Iraq: Marvelous Phenomena

Former CIA Chief of the Bin Laden Issue Station

Former CIA Chief of the bin Laden unit, Michael Scheuer writes,

For now, however, the beginning of wisdom is to look at what is going on in Iraq and Syria and see it clearly. In both places all of those folks that multiple U.S. administrations have identified as enemies of America are killing each other…. This is a perfect circumstance for the United States, all our enemies are killing each other and it is not costing us a cent or a life.

Over in Iraq, we see much the same marvelous phenomena occurring. Multinational Sunni mujahedin and Saddam’s military personnel are fighting and killing Maliki’s dictatorial regime, its Shia military forces, and their Iranian military supporters…. In Iraq there is also the potential for a delightful bonus coming to fruition. If the United States stays out of the affair, the renewed war in Iraq may trigger a widespread Shia-vs-Sunni civil war in which our Muslim enemies-as they are defined by our bipartisan political elite-may begin to kill each other for a prolonged period and at unprecedented levels, and, and. at no cost to us in lives or dollars.

We have a lot of work to do at home if the republic is to be resuscitated, and this reality makes mandatory a foreign policy of non-intervention, a quick contracting of our international commitments; and-especially-a drastic curtailing of the ability of foreign nations to dictate our international behavior. Four actions would constitute a first step in the right direction. (a) Give 12-months’ notice to the Europeans that the United States is leaving NATO and begin withdrawing our military forces from Western Europe. (b) Build the XL Pipeline, issue as many drilling permits on federal lands as possible. (c) Immediately end all diplomatic, military, and economic relationships with Israel and Palestine. Ties to both undermine U.S. national security, motivate our Islamist enemies, and cost America lives and money. (d) When steps a, b, and c are complete, Washington should declare America’s intention to end foreign intervention and war-making unless clear and irrefutable U.S. national interests are at stake, and also state the United States henceforth will be neutral in all wars that do not impact those interests.