06-19-2014, 10:45 AM
^ I think that fear of something similar happening a couple of years down the road is one of the main reasons some Republican and Democratic congresspersons are so irked about not being informed and given a chance to weigh-in on the transfer/release of the five Taliban detainees in exchange for Bergdahl.
Meanwhile...
-I've seen a lot of press and claims from officials and experts in the US (some named, some not) minimizing the power of ISIS and focusing on its perceived weaknesses.
![[Image: bush-maliki.jpg]](http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bush-maliki.jpg)
![[Image: iraq_mailiki_obama_460.jpg]](http://stopwar.org.uk/images/news/iraq_mailiki_obama_460.jpg)
-And, the US (and France) is now seemingly pushing for the ouster of twice-elected Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki (pictured above with Bush and Obama) -- the leader whom the US has been financially backing since 2006. Many global politicians, leaders, and pundits are claiming that it's his exclusion of Sunnis and Kurds from the government, along with discriminatory policies towards them by his all-Shia regime, which has fueled and empowered ISIS.
-Also, the Iraqi government publicly called-out Saudi Arabia for financing/supporting ISIS -- a claim that the Saudi government is denying as pure bullshit spewed by an inept Iraqi leader.
-Plus, US officials are hitting the media with how important it is to Iraq's stability (and ability to remain one country, no doubt) that a new government which includes representatives from the Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd communities be established. US-allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey are publicly supporting this position (and, IMO, eying the oil-rich areas of Iraq near their borders -- just in case things don't go as planned, again, with the possible "new government").
(HOTD edit: pics)
Meanwhile...
-I've seen a lot of press and claims from officials and experts in the US (some named, some not) minimizing the power of ISIS and focusing on its perceived weaknesses.
-And, the US (and France) is now seemingly pushing for the ouster of twice-elected Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki (pictured above with Bush and Obama) -- the leader whom the US has been financially backing since 2006. Many global politicians, leaders, and pundits are claiming that it's his exclusion of Sunnis and Kurds from the government, along with discriminatory policies towards them by his all-Shia regime, which has fueled and empowered ISIS.
-Also, the Iraqi government publicly called-out Saudi Arabia for financing/supporting ISIS -- a claim that the Saudi government is denying as pure bullshit spewed by an inept Iraqi leader.
-Plus, US officials are hitting the media with how important it is to Iraq's stability (and ability to remain one country, no doubt) that a new government which includes representatives from the Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd communities be established. US-allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey are publicly supporting this position (and, IMO, eying the oil-rich areas of Iraq near their borders -- just in case things don't go as planned, again, with the possible "new government").
(HOTD edit: pics)