How hard it is to know that the proverb that "one who does not history is doomed to repeat it", seems to be beyond the grasp of this administration.
Roger Cohen shared a 1925 report regarding the former Ottoman Empire that despite “the good intentions of the statesmen of Iraq, whose political experience is necessarily small, it is to be feared that serious difficulties may arise out of the differences which in some cases exist in regard to political ideas between the Shiites of the South and the Sunnites of the North, the racial differences between Arabs and Kurds, and the necessity of keeping the turbulent tribes under control.”
Nothing has changed. David Brooks zoned in on the hatred between the ethnic groups in Iraq. Thomas Friedman highlighted again the lack of civil institutions. This knowledge was available for those who were considering the invasion into Iraq. The knowledge of the breakup of Yugoslavia with its negative outcomes was available.
Why would our leaders think this intervention would avoid a similar outcome?
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