Former Vice-President Dick CheneyFormer Vice-President Dick Cheney, one of the leading advocates in the U.S. led 2003 invasion of Iraq which topped Saddam Hussein, stated that the Obama administration's approach to the Middle East has emboldened Islamic extremists and put the nation at risk. In an op-ed with the Wall Street Journal with his daughter Liz, Cheney called for a reversal of Obama's policies concerning Iraq in the last six years, including the pulling of troops from Iraq. Michigan Senator Carl Levin noted that George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor, made an agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri-al-Malaki to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq at the end of 2011, which it did. The criticism comes as a result of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (also know as ISIS), gains a foothold in Western and Northern Iraq which could destabilize the region. It's a group of Sunni militants that are trying to take control of parts of Iraq. Anyone that knows anything about Iraq history realizes that the Iraqi region is composed of ethnic turmoil involving the Sunnis, Shiites, and the Kurds. When Saddam Hussein was in control, he was a Sunni that kept the Shiites in check and Iraq didn't have the bloodshed and violence it would later have once Saddam was overthrown. Since then it has been a bloody mess in Iraq for a number of years. Also, the Shiites are the majority in Iraq's border neighbor, Iran.
I'm not a fan of President Obama by no means, but the Bush administration sent troops to Iraq to oust Saddam but the administration had no solid post-war agenda to stabilize Iraq. Once the initial invasion ended, there was looting and terrorism within Iraq taking place. Iraq is a battlefield that I don't believe the U.S. should involve itself in. We've been there before and Bush had the wrong agenda for the country. Obama's agenda will be no different, or any better if there are any changes made. The U.S. needs to stay out of Iraq. To read the full story, click on the above link.
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