Kerry Visits Iraq As Rebels Seize Refinery

As John Kerry visits Iraq, Sunni rebels claim to have fully captured the country's main oil refinery at Baiji north of Baghdad.

Iraq Fracturing

It appears, as ISIS seize Iraq's Western border crossings, that Iraq is fracturing.

This should hardly come as a surprise given that the only way it was held together before was by a dictator who used the tools of the state to suppress dissent.

The only real surprise is that those who removed Saddam are surprised by the fracturing of Iraq.

US To Send 300 Military Advisers

President Barack Obama has said that the US will send 300 military advisers to Iraq to help fight Islamist-led insurgents.

Mr Obama said (as per the BBC) the US was prepared for "targeted and precise military action, if and when" required, but added that US troops would not fight in Iraq.

And so it begins.....

Iraq Asks For US Air Strikes

Iraq has asked for US air strikes against advancing jihadist militants, who have seized key cities and towns.

Apparently, President Barack Obama has told Congressional leaders he does not need thier approval for any action in Iraq.

History Repeating Itself?

It would appear, if reports in the media are true, that remnants of Saddam's regime are trying to make a comeback in at least the city of Tal Afar.

What was it Bush once said?

"Mission Accomplished!"

The Clusterfuck That Is Iraq

What did Blair and Bush really think would happen when they kicked out Saddam without a coherent and robust plan for restoring Iraq politically and economically after the war?

Ten Years On

Ten years have elapsed since the start of the Iraq war.

Here are some sobering statistics, at least 116,000 Iraqi civilians and more than 4,800 coalition troops died in Iraq between the outbreak of war in 2003 and the US withdrawal in 2011, while the total cost to the US could reach $3 trillion according to new estimates.

Independence Anniversary

As per @pencilbloke:

"On this day in 1932 Iraq gained independence from the United Kingdom, thus ushering in a new era of stability and peaceful prosperity etc."

Quite!

US Troops Leave Iraq

Yesterday President Barack Obama spoke at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and paid tribute to the US troops who had served in the Iraq war.

He sated that Iraq is now sovereign, stable and self-reliant; and noted that the future of Iraq is now in the hands of the Iraqi people.

Today the US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, said that "the dream of an independent and sovereign Iraq is now a reality".

What is the legacy of the war?

- Corruption
- Instability
- Crippled armed forces (eg the airforce will not be capable of defending the borders until 2015)
- Meddling by the Iranians

Mission accomplished!

War Over

President Barack Obama has announced that the 9 year war in Iraq is finally over. All American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of December this year.