Chet Vogel: Trying to unite Iraq

In his June 19 column “A new strategy for Iraq, Syria,” Charles Krauthammer finally admitted Dick Cheney and Paul Bremer’s eliminating Sunnis’ dominant role in Iraq was a blunder.

Our 2003 “takeover” of Iraq violated two fundamental doctrines: invade an enemy of an enemy only for overwhelming reasons and never attempt to make significant government changes without the people’s overwhelming support or massive invasion force that can enforce these changes. Both doctrines were violated.

Our ability to maintain order was lost with this disastrous neocon act of removing too many Sunnis from the government and military. Cashiering competent soldiers with arms led to massive United States losses.

Yet Krauthammer and the Republican-controlled Congress can’t accept President Obama’s plan of forcing the now Shiite Iraqi government to again use Sunnis in leading roles.

If this “limited” action fails, hopefully we can persuade Egypt and Turkey to clean up our mess using the allies they select.

Turkey, Egypt, Iran and Israel should redraw the English-French post-World War I map. Perhaps if the Kurds play a key role, Turkey and Iran will obtain sufficient additional territory to establish a Kurdistan.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Chet Vogel: Trying to unite Iraq."