The Kurds are one of the best allies the United States has in the Middle East, second only to Israel in terms of a practical strategic partnership against Islamic extremism in the form of al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIS). So why is the United States letting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq go to Hell in a handbasket? My article at Arc Digital lays out the reasons why Americans should give a damn about the Kurds.
According to the Associated Press, White House and Iraqi government officials are quietly negotiating increasing the number of U.S. troops deployed to Iraq — a reversal after both the Bush and Obama administrations reduced U.S. forces there.
The attitude can be summed up in a simple phrase now popular with the Trump administration national security team: The U.S. left Iraq too soon. The withdrawal of U.S. troops six years ago authorized under the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments led to political chaos and gave Daesh the opportunity to launch its insurgency.
My recent column for NRT English explores the questions raised by this development and continues my coverage of the issue.
It’s not about cr
uise missile strikes or Strykers rumbling into Daesh-held towns. Wherever the United States goes in the Middle East it plants its flag — and that means bases that allow U.S. fighting men and women to operate in places like northern Iraq and Syria. Here is my article on the inevitability of more U.S. bases in Iraqi Kurdistan. It’s my latest column for NRT English.
The Pen and The Sword 