Iraq Burns, US Watches

ISIS militants already control Fallujah, a city that American Marines took in 2004 in what was the bloodiest battle of the Iraq War. Now, with both Mosul and Fallujah under their control, nearly half of Iraq is in the grips of a group that is a formal affiliate of a terrorist group.

This is problematic for a host of reasons. First, it shows that the American-trained Iraqi military is not adequate. Second, Iraqi soldiers left their weapons behind – giving ISIS a huge cache of equipment.

But the most disturbing aspect of the desertion is what Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki proposed to replace the missing troops. In an address to the nation Tuesday, he called on Iraqi citizens to take up arms against ISIS in an attempt to retake the city.

“We will not allow for the remainder of the ... province and the city to fall," he said, adding that he would arm them. “This requires all efforts, both civilian and official, to confront this ferocious attack that harms all Iraqis, from a deteriorating security situation to a humanitarian crisis.”

The sacking of Mosul is the latest sign that Iraq, which American troops formally left in 2011, is tumbling toward destruction. Violence continues to rage across the country; according to AFP; some 14,129 Iraqis have been killed since U.S. forces left.

Christian Whiton, a former George W. Bush administration State Department senior adviser, said that the mishandling of Iraq dates back to the first President Bush. He added that President Obama’s desire to disengage from Iraq while reengaging in Afghanistan has led to troubles there.

“We defeated ourselves twice in Iraq,” said Whiton. “For his part, Obama gave away the security and power that came from Bush's victorious surge of military forces in 2007. Obama intentionally failed to reach an agreement to keep some forces in Iraq and felt he was above dealing with Iraq's leaders as Bush had.”

Whiton said that the United States should not send troops to Iraq. However, he said there are other ways Congress and the White House could intervene. He said that if America continues to sit on the sidelines, there could be more disaster in store.

Added Whiton, “This will come back to bite us.”