When Tony Blair was Britain’s Prime Minister in 2003, he bowed to every action George W. Bush and Dick Cheney suggested. He was eager to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein. Only the United States placed more boots on the ground in the beginning of that military action than the United Kingdom.

In a Sunday interview he was asked if the invasion bears some of the responsibility for the rise of ISIS; he said that there were “elements of truth” in that statement.

“Of course, you can’t say that those of us who removed (former Iraqi dictator) Saddam (Hussein) in 2003 bear no responsibility for the situation in 2015,” Blair told U.S. network CNN.

Experts have claimed for years that removing Saddam Hussein destabilized the region, and resulted in a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites. With Shiites placed in control of Iraq by the United States, Sunnis began attacks against the government. ISIS joined the Sunni rebellion, and Iran, a mostly Shiite Muslim state, joined the Iraqi government against the Sunnis and ISIS. The rash invasion of 2003 created what exists today.

American imperialism has resulted in millions of deaths, the ruination of nations, and a bankruptcy of our own country. Wars in the 21^st century, in areas such as the Middle East, are unwinnable. The tactics and weaponry used by a ‘super power’ such as the United States have limited affect against guerilla-type warfare.

So, how is our government planning to remedy the situation in the Mideast? I say, do nothing. We can only make the situation worse, as we did with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. We’re not good at fighting enemies who have no care and no respect for human life.

President Obama vetoed a $612 billion spending bill for the military last week. In it was a $38 billion addendum added by the GOP for ‘war expenses.’ Some people never learn.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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Photo Courtesy of Chatham House