◼ Why we stuck with Maliki — and lost Iraq - ALI KHEDERY/Washington Post
To understand why Iraq is imploding, you must understand Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — and why the United States has supported him since 2006....
The crisis now gripping Iraq and the Middle East was not only predictable but predicted — and preventable. By looking the other way and unconditionally supporting and arming Maliki, President Obama has only lengthened and expanded the conflict that President Bush unwisely initiated. Iraq is now a failed state, and as countries across the Middle East fracture along ethno-sectarian lines, America is likely to emerge as one of the biggest losers of the new Sunni-Shiite holy war, with allies collapsing and radicals plotting another 9/11.
Maliki’s most ardent American supporters ignored the warning signs and stood by as an Iranian general decided Iraq’s fate in 2010. Ironically, these same officials are now scrambling to save Iraq, yet are refusing to publicly condemn Maliki’s abuses and are providing him with arms that he can use to wage war against his political rivals.
◼ Barone calls it...a blazing indictment of Vice President Joe Biden and his foreign policy adviser Anthony Blinken and of (referred to but unnamed in the article) career Foreign Service Officer Christopher Hill, who was ambassador to Iraq in 2009-10. A must read.... - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner @michaelbarone
