# IRAQ is coming apart at the seams.



## longknife (Dec 1, 2012)

by Bill Corcoran @ Corksphere blog. He is about as left-wing and anti-war as any blog I subscribe to but it's good to get another viewpoint. Here, he reports on something the Lame Street Media is ignoring and I fully agree with is supositions here.


> 54 killed and 237 wounded in Iraq bloodbath.
> 
> While FOX NEWS and three GOP Senators concentrate on destroying SUSAN RICE and her possible nomination as Secretary of State, Iraq is falling apart and it appears as though the 4,700 Americans killed in the Iraq was all for nothing.




Read more @ CORKSPHERE: Iraq Bloodbath: 54 Killed, 237 Wounded in Attacks against Shi&#8217;ite Pilgrims and Security Forces -- Antiwar.com


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## RoccoR (Dec 3, 2012)

longknife,  _et al,_

Actually, the Bill Corcoran article mere restates a portion of the Margaret Griffis, AntiWar.com article of November 29, 2012; at the cited link.



longknife said:


> by Bill Corcoran @ Corksphere blog. He is about as left-wing and Antiwar as any blog I subscribe to but it's good to get another viewpoint. Here, he reports on something the Lame Street Media is ignoring and I fully agree with is supositions here.
> 
> 
> > 54 killed and 237 wounded in Iraq bloodbath.
> ...


*(COMMENT)*

Don't be confused.  



			
				On February 26 said:
			
		

> "The United States has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq's new government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people. Yet, we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected.
> 
> Rebuilding Iraq will require a sustained commitment from many nations, including our own: we will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, and not a day more."



It is not a real bloodbath; but the Iraq Intervention by the US/Coalition did not leave much of an improved country after the Post-Conflict Operations of CJTF-7/ORHA, MNFI, and USF-I; or seven years of civil/military assistance.

Nouri al-Maliki is the Prime Minister (PM) of an Islamic Republic; a bum of an official which once had US backing but is now an Iranian stooge.  It is a corrupt government, brutal in nature, and nearly as close to a dictatorship as a government can be without actually being a dictatorship.  The PM is using the US supplied and trained Iraqi security and police forces (ISF) to contain political rivals; and supplements the ISF with criminal gang members and violent militant factions to intimidate rival segments of the civilian population.  It was not 24 hours after the last of USF-I withdrew and rolled into Kuwait, that the PM ordered the arrest of the Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, accusing him of running a death squad that assassinated police officers and government officials.

The National Strategy for the Victory in Iraq, defined "victory" in three (3) Phases:
National Strategy for Victory in Iraq


*Short term:*
Iraq needs to

progress in fighting terrorists,
meet political milestones,
build democratic institutions, and
foster the growing security forces.

*Medium term:*
Iraq is in the lead

defeating terrorists,
providing its own security,
fostering the constitutional government, and
beginning economic development.

*Longer term:*
Iraq should strive for being:

peaceful,
united,
stable,
secure,
integrated into the international community, and
a full partner in the global War on Terrorism.

Iraq may be destine for ethnic conflict in two aspects; Arab-Kurd and Shiite-Sunni.  But it is clear that Iraq is not the nation that the US envisioned in 2003 or even 2005.  One needs only compare the stated definition of "Victory" to the Iraq we find today.

You don't have to trust my evaluation.  Do the comparison.

Most Respectfully,
R


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## waltky (Jul 29, 2013)

Sectarian violence wiping out our hard-fought efforts toward bringing peace to Iraq...

*Wave of car bombings in Iraq kills at least 58*
_July 29, 2013 -   More than a dozen explosions, mainly from car bombs, ripped through marketplaces, parking lots, a cafe and rush-hour crowds in Iraq on Monday, killing at least 58 people and pushing the country's death toll for the month of July toward the 700 mark, officials said._


> The bombings  18 in all  are part of a wave of bloodshed that has swept across the country since April, killing more than 3,000 people and worsening the already strained ties between Iraq's Sunni minority and the Shiite-led government. The scale and pace of the violence, unseen since the darkest days of the country's insurgency, have fanned fears of a return to the widespread sectarian bloodletting that pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
> 
> With two days left in July, the month's death toll now stands at 680, according to an Associated Press count. Most of those have come during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of dawn-to-dusk fasting that began July 10, making it Iraq's bloodiest since 2007.  "Iraq is bleeding from random violence, which sadly reached record heights during the holy month of Ramadan," said acting U.N. envoy to Iraq, Gyorgy Busztin. He said the killings could push the country "back into sectarian strife," and called for immediate and decisive action to stop the "senseless bloodshed."
> 
> ...


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## Smilebong (Jul 29, 2013)

longknife said:


> by Bill Corcoran @ Corksphere blog. He is about as left-wing and anti-war as any blog I subscribe to but it's good to get another viewpoint. Here, he reports on something the Lame Street Media is ignoring and I fully agree with is supositions here.
> 
> 
> > 54 killed and 237 wounded in Iraq bloodbath.
> ...




