we are today.