I have written several past commentaries, the latest dated April 8, 2008 (yes, way back then) titled The Iraq-Iran Alliance and pointed out no matter how and when the Iraq war ends, Iraq and Iran will be close allies and the fruits of the billions of dollars the U.S. spent to rebuild Iraq will be enjoyed by Iraq and Iran. Now comes a story out of the Associated Press dated 10/22/2010 that reports the following.
American influence has so dwindled in Iraq over the last several months that Iraqi lawmakers and political leaders say they no longer follow Washington's advice for forming a government. Instead, Iraqis are turning to neighboring nations, and especially Iran, for guidance, casting doubt on the future of the American role in this strategic country after a grinding war that killed more than 4,400 U.S. soldiers.
The March parliamentary elections in Iraq failed to produce a winner and Iraq has failed to heed the U.S. advise to form a government. Iraqi politicians say they will pick new leaders on their own timetable. Keep in mind the Sunni backed political coalition won the most votes in the March election and Al-Sadr, whose hardline Shiite followers are close to Iran has been talking to Iraq's al-MAliki to form a new government.
The Bush administration outsmarted itself when it started a war and occupation in Iraq over WMD that did not exits and tried to remake Iraq in the warped image Bush created. The American loss of lives, the wounded, the financial cost to the U.S. and its people are a tragedy that will occupy our thoughts for a very long time. The U.S. and its people deserve better.
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