I think we all knew that it wouldn't last.


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## Sallow (Jul 29, 2013)

Guess that old nation building thingie didn't work out so well.


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## waltky (Jul 30, 2013)

Sectarian violence shootin' Iraq in the foot...

*Iraq is bleeding U.N. envoy says*
_Tuesday 30th July, 2013 -- It's up to political leaders in Iraq to ensure the country pulls back from the brink of widespread sectarian violence, a U.N. special envoy said._


> U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was alarmed by the recent scale of violence in Iraq. At least 45 people were killed in more than a dozen bombings across the country Monday. Most of the bombings targeted Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad.
> 
> Ban issued a statement through his spokesman saying Iraq was on the cusp of sliding into a sectarian war.  "Iraq is at another crossroads," he said Monday. "Its political leaders have a clear responsibility to bring the country back from the brink, and to leave no space to those who seek to exploit the political stalemate through violence and terror."
> 
> ...


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## KevinWestern (Jul 30, 2013)

longknife said:


> by Bill Corcoran @ Corksphere blog. He is about as left-wing and anti-war as any blog I subscribe to but it's good to get another viewpoint. Here, he reports on something the Lame Street Media is ignoring and I fully agree with is supositions here.
> 
> 
> > 54 killed and 237 wounded in Iraq bloodbath.
> ...




What a sad mess. I couldn't even imagine being raised in a country like that. 

I'm a bit cynical, and believe the war was started not for the "good of the people of Iraq" but rather as a vehicle for making large powerful interests a lot of money. I wonder how some of the decision makers can sleep at night knowing that the money that purchased their big homes and a nice relaxing life came at the cost of destabilizing a nation and killing scores in the process.  

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## rdean (Jul 30, 2013)

KevinWestern said:


> longknife said:
> 
> 
> > by Bill Corcoran @ Corksphere blog. He is about as left-wing and anti-war as any blog I subscribe to but it's good to get another viewpoint. Here, he reports on something the Lame Street Media is ignoring and I fully agree with is supositions here.
> ...



A country like that?

Destabilize government.

Arm everyone.

Church rule.

Hatred of minorities.

No women's rights.

Suppress voter's rights.

No health care.

Hmmm, now where have I heard this dreadful ideology before?


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## Sunni Man (Jul 30, 2013)

Saddam had Iraq under control.

But the zionist leadership of Israel wanted Iraq broken up and weakened.

And tasked it's 'bitch' the U.S with the job.

So under the guise of revenge for 9/11 and patriotism the idea was sold to the American public.

The U.S. gained nothing for it's invasion and effort; except a trillion $ in debt and tens of thousands of soldiers killed or wounded.

But Israel had it's goal of a destabilized Iraq realized without spending a sheqel or losing a single soldier.  ...


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## KevinWestern (Jul 30, 2013)

rdean said:


> A country like that?
> 
> Destabilize government.
> 
> ...



Doesnt sound like an ideology Im familiar with. 


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## Mr Natural (Jul 30, 2013)

A trillion dollars well spent.

/sarcasm

Happy now?


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## Sunni Man (Jul 30, 2013)

Mr Clean said:


> A trillion dollars well spent.


What about the 5,000+ U.S. soldiers killed and 30,000+ wounded?  

Was that also worth it??   ..


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## Desperado (Jul 30, 2013)

Mr Clean said:


> A trillion dollars well spent.



On what?  Even George Bush and Dick Cheney could not say that with a straight face.


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## KevinWestern (Jul 30, 2013)

Mr Clean said:


> A trillion dollars well spent.
> 
> /sarcasm
> 
> Happy now?



Haha. Thought it was pretty obvious, but then started reading some comments by others...


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## Desperado (Jul 30, 2013)

Mr Clean said:


> A trillion dollars well spent.
> 
> /sarcasm
> 
> Happy now?



I missed the sarcasm.... Not your fault.
Just a sore subject with me.


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## Sunni Man (Jul 30, 2013)

Desperado said:


> Mr Clean said:
> 
> 
> > A trillion dollars well spent.
> ...


Same here.........


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## rdean (Jul 30, 2013)

KevinWestern said:


> rdean said:
> 
> 
> > A country like that?
> ...



I don't know.  I seem to have heard all this before.


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## rdean (Jul 30, 2013)

There were people who said Iraq would be a fiasco.  I remember how the press roasted and marginalized them.  Many had titles like "Professor of History".  Turns out they were right.  All the name calling from the right wing accusing good and smart Americans of being on the side of the terrorists.  Turns out it was Bush and the Republicans who caused the deaths and maiming of tens of thousands of Americans.  Depleted our military.  Ruined our economy.  Trashed our standing world wide.  And spent our country into oblivion rebuilding a country that threw old shoes at our president.  The worst insult they could.  Republicans and Bush did that.  No one else.  They said the had "proof" and "information".  They didn't.  They lied.

