Originally Posted By: King Brown
Ken, none of your above contradicts spin for US embarrassment, Iraq panic with barbarians at its gates, or disappearance of the Iraqi army.

The Maliki debacle followed US getting rid of the Iraqi army after shock and awe, and the US hand-picked Maliki feeding fat on tribal vengeance. History.



Once again, Comrade King, you miss the point.

What disintegrated in the face of 'The Barbarians" was not the army that the U.S. left. If you had bothered to read the cited article you would have understood that. It was essentially a Maliki militia, not an Iraqi army. The blame, as well as the embarrassment, is on the Obama administration, not on the U.S. military. Saddam's army disappeared during the initial phases of the war, due to "Shock and Awe", and we did an excellent job rebuilding the army. All it took was an American president willing to put politics before national interest to destroy it.

I prefer wood to plastic, leather to nylon, waxed cotton to Gore-Tex, and split bamboo to graphite.