Suppose it cannot be repaired??

[kentuck]

When our country invaded Iraq, we did more than capture and kill Saddam Hussein. We dissolved their standing army. Who knows where they went or what became of them? Maybe they are now a big part of the present terrorist group, ISIS?

When we broke the structure that was set up in Iraq, with the dictator, Saddam, we created untold enemies and started a destructive process that is going on today.

Most of the poorer Muslim countries were affected more dramatically than some of the wealthier emirates. They were caught up in Al Qaeda in Iraq or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and other places and their structures were overthrown and/or their leaders were killed or imprisoned.

Some have called it the "original sin". The invasion of Iraq let loose chaos and revolution upon that area of the world. We are now reaping what we sowed in 2001-2003. There is no easy fix. Perhaps, there is no fix?

If we need to assign blame, George W Bush and Dick Cheney are at the front of the line. You don't hear many solutions from them lately. They see the flames and smell the smoke of their actions, but they remain silent.

We broke it and nobody knows how to put it back together. It is our inheritance.

[Bandit]

1. As long as we can still blow up shit, Cheney and Bush* will be delighted..

For every bomb we drop ten more will need to be made, every bullet fired means ten more will be made. The Military Industrial Complex will continue to get stinking rich as will all Republican Congress critters who go to bat for them..What is so hard to understand.

[kentuck]

2. Amen.

Brother.

[seveneyes]

3. Germany and Japan survived

Perhaps Iraq will too. Different wars, different reasons, still dealing with human nature.

[rhett o rick]

19. US taxpayers spent a lot of wealth to rebuild Japan and Germany. I don't think we can afford to

fix Iraq.

[H2O Man]

4. It cannot be "repaired."

The "State of Iraq" was a British creation after WW!. It's purpose was to divide three distinct groups of people, to make it so they could not unite to resist having the British access their natural resources. It eventually became recognized as a "nation," but continued to be exploited.

Sadam was able to maintain the nation/state, by allowing foreign exploitation to distract the population from his growing fortune. To whatever extent Iraqi people opposed him, he relied upon brute force to maintain his position.

The chances of the US being able to install a brutal dictator -- one that is the immoral equivalent of the Shah of Iran, for example -- who can bring about order is about as likely as the Pope becoming the next heavyweight champion of the world.

Bush-Cheney unleashed a force that no American can control.

[kentuck]

24. Thanks for adding that perspective, H2O Man..

[jimlup]

5. It was a naive assumption by right wing hypocrites

that would could control it. As we see - we clearly can not. Pandora's box has been opened. Sure Saddam Hussien was a demon. A demon who was the keeper of gates of hell ...

I suspect that a stable situation will again be reached but it may take a very long time. That Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld and others are not on trial for initiating this regional catastrophy beats me!

[hifiguy]

7. That whole cadre, including Condi. should have been

tried, convicted and hanged for waging aggressive war and crimes against humanity at least five years ago.

[JEB]

22. Abso-fucking-lutely.

The only true way forward. Anything less keeps mired in their shit pile.

[spanone]

6. i truly do not remember anyone asking bush, cheney, rumsfeld what their end game was?

our media had no curiosity.

simple questions...how does this play out?

we are not even reminded of why the mid-east is in such turmoil....

[Fred Sanders]

8. I blame the media and Bush/Cheney, 50-50 partnership.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

10. Bartcop used to say it was extracting Oil

How much have the corporations gotten at our expense?

[AngryDem001]

16. Not only monetary expense.

How many families got to hear the news that their father, mother, brother, sister, cousin, niece, nephew were blown to bits in this "liberation" of Iraq?

[prayin4rain]

9. Stepping on ant piles.

I think instability was the goal. They did not want that region to continue to grow in organization. Any region that opposes us ideologically that is within a decade or so of gaining enough strength to oppose us, has to be de-organized to eliminate the future threat. I think in their mind, any lives that are lost in the de-organization are less in number and are worth less than the lives that would be lost if they let the region continue to grow and eventually organize themselves into a real threat against us.

[No Vested Interest]

11. Because of Iraq and the long-term consequences, I

have no respect for the political judgment of those who voted - once or twice- for Bush/Cheney.

I have even less respect for them as time goes on, as many disavow the Bush presidency, in that not only do they not acknowledge their part in voting for these miscreants, but they do not step up to the plate and take responsibility for the huge debt placed upon the American people - their countrymen- far into the future.

[Rex]

12. PNAC...endless wars and Wall Street, D.C., The M$M all were accomplices. They LOVED it!

The Project for a New American Century was established by paleo-con icons. Here let us take a look back at why Iraq is now an unstable hellhole for 25 million citizens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_American_Century

"The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. established in 1997 as a non-profit educational organization founded by William Kristol and Robert Kagan. The PNAC's stated goal is "to promote American global leadership."[1] Fundamental to the PNAC was the view that "American leadership is good both for America and for the world" and support for "a Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity."[2][3] With its members in numerous key administrative positions, the PNAC exerted influence on high-level U.S. government officials in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and affected the Bush Administration's development of military and foreign policies, especially involving national security and the Iraq War.[4][5]"

The signatories are the very people that destroyed our goodwill with the world after 9/11. The very people that created the hellhole that is Iraq. Just THINK about it, it was a hellhole BEFORE with Saddam killing his own people whenever he wanted to.

Now, what is worse then hell?

[bvar22]

13. The US Military is certainly no solution.

They are trained to break things and kill people,
not rebuild countries.

[mahina]

14. When the US military bombed the daylights out of Kaho'olawe, the water table broke.

Geologically, the island can't hold water as islands do.

Some important things, once destroyed, can't be fixed.

At least no people were killed, directly, on Kaho'olawe, but a future was.

Peace to Iraq.

[jtuck004]

15. "It is our inheritance" < Our gift to future generations. Our grandparents and parents sacrificed to

build the country, we came along and put ourselves in bondage to the bank$ters to buy new kitchens and lazyboys, and will leave that debt for future generations.

The spirit that built this country is dead, and if all we accept are the choices we see now, including the most progressive and regressive of candidates, it will simply continue downhill.

[G_j]

17. I remember somebody saying we were about to open the gates of hell

and I had same the horrible feeling. They knew it too.

[genxlib]

18. There is only one solution

Whenever someone asks me what we should do in Iraq I say we should invent a time machine, go back and not invade.

It has as good a chance for success as anything else. Which is effectively none.

[hay rick]

20. It is our inheritance squandered.

Imagine if all the money spent on this treasonous military misadventure had been spent constructively on housing, health care, education, infrastructure, renewable energy, and basic research. We are a leaving the next generation with a society that is poorer in many ways than we could or should have. The main value of the Iraq invasion for future generations is as an object lesson and a cautionary tale.

[rhett o rick]

21. I think we can all agree that it was a huge disaster. All responsible should be held accountable.

But we have one of those persons running for President. Apparently some are willing to forgive and forget because she is a Democrat.

[YoungDemCA]

23. Is it bad that I intially thought that this topic was about America's current political situation?

[cwydro]

25. I wonder every day if those idiots

know what they set loose on the world.

[elleng]

26. Yes.

[herding cats]

27. "We" cannot repair it.

Yes, we were the I final ones who broke it. Still, considering everything, we cannot fix the situation. We're the last, or close to the last, people who will be welcome to apply our form of remedy. We destabilized the region, we're not welcome beyond what militaristic help we can give, which does nothing but further destabilize the region.

We broke it. History will deal harshly with us for our actions. Anything else is fantasy.