And the lies haven't even slowed.


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## KevinWestern (Jul 30, 2013)

rdean said:


> There were people who said Iraq would be a fiasco.  I remember how the press roasted and marginalized them.  Many had titles like "Professor of History".  Turns out they were right.  All the name calling from the right wing accusing good and smart Americans of being on the side of the terrorists.  Turns out it was Bush and the Republicans who caused the deaths and maiming of tens of thousands of Americans.  Depleted our military.  Ruined our economy.  Trashed our standing world wide.  And spent our country into oblivion rebuilding a country that threw old shoes at our president.  The worst insult they could.  Republicans and Bush did that.  No one else.  They said the had "proof" and "information".  They didn't.  They lied.
> 
> And the lies haven't even slowed.



If we're gonna get technical (which we should here), no one would have gone to war if the Democrats didn't also vote "yes".

There was a vote.

They're corrupt on both sides of the aisle. Don't forget that.


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## longknife (Jul 31, 2013)

Everything I've been reading says the central government continues to lose control of the Sunni/Shiia conflict. The Kurds stand to one side but are having problems with Turkey.

And, an official Iraqi announcement today says they're considering an $18BILLION purchase of US weapons and equipment.


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## mike55 (Aug 12, 2013)

It is a civil war, unless people dont think 1,000 killed a month is not a civil war.


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## chikenwing (Aug 12, 2013)

rdean said:


> KevinWestern said:
> 
> 
> > longknife said:
> ...



From the echoes in your empty head?


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## waltky (Oct 23, 2015)

Special forces rescue from ISIS results in death of U.S. soldier...

*US Service Member Killed in Iraq as Hostages Rescued from ISIS: DoD*
_Oct 22, 2015 | A U.S. service member was killed Thursday in a helicopter assault by U.S. Special Operations troops and Kurdish commandos that freed about 70 ISIS hostages in northern Iraq, the Pentagon said._


> The death of a U.S. soldier was the first combat fatality suffered by the U.S. in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).  In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said that the U.S. Special Ops troops supported Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who took the lead in the raid on a village east of the flashpoint town of Hawija, about 30 miles south of Kirkuk.  One member of the Special Ops team was wounded in the raid and later died while receiving medical care. Four Peshmerga fighters also were wounded and an undetermined number of ISIS members guarding the hostages were killed, Cook said.  "This operation was deliberately planned and launched after receiving information that the hostages faced imminent mass execution," Cook said. "It was authorized consistent with our counter-ISIL effort to train, advise, and assist Iraqi forces."
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See also:

*Pentagon Denies Combat Role in Iraq After American's Death*
_October 22, 2015 — The Pentagon says the U.S. is not in a combat role in Iraq, despite the recent death of a U.S. service member from Islamic State gunfire during a hostage rescue mission.  “U.S. forces are not in an active combat mission in Iraq, and I can say that directly,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook responded Thursday to questions from reporters on “mission creep” and “boots on the ground.”_


> A joint rescue mission by U.S. and Iraqi Kurdish fighters freed about 70 hostages, including at least 22 Iraqi Security Force members, from an Islamic State prison compound in Hawijah, west of Kirkuk. The hostages were under threat of “imminent mass executions,” according to a Pentagon statement.
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## waltky (Oct 24, 2015)

Soldier killed in Iraq rescue mission identified...

*Pentagon Identifies First KIA in Fight against Islamic State*
_Oct 23, 2015 | The U.S. Defense Department has identified first American service member to be killed in action in fighting against the Islamic State._


> The Pentagon idenfied the soldier as Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Oklahoma, who died Oct. 22, in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, from wounds received by enemy small-arms fire during an mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.  Wheeler was assigned Headquarters U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to a Pentagon statement released Friday morning. He completed at least 11 tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a separate Army press release.  Born Nov. 22, 1975, in Roland, Wheeler was a 1994 graduate from Muldrow High School in Oklahoma, according to the Army.
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See also:

*US Death in Iraq Belies President Obama's 'Boots on the Ground' Pledge*
_Oct 22, 2015 | A U.S. service member was fatally wounded early Thursday fighting alongside Kurdish Peshmerga forces in a U.S. Special Operations helicopter assault on an ISIS prison compound in northern Iraq that freed about 70 hostages, Pentagon officials said._


> The death of the American, whose service branch was not immediately disclosed, was the first combat fatality suffered by the U.S. in the campaign against ISIS and as such raised questions about the U.S. mission in Iraq and President Obama's pledge not to commit "boots on the ground" to the fight.  Pentagon officials did not disclose the circumstances of the service member's death, saying only that he was wounded during the firefight and died later while receiving medical treatment.  At least nine other U.S. service members have died of non-combat causes during Operation Inherent Resolve against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), often referred to by the military as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
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