Posted on May 30, 2015
GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad
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Pic giant 021715 sm obama middle east gdt
The fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to the Islamic State and recent gains by the group in Syria are the latest signs that President Obama’s strategy to defeat this brutal terrorist group is failing. But the problem is far bigger than that. The president’s entire approach to the Middle East has backfired.

The Middle East is more dangerous and unstable than when Obama came into office — a time when Iraq and Syria were more stable, the Iranian nuclear program was considerably less advanced and the Islamic State did not yet exist.

Much of this instability is a result of Obama’s disengagement from the region, best symbolized by the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. The vacuum created by America’s pullback has been filled by bad actors, including terrorist extremists, both Sunni and Shiite, who have flourished in the absence of U.S. leadership.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marco-rubio-obamas-mideast-plan-has-backfired/2015/05/29/247c7c90-0606-11e5-bc72-f3e16bf50bb6_story.html?hpid=z5
Edited >1 y ago
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1SG Civil Affairs Specialist
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We haven't just disengaged. We destabilized the whole area by deposing Gaddafi, standing on the sidelines during the Arab Spring, drawing "red lines" that weren't, abandoning and antagonizing long-term allies, seeking rapproachment with long-term enemies, launching sort of airstrikes, watching ISIS take over the area with vapid disinterest, watching Yemen fall to rebels...
What exactly is our policy in the Middle East? I don't think anyone knows, including the Commander-in-Chief.
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MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca
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The man's whole administration has "backfired" why nitpick?
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SSG James Arlington
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Let them fight it out, their cultural/religious war. We should see who is standing in the ashes when its all over. Sell some nukes to the Israels.
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