Where Obama Is Right; Obama’s decision to reengage in Iraq signals that America is serious about preventing Iraq’s collapse.

Tom Rogan

We remember the specter of sectarian violence — al-Qaeda’s attacks on mosques and pilgrims, militias that carried out campaigns of intimidation and campaigns of assassination. And in the face of ancient divisions, you stood firm to help those Iraqis who put their faith in the future.

— President Obama, announcing the last withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, December 14, 2011

 

"When he spoke those words nearly three years ago, Obama thought the war was finally over. Accordingly, yesterday’s announcement might have been the most difficult of his presidency: a speech he never wanted to give." ...

 

Necessary because....
 

Toppling tyrants is ineffective in the long term without years of unpopular occupation.

..."Whichever bad choice the Obama administration prefers, it should at least level with the American people. Every postwar occupation in our history has dealt with unappreciative and unstable allies such as Maliki — from difficult South Korean strongmen of the 1950s and 1960s to Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan. Pulling completely out of a mostly quiet Iraq just because we had to work with unsavory characters made no sense." ...  Victor Davis Hanson

It's Obama's fault!  Recent events are a result of Obama’s indifference to the war.

...While the gains in Iraq were indeed impressive, Biden — and the entire Obama administration — was dead wrong for two reasons: First, the accomplishment was never this administration’s. Second, what he called their greatest accomplishment is now their spectacular failure. In the end, President Obama removed the two key ingredients needed for such an achievement: commitment and resolve. ...

 

No! It's Maliki's fault! Obama Stops Bragging About Withdrawal from Iraq    
"Why isn't the president proud of keeping his campaign promise?"  

 During his Thursday press conference on the Iraq crisis, the president was asked whether he regretted his decision not to leave a residual force there. He replied: “Well, keep in mind that wasn’t a decision made by me. That was a decision made by the Iraqi government.”