Max Boot
"When it comes to Iraqi politics, Joe Biden seems to have the reverseMidas
touch: Everything he touches turns to muck.
"Given the Iraq portfolio by President Obama, Biden made his mark in 2010
by putting the U.S. firmly behind the reelection as prime minister of the
Shiite sectarian Nouri al Maliki even though Ayad Allawi, a nonsectarian
leader, had won more votes. In charge once again during negotiations over
the Status of Forces Agreement, Biden didn’t secure a treaty to keep U.S.
forces in Iraq in 2011. The result: With the U.S. gone, Maliki’s sectarian
vendetta was unleashed against Sunnis, leading them into the arms of ISIS.
"Last Thursday Biden returned to the scene of the crime in a show of support
for the new American Backed(sp) leader, Haider al Abadi, who replaced Maliki in
September 2014. A senior official traveling with the vice president said the
visit was a “symbol of how much faith we have in Prime Minister Abadi.”
" Within days, thousands of Muqtada al Sadr’s followers had overrun the seat
of Iraq’s government, revealing Abadi’s impotence–and also the hollowness
of a U.S. policy based on supporting him. " . . .
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