Kerry to Maliki; Iraq needs political reform
John Kerry went to Iraq today and spent ninety minutes cloistered with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki to impress on the newly re-elected politician that his government needs reform to end the al-Qaeda juggernaut sweeping towards Baghdad. Many in the Obama Administration have hinted that Maliki needs to go – I guess they want regime change in Iraq, you know, we’ve heard that before. According to the Washington Times;
al-Maliki has shown no sign of leaving and Iraqi officials have long listened to — but ultimately ignored — U.S. advice to avoid appearing controlled by the decade-old specter of an American occupation in Baghdad.
Still, Kerry appeared encouraged after the discussion with al-Maliki, which ran for a little over 90 minutes and was held in the same complex where an Iraqi journalist threw a shoe at former President George W, Bush as an insult in 2008.
Walking to his motorcade after the meeting, Kerry said “that was good.” He was being escorted by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. Kerry also met with the influential Shiite cleric, Ammar al-Hakim, and with Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, one of Iraq’s top-ranking Sunnis.
Of course, this is just more of the Obama Administration’s contention that the problem in Iraq is political not military. While, I’ll admit that the results of last month’s re-election of Maliki’s party to the Parliament may have motivated the Sunni al Qaeda forces to move, only a fool would think that Maliki’s removal would stall or defeat the invasion from ISIS. The only thing those creatures understand is force. I’m pretty sure that they don’t have plans to hold elections if/when they topple the Iraq government.
While I don’t support a return to Iraq of US forces to rescue the Maliki regime, I also don’t support talk instead of action at this point. As I’ve written before, the chance to halt al Qaeda’s invasion of Iraq has passed. The Obama Administration had a chance to show that we mean business years ago when the Syrian civil war began. There have been several missed opportunities along the way to prevent the resurgence of al Qaeda in Iraq. But, this administration and it’s agents were always too timid, or too unconcerned, to take meaningful action.
Carl von Clausewitz once wrote that “Given the same amount of intelligence, timidity will do a thousand times more damage than audacity”. There should be a picture of the President and his advisers next to that quote. Sending in John Kerry at this point in time, is just more inaction which will only encourage the beasts of al Qaeda as they ravage the Iraqi countryside.
Category: Terror War
What is going to stop ISIS is not anything that the U.S. can do. Two things will hamstring ISIS in my humble opinion. One is when they outrun their logistics tail and have to stop fighting in Sunni area’s where they can get logistics support. The other stumbling block with be Muqtada Al-Sadr, who will mobilize the Mahdi Army and as we all know, those fuckers will fight.
Ayatollah Sistani has already started calling on the faithful as well and that old bastard still controls wide respect amongst the Shia.
The United States cannot do much more than attempt to keep our embassy from getting nuked. Sending John Kerry sends a signal of weakness. He is meeting with Maliki who is not respected by anyone so that is sending the wrong message as usual.
Back off Barack. You have lost this one. Don’t kill any more of our troops in some ill conceived attempt to appear to be “doing something”.
MGySgtRet…Thank you and well said. I believe at this point we should evacuate the Embassy and every American citizen and troop. ISIS will not stop until they seize Baghdad and their goal post is our Embassy. To have our Embassy under their control will be the ultimate trump card for ISIS. It will be worse than Tehran in 1979, ten fold. Obama and Kerry have totally failed in Iraq, then in 2011 and now. This is going to cost American lives before it is over unless Obama has the balls to say “enough” and evacuate all Americans from Iraq and then give them the ultimatum. The ultimatum that you can do as you want. You can have the country YOU are willing to fight and die for and no more. That is all you deserve. If you toss your weapons and bow to ISIS and a nation under Sharia Law…your choice. But if you export your terrorism beyond your borders or to Americans and our allies anywhere, it will be bombs on top of bombs until Iraq’s major cities and infrastructure are rubble and then more bombs to make the rubble bounce. That would be my answer to Maliki and all of Iraq and I would broadcast it to them and the world after we are completely out. Then leave the choices in their hands. I am fed up with Iraq and I am even more fed up watching Obama plan to get Americans killed. This must stop. Now.
I agree with everything you said. Pull out our people and let them kill each other. In fact, where ever possible encourage them to kill each other.I assUme we have the psych ops resources to do that.
And while we are at it let’s frack, build dams and more nuke plants to become energy independent and tell OPEC and the Saudis to go f*ck themselves.
VOTE FOR TAURUS HE’LL GIT ER DONE!
What I see as a huge problem is the extreme arrogance and incompetence of B. Hussein 0bama & Company. Secretary “Lurch” Kerry is an arrogant, incompetent liberal POS that thinks just talking about it will cure everyone’s ills and ISIS is little more than radical muslims whom no one can negotiate with.
I agree. Sending in John Kerry, or anybody from this administration, to do anything is monumental mistake. Kerry is a certified dipshit. Given this administrations track record I can’t see any outcome that will bode well for the United States. These tards are a bunch of incompetent boobs.
Kerry is the biggest joke going.
Wait, Barrycade said that the Muslims should be “able to set aside their suspicions, their sectarian preferences for the good of the whole.” Maybe he should take his own advice?
And Jawn Fraud sKerry said “But the principal concern is for the Iraqi people — for the integrity of the country, its borders, for its sovereignty,” Wow, if only we could get that kind of concern out of D.C. and our own Regime.
Helluva good point, UpNorth. Kerry can only dream about winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts but you win the TAH Comment of the Day!
Send Mattis. I can hear it now: “Touch our embassy and we will nuke Mecca. Then we will start counting down your holy sites until you’ll be praying at an improvised roadside shrine and you’ll STILL be listening for incoming.”