When you hear anyone tell you that the USA could have WON in Iraq, please know they are blowing smoke.

11 May 2003 Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush appointed L. Paul Bremer to run Iraq. Bremer did not speak Arabic. Knew nothing of the Middle East. Seems to have done pretty much everything wrong.

On May 23, 2003, Bremer issued Order Number 2, in effect dissolving the entire former Iraqi army and putting 400,000 former Iraqi soldiers out of work. Discontent and insurgency grew stronger.

… It probably doesn’t matter what Bremer did.

It’s not possible for a foreign invader to WIN in Iraq or Afghanistan. Never has been. Never will.

Recall that wannabe President John McCain said that U.S. troops could spend “maybe 100” years in Iraq. That wouldn’t have been long enough. 😦

If you want a recap, I recommend Frontline:

U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in 2011, ending America’s military commitment in the country.

Now, chaos is once again engulfing Iraq. The team behind “The Lost Year in Iraq,” “The Torture Question” and “Bush’s War” takes a look at how we got here, what went wrong, and what happens next.

Losing Iraq (July 29, 2014)

The longer the U.S. military stays, the more suicide bombers they will inspire. The more Westerners will join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). 😦