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Russia is making moves in Iraq

RDS

RDS

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Embarrassing situation for the US.

Russia is ready to supply weapons to Iraq, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, as the country struggles to halt advances by Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) militants.
The announcement came before Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the Kremlin.
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Russia is making moves in Iraq - Business Insider
 
Well, the US isn't the only nation with interests in the Middle East.
 
Montecresto said:
Well, the US isn't the only nation with interests in the Middle East.
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Kinda strange for Iraq to seek help from Russia while coalition air strikes are on-going.
 
RDS said:
Kinda strange for Iraq to seek help from Russia while coalition air strikes are on-going.
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Yes, you have a point. I hope the only outcome of this involvement is a positive for those suffering in Iraq, who long for peace and security, and that it doesn't muddy the waters and prove to be trouble.
 
Montecresto said:
Yes, you have a point. I hope the only outcome of this involvement is a positive for those suffering in Iraq, who long for peace and security, and that it doesn't muddy the waters and prove to be trouble.
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Has the trust been lost already?
 
Montecresto said:
Not sure what you mean by that question?
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Careful with accepting this argument.

Instead of facts or anything really you'll just be bombarded with "lol But America Are Bad."

And besides, this isn't some sort of embarrassment for us.
 
RDS said:
Kinda strange for Iraq to seek help from Russia while coalition air strikes are on-going.
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I guess, but it's clear that the help America is providing is entirely insufficient.

If the Iraqis are going to defeat Daesh and beat them back either we're going to have to step up or Iraq is going to have to go elsewhere for assistance.

Obama is just sitting on the fence, afraid to withdraw and afraid to do what needs to be done.

It isn't politically expedient to make a decision and go all in, or all out, because he can't control the outcome of either course of action and if things go South his legacy and his party will pay the price.

So instead the price is being paid by Iraq, which remains in a perpetual state of war.

If I were a leader in Iraq I would have tired of Obama's games a long time ago and sided with Russia, China, or Iran.

I'm sure given the mineral oils Iraq is sitting on any of the three could be persuaded to man up.
 
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soot said:
I guess, but it's clear that the help America is providing is entirely insufficient.

If the Iraqis are going to defeat Daesh and beat them back either we're going to have to step up or Iraq is going to have to go elsewhere for assistance.

Obama is just sitting on the fence, afraid to withdraw and afraid to do what needs to be done.
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I see nothing wrong with letting the rest of the world handle the middle east troubles for the foreseeable future.
 
Luftwaffe said:
Careful with accepting this argument.

Instead of facts or anything really you'll just be bombarded with "lol But America Are Bad."

And besides, this isn't some sort of embarrassment for us.
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Well, I don't know that it necessarily is an embarrassment for us, I just hope that whatever Russia's up to is good, not bad. I will point out, again, that both Russia and China accurately warned, a few years ago, that US interference in Syria would cause the crisis there to spill out into the entire region. One can't disagree that such observations were right.
 
Nicci said:
I see nothing wrong with letting the rest of the world handle the middle east troubles for the foreseeable future.
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Neither do I.

Similarly, I see nothing wrong with fixing the mess we made.

But do one or the other.

This never ending game of "just the tip" is ridiculous.

Or, welcome the Russians in and make no bones about it.

If we're going to be part of a coalition then let's be just that.
 
soot said:
I guess, but it's clear that the help America is providing is entirely insufficient.

If the Iraqis are going to defeat Daesh and beat them back either we're going to have to step up or Iraq is going to have to go elsewhere for assistance.

Obama is just sitting on the fence, afraid to withdraw and afraid to do what needs to be done.

It isn't politically expedient to make a decision and go all in, or all out, because he can't control the outcome of either course of action and if things go South his legacy and his party will pay the price.

So instead the price is being paid by Iraq, which remains in a perpetual state of war.

If I were a leader in Iraq I would have tired of Obama's games a long time ago and sided with Russia, China, or Iran.

I'm sure given the mineral oils Iraq is sitting on any of the three could be persuaded to man up.
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There's certainly no consensus on what needs to be done. US military adventurism in the region has had exactly zero benefit to peace and security. Perhaps we should be grateful that Russia and Iran are pitching in, maybe there will be better results, maybe not.
 
Montecresto said:
There's certainly no consensus on what needs to be done. US military adventurism in the region has had exactly zero benefit to peace and security. Perhaps we should be grateful that Russia and Iran are pitching in, maybe there will be better results, maybe not.
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I completely agree.

I'm not necessarily committed to any particular course of action.

My concern, such as it is, is that Iraq be able to take care of what needs to be done in iraq.

If we're willing to pass the torch to Russia and/or Iran, great.

If we're willing to work as a partner with Russian and/or Iran, great.

My concern is that we'll allow our ideological differences with Russian and/or Iran to stand in the way of Iraq getting the assistance they need.

I can certainly understand why we wouldn't want Iraq falling into Russia's or Iran's "orbit", and if that's a potentiality, and one we're unwilling to accept, then we need to step up our game.

But if it's a risk we're willing to take, and an outcome we're willing to live with, then I'm not opposed to any option that gets the job done.
 
DVSentinel said:
Why shouldn't they? Since Obama abandoned them anyway. Just think, if Obama hadn't pulled out, ISIS and now Russia wouldn't be able to do what they are doing.
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Ha, just think, if the frog would have had wings, he wouldn't have bumped his ass.
 
if Russia wants that war, let them go for it.
 
soot said:
I completely agree.

I'm not necessarily committed to any particular course of action.

My concern, such as it is, is that Iraq be able to take care of what needs to be done in iraq.

If we're willing to pass the torch to Russia and/or Iran, great.

If we're willing to work as a partner with Russian and/or Iran, great.

My concern is that we'll allow our ideological differences with Russian and/or Iran to stand in the way of Iraq getting the assistance they need.

I can certainly understand why we wouldn't want Iraq falling into Russia's or Iran's "orbit", and if that's a potentiality, and one we're unwilling to accept, then we need to step up our game.

But if it's a risk we're willing to take, and an outcome we're willing to live with, then I'm not opposed to any option that gets the job done.
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Why does Iraq need to be in somebody's "orbit". How about we allow Iraq, Ukraine, and all the other countries in which we constantly interfere, find their own orbital direction. Well, I suppose that's a bit rhetorical, after all, the days of US uni-polar power are closing and I agree with the senior fellows at the CFR that that is what needs to happen. And besides, look at the report card at home, we really have huge issues to address within our own borders, and lack the will or resources for that.
 
soot said:
Neither do I.

Similarly, I see nothing wrong with fixing the mess we made.

But do one or the other.

This never ending game of "just the tip" is ridiculous.

Or, welcome the Russians in and make no bones about it.

If we're going to be part of a coalition then let's be just that.
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We've been fixing Iraq for decades, time to let them hate someone else.

We need to turn our attentions to our own country and stop messing with others.
 
Nicci said:
We've been fixing Iraq for decades, time to let them hate someone else.

We need to turn our attentions to our own country and stop messing with others.
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While I heartily agree with your conclusion, I take issue with the bolded.
 
Montecresto said:
While I heartily agree with your conclusion, I take issue with the bolded.
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You shouldn't, we put Saddam in power as an attempt to fix it. That didn't work out so well.
 
Nicci said:
You shouldn't, we put Saddam in power as an attempt to fix it. That didn't work out so well.
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What I meant was, all US actions in Iraq have been attempts at control, not fixing anything.
 
Montecresto said:
What I meant was, all US actions in Iraq have been attempts at control, not fixing anything.
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I'm going to disagree, it was our attempt at "fixing" their "government", control had little to do with it.
 
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