The Iraqis have never been a strong military, even under a dictator that threatened death. Gulf War 1 was ridiculous. There was no resistance and the USA secured Kuwait without much of an effort.
The food for oil program worked to a greater extent than it didn't work.
June 15, 2014
Anmar al Shamary and Jabeen Bhatti
Special for USA Today
...The pictures on a militant website (click here) appear to show masked fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) loading the captives onto flatbed trucks before forcing them to lie face-down in a shallow ditch with their arms tied behind their backs. The bodies of the captives are then shown, soaked in blood after being shot....
The militias have stated they have assassinated 1700 Iraqi soldiers. The USA is also removing a percentage of their embassy staff.
The invasion into Iraq occurred in 2003. The Arab Spring occurred in 2011. Nearly eight years apart. How long does it take for the people of any country to realize they have untapped and oppressed power.
The USA withdrawal from Iraq began June 2009 and was completed by December 2011. The withdrawal of US Troops nearly meets exactly with the beginning of the Arab Spring.
We know the beginning of the Arab Spring started with a street vendor that self immolated in Tunisia. Does anyone believe ISIS was responsible for that event and the subsequent events to follow in over 15 countries?
Something changed in the Middle East and it didn't happen because the USA pulled out of Iraq. The people changed. The oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein fell in open theater to all those in the streets. The people carried out religious events unseen in open forum with self inflicted pain that is ceremonial to the act of saving Islam. And the statue of a dictator was dragged from it's pedestal. These images and the news surrounding the end of a regime was not isolated to the TV viewers in the USA. These images were played in most every nation in the region and across the world.
The food for oil program worked to a greater extent than it didn't work.
June 15, 2014
Anmar al Shamary and Jabeen Bhatti
Special for USA Today
...The pictures on a militant website (click here) appear to show masked fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) loading the captives onto flatbed trucks before forcing them to lie face-down in a shallow ditch with their arms tied behind their backs. The bodies of the captives are then shown, soaked in blood after being shot....
The militias have stated they have assassinated 1700 Iraqi soldiers. The USA is also removing a percentage of their embassy staff.
The invasion into Iraq occurred in 2003. The Arab Spring occurred in 2011. Nearly eight years apart. How long does it take for the people of any country to realize they have untapped and oppressed power.
The USA withdrawal from Iraq began June 2009 and was completed by December 2011. The withdrawal of US Troops nearly meets exactly with the beginning of the Arab Spring.
We know the beginning of the Arab Spring started with a street vendor that self immolated in Tunisia. Does anyone believe ISIS was responsible for that event and the subsequent events to follow in over 15 countries?
Something changed in the Middle East and it didn't happen because the USA pulled out of Iraq. The people changed. The oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein fell in open theater to all those in the streets. The people carried out religious events unseen in open forum with self inflicted pain that is ceremonial to the act of saving Islam. And the statue of a dictator was dragged from it's pedestal. These images and the news surrounding the end of a regime was not isolated to the TV viewers in the USA. These images were played in most every nation in the region and across the world. 
