U.S. can't force Iraqis to fight: Your Say

Letters to the editor:

We as voters need to ask ourselves whether it's really the politicians — who are spending our tax dollars every year to fight a losing war in Iraq — or the Iraqis who want a democratic form of government there ("Analysis: New plan recognizes Iraq army still not up to task").

If there is no national will for Iraqis to fight for one, then why try so desperately to impose it on them? Iraq has been divided among tribes for centuries. You can't simply decide one day, because it's in our best interest, to invade the country in an attempt to change it.

Edward Lumas; Grand Rapids, Mich.

USA TODAY's Editorial Board is on the right track, while the view of commentary writer Stephen Miles is exceptionally naive ("War on ISIL calls for a broader strategy: Our view"; "We can't bomb our way to peace: Opposing view").

Still, after reading both pieces, I wonder if I am the only person who understands President Obama's true strategy, which is to procrastinate until he is out of office.

His administration rebranded the War on Terror as Overseas Contingency Operations, yet we are still at war. Obama led from behind and botched the U.S. response to the Arab Spring. He blamed President George W. Bush for starting a war that Obama took credit for ending, but the conflict continues. We had won in Iraq, but Obama gave a timeline for withdrawal. In essence, he lost Iraq to ISIL. Obama neither has the aptitude nor the conviction to lead America in war.

Elio Valenti; Brooklyn, N.Y.

Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

Some people blame President Obama for creating ISIL. That's just silly. He didn't go to war with Iraq for non-existent weapons of mass destruction. He also didn't create the agreement that the U.S. would pull out troops. That was the former commander in chief. There has been unrest in the Middle East for hundreds of years. Every time we get involved, it seems to get worse, not better. And we create new terrorists with each failed intervention.

— Jon Russo

The U.S. policy in Iraq was a failure from the start. We failed to understand the religious and tribal issues. We dismissed the Iraq army, instead of just rebuilding the military leadership. We tