*BREAKING* Al Queda has taken over Tikrit and Samarra. 500,000 Iraqis have fled !

A day after taking over Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, militants gained nearly complete control of the northern city of Tikrit, witnesses in the city and police officials in neighboring Samarra told CNN.

Heavy fighting erupted inside Tikrit -- the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein -- as the military tried to regain control of the city, the sources and a police official in Baghdad said.

According to the witnesses in Tikrit and the Samarra police officials, two police stations in Tikrit had been set on fire and a military base taken over by militants, who are believed to be from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, an al Qaeda splinter group also known as ISIS and ISIL.

More than 500,000 people have fled the fighting there, the International Organization for Migration said Wednesday.

The group, whose teams have been monitoring the plight of those caught in the onslaught, said the violence had resulted in "a high number of casualties among civilians."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/11/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

My take - what the hell ?! Half a million is a freaking exodus of unstable proportions. I honestly think our war in Iraq has only made things worse. I supported the removal of Saddam as millions died under his brutal dictatorship, but is Al Queda any better ?

 

Why are we not sending all those missiles with upcoming expiration dates coming up over there on them?

Thats too mean. And by mean, I mean, the american people are weak and dont have the stomach for war.

We are a nation of cowards and pacifists.

 

I hear ya. I was all for it when I thought it meant Westernization of the Middle East, especially with new religious freedom. We should've handled it like we did Japan post-WWII.

 

Do not blame this (*)(*)(*)(*) on Bush, this is all on Obama. According to Obama, he had Al Qaeda on the ropes 2 years ago. It is good that they are; imagine what could have happened, if they weren't.

 

This would have happened eventually. We can't introduce Western style democracy to people who want to implement Sharia law. We should have known this from the start.

 

By all means, feel free to enlist in the Iraqi Army and volunteer for front line duty to show your courage.

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How exactly is America supposed to do anything about AQ in Iraq when Bush signed the ordered mandating we leave?

 

But George Bush had the mission... accomplished.

 

The US is being destroyed internally by Marxism. Until that situation plays out, I don't see how we have the ability to control other countries when we can't even control our own.

 

There were no no terrorist groups in Iraq until Bush changed the landscape there, you were saying?

 

Had Obama had any balls, he could have found a way. wishful thinking, I know...

 

He didn't put up the banner. "Mission Accomplished" meant major combat operations were over.

I enjoy most of your posts, but clearly you're still coughing up a fair bit of left-wing propaganda.

 

Why do we need to control any other country than our own? FYI attacking a country that has attacked is not about controlling them it is about destroying them, Nation building is a BS idea the Military is not designed or trained for it, simply go in kill those that have attacked us and once they are all dead or in prison, move out and leave to the People of that country to run their own show.

 

The Iraqis have been unwilling to negotiate on the issue of forcing American soldiers to be tried in Iraqi courts. Would you support passing a deal with that proviso in order to put US troops in Iraq?

 

Many Americans are still wondering what the Mission in Iraq was?

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

YES, and I 'sported' a bumper sticker on the back of my car for 3 years.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
MY ASS!!!

Funny, unlike numerous bumper stickers on the back of my vehicle over years--not infrequently, eliciting a negative response, I can't remember anyone saying a word about that one.

 

He had. until a Community Organizer-in-Chief came along and started to meddle in things he've no business meddling in.

 

So I can go fight next to a bunch of poorly trained Iraqis?

I did my time, I put in work, and I put lead down range against my superiors wishes, and there are three skeletons laying somewhere in the mountains of Helmand province as a sign of my handy work.

"I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you (*)(*)(*)(*) with me, I'll kill you all"- General Mattis

Give that man 10,000 marines (there would be no shortage of volunteers, I would happily go with "Mad Dog"), pull out the media, and the situation would be over with in six months.

 

LOL - wow, just wow. Obama didn't start the war, he inherited it. But mismanagement from 2005 to 2013 is the what has caused this current crisis. Both Bush and Obama bear responsibility.

 

First off, What Mission was accomplished? Secondly, what did Obama do in Iraq other than continue with what Bush had set in place, being getting the troops out of there, which is a good thing?

 

The people don't want Sharia the same way the Germans didn't want Nazism. It is being forced on them as the sadistic sociopaths of Al Queda will scorch Earth to get their way.

 

Oh well... time to play another round of golf... Remember, it's BUSH's fault... Obama maybe president, he's way to busy for that sort of stuff...

 

It helps to have some context and perspective instead of just whatever MSNBC tells you about it. The US was recovering from the largest attack ever on its soil. All 16 of our intelligence agencies, with the highest degrees of confidence, concluded that Iraq had stockpiles of WMDs, and this was corroborated by the intelligence of several other countries in Europe, Russia, and elsewhere. At the time, it seemed like the natural course to take to protect the US from further terroristic threats. Most of the country supported the idea.

It's a really big problem for you on the left who claim Bush "lied us into war" when all of these Democrats relied on the same intelligence that he did, including the person you're going to support for President in 2016... and her husband:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/wmdquotes.asp

 

I think what is more clear is that the mission.... was not accomplished.

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How many bumper stickers does your car have on it now ?

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How so ? How was it accomplished ?