Monday, November 7, 2011

Obama's dream fulfilled: Iran will fill the vacuum in Iraq

On October 21, President Obama announced that the last American soldier would leave Iraq by the end of this year.

The Obama administration claimed that it had sought to leave a residual force of roughly 3000 troops in Iraq [consisting of military trainers etc.], but an irreconcilable dispute between the US and Iraq over the legal immunity of troops remaining in the country left the administration with no choice but to withdraw every last soldier from Iraq.

The failure to leave behind a contingency of troops in Iraq has raised concerns that Iran will attempt to fill the vacuum and extend its influence there.

Nevertheless, two explanations have been proffered as to why the administration failed to strike a deal with the Iraqi government that would allow a residual force of troops to remain in the country.

1) President Obama, the so-called "diplomat par excellence", was unable to negotiate such a deal.

2) President Obama, contrary to the administration's claims, preferred to remove all US troops from Iraq in order to curry favor with his left-wing base.

However, it should be noted that during the 2008 Presidential debates, Mr. Obama made it perfectly clear that not only did he not have any problem with the prospect of Iran ultimately expanding its influence in Iran, he actually desired the aforementioned scenario.

After boasting that he would be willing to meet, without precondition, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea, Obama went on to say:

"I think that it is a disgrace that we have not spoken to them [the aforementioned leaders]. We’ve been talking about Iraq -- one of the first things that I would do in terms of moving a diplomatic effort in the region forward is to send a signal that we need to talk to Iran and Syria because they’re going to have responsibilities if Iraq collapses. They have been acting irresponsibly up until this point. But if we tell them that we are not going to be a permanent occupying force, we are in a position to say that they are going to have to carry some weight, in terms of stabilizing the region."

Hence, according to Obama, as soon as the US military packs its bags, leaves Iraq and tells Iran "that we are not going to be a permanent occupying force" in the country, Iran will then be able to fill the vacuum and help stabilize the country.

Obama was clearly not concerned about Iran exerting its influence in Iraq, just as he is unconcerned about the Taliban regaining influence in Afghanistan. Quite the contrary, the Taliban, according Obama and his New World Order, will have an important role to play in terms of stabilizing Afghanistan.

Of course none of this makes any sense. But despite Obama's convoluted rhetoric, he was able to win the Presidential election in 2008 and still continues to garner significant backing in this country - and that doesn't make any sense either. [Obama's election victory is one head-scratcher I will never be able to solve.]

Speaking at a campaign rally in February of 2008, Michelle Obama stated as follows:

"For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback."

Likewise, if Barack Obama is re-elected in 2012, I will concede unequivocally that "for the second time in my adult life I am ashamed of my country..., because it feels like hopelessness is making another comeback."

Related News: Iranian influence seeping into Iraq