... Kurds in the mix as well – not to mention al-Qaeda, which was rising in the Sunni community in Iraq. The unfinished war in Afghanistan and the unending, Vietnam-like quagmire in Iraq produced two growing insurgencies.
The Surge of Petraeus and his ... ... Petraeus and Crocker. In late 2011, after some three years of further progress and additional reductions in violence, President Barack Obama decided to withdraw the remaining US combat forces and the last four-star US commander, leaving only a modest training ...
... power in the hands of Shia Iraqis (sectarianism) has never been a good strategy. Finally, air strikes can halt or pull the IS back at best. At worst, one can fail as the U.S. did in Vietnam. You just cannot combat these guys from the sky!
3. Whither Afghanistan?
Well, it's pretty simple. A president of Kabul is not a president of Afghanistan. Almost entire south-east landstrip of the territory is facing considerable or high security threat, terror attacks have been carried out in the Afghan ...
Leaving Plus Staying
President Obama's policy in Afghanistan seems consistent, but it is far from straightforward. The U.S. administration faces a conundrum: it is time to complete the Afghan antiterrorist operation, but peace is not within sight. But the president still has his second term to wind ...
