Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Sky reviews the U.S. handling of Iraq, spanks both the Bush and Obama admins

Emma Sky, who has written for this blog on occasion, recently issued a sharp paper at CNAS that blasts the handling of Iraq by both the Bush and Obama administrations. She reports that Iraqis believe that the United States has lost Iraq to Iran, and that Iraqis now travel to Tehran to ask permission to ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
Wikimedia
Wikimedia
Wikimedia

Emma Sky, who has written for this blog on occasion, recently issued a sharp paper at CNAS that blasts the handling of Iraq by both the Bush and Obama administrations. She reports that Iraqis believe that the United States has lost Iraq to Iran, and that Iraqis now travel to Tehran to ask permission to oust Maliki. She concludes that, "America could learn that money can't buy love, that relationships are key, that strategic patience is needed, that allies should not be ignored and that a regional approach is needed as well as a bilateral one."

Emma Sky, who has written for this blog on occasion, recently issued a sharp paper at CNAS that blasts the handling of Iraq by both the Bush and Obama administrations. She reports that Iraqis believe that the United States has lost Iraq to Iran, and that Iraqis now travel to Tehran to ask permission to oust Maliki. She concludes that, "America could learn that money can’t buy love, that relationships are key, that strategic patience is needed, that allies should not be ignored and that a regional approach is needed as well as a bilateral one."

CNAS, a full-service outfit, also offered this blueprint on how to fix things.

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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