Guess Who’s Not Going Back To Iraq – Kind Of
The Background:
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003. Either because we believed they had Nuclear Weapons or to spread Democracy to the world or to line some pockets, I’m still not entirely sure. The US finally left Iraq 2 years ago. One thing that’s significantly changed in Iraq since 2003, other than military presence, is leadership. For decades Sunni Muslims had ruled Iraq even though roughly eighty percent of Iraqi’s are Shia Muslims. Ever since America ‘helped’, Shi’ites are now in charge of Iraq, and some people who are no longer in charge, which happen to be Sunni, are pissed off.
The Current Situation:
Some people in Iraq aren’t really happy with the way things are going. These people are Kurdish Sunnis, people of a certain sect of Islam whom live in northern Iraq. They have taken control of various cities in northern Iraq, and amongst them is Mosul the second largest city in Iraq. This insurgent group, known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) intends to unite Iraq and Syria (obviously) under one Islamic country (obviously again). ISIS has started in Northern Iraq and is heading straight towards Baghdad, the capital and largest city in Iraq. Fun Fact*: Al Qaeda thought that ISIS was too crazy and didn’t want to be associated with them.
Who Has This Under Control:
Nor the Iraqi government nor the Iraqi army. The Iraqi government has basically sent out the bat sign asking for help. Yes you read that right; Iraq has been asking various countries in the world including the United States of America, for help.
Mister Rouhani’s Neighborhood:
Iran has sent 500 troops to Iraq to help the recently democratically re-elected president. After all, what are neighbors for if not to help you when the roof of your house is on fire.
So We’re Going To War Again? NO Says President Obama:
And so does Thought Catalog’s James Barnes. The President is refusing to send any on ground troops to Iraq, saying that phase of America’s history is over. However the President is not outright refusing support of the Iraqi government, and recognizes that the issue in Iraq is intense and needs help. The President is going to be thinking about how to help Iraq while keeping the US’s best interests at hand, and he’ll keep Iraq’s request for air drones in mind.