1) In a meeting with the pro-American Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who has tried to rein in the country’s powerful pro-Iranian Shia militias, President Biden called for an end to American combat operations in the country, which have been going on for 18 years. Initiated by the Bush administration, based on the imperative to destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programme (there wasn’t any), the Iraq conflict has: cost $1.9 trillion; killed 460,000 Iraqis and 4500 Americans; shattered Iraq as a coherent state; left Iran the dominant power in the country; and indirectly spurred the horrendous ISIS insurgency. Coupled with Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, there is a general winding down of America’s ‘forever wars’ in the Middle East as it strategically completes the ‘Pivot to Asia,’ and its new focus on the Indo-Pacific.
3 things to think about today (July 27th)
3 things to think about today (July 27th)
3 things to think about today (July 27th)
1) In a meeting with the pro-American Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who has tried to rein in the country’s powerful pro-Iranian Shia militias, President Biden called for an end to American combat operations in the country, which have been going on for 18 years. Initiated by the Bush administration, based on the imperative to destroy Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programme (there wasn’t any), the Iraq conflict has: cost $1.9 trillion; killed 460,000 Iraqis and 4500 Americans; shattered Iraq as a coherent state; left Iran the dominant power in the country; and indirectly spurred the horrendous ISIS insurgency. Coupled with Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, there is a general winding down of America’s ‘forever wars’ in the Middle East as it strategically completes the ‘Pivot to Asia,’ and its new focus on the Indo-Pacific.