The Way Forward in Iraq

In recent weeks, an Al-Qaeda inspired group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has quickly seized control of several cities in Northern Iraq including military facilities, banks, and even a major oil refinery. America has invested a large amount of blood, time, and treasure to liberate and secure Iraq. To see our investments in Iraq at risk of being reversed so quickly by a relatively small group of militants is deeply troubling, and even sickening.

While the conflict between different ethnic and religious groups in Iraq traces back thousands of years, the early pullout of American forces has certainly played a role in establishing the conditions in which the current crisis has developed.

The Administration failed to negotiate a status of forces agreement with the Iraqi government to keep a residual American force in the country after 2011. President Obama then ordered the complete withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, against the advice of commanders on the ground. Time has now shown the Iraqi government was not ready to stand on its own.

The eagerness by many to withdraw from Iraq was political, not tactical. In addition to walking away from the Iraqi government before it was ready to provide security for the Iraqi people, the Obama Administration chose to release thousands of prisoners in U.S. custody to expedite our retreat. One of the released prisoners was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who is now the leader of ISIS. This failure should be kept in mind as the Obama Administration contemplates and seeks to release other enemies of the United States, including detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

This crisis is unfortunate, but we now have an obligation to seek the best path forward. As ISIS fighters continue to advance, our first priority must be to protect American lives, including at our embassy in Baghdad. We cannot have a reoccurrence of what happened in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. I appreciate the President’s intentions to secure the embassy, to send 300 military advisors to consult the Iraqi military, to enhance our intelligence capabilities in the country, and to consider targeted military strikes against ISIS in consultation with Congress.

While I hope the use of ground forces can be avoided, I would have preferred the President not announce to the world, including our enemies, the limits of his engagement. I also hope our government is not coordinating with the government of Iran, the world’s largest state-sponsor of terrorism, for military assistance in Iraq. Our reluctance to act should not be an excuse to enhance Iran’s influence in Iraq or to allow ISIS to overrun the country. We must listen to our friends in Iraq and seriously consider their requests for assistance.

America is the greatest source of good in the history of mankind. However, political expediency has failed American interests and our allies before. As America steps back, ISIS, Iran, and Russia are filling the void. America must lead again to remain what President Reagan called, “the last best hope of man on Earth.”