tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59324506101124457.post3583792294612795544..comments2024-03-24T21:06:57.039-07:00Comments on FOUSESQUAWK: Ramadi: A "Setback", "Reversible" or a Catastrophe?Gary Fousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17014739065121483409noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59324506101124457.post-60545744178847437712015-05-23T20:11:16.923-07:002015-05-23T20:11:16.923-07:00Most of us are in as much of a quandary as you are...Most of us are in as much of a quandary as you are, for the obvious reason: there are no good options. It wouldn't be hard to say "Look, ISIS are really bad guys and we HAVE to go in and take them out, no matter the cost. But, remember that whenever there are American boots on the ground, we become the issue. There was a brief moment when an American marine was the hero of the Palestinian refugee camps for holding off an Israeli tank with his pistol. But it didn't take long for the marine barracks to be blown up.<br /><br />So it seems we do more harm than good when we put boots on the ground. IT was touch and go whether we could take Europe back from the Nazis, and that was when we had entire populations welcoming us as liberators (including a good part of Italy).<br /><br />Incidentally, we were pulling out of Iraq before Obama ever took office, because al-Nouri's regime refused to sign a status of forces agreement with the Bush administration...Siarlys Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083839117838391267noreply@blogger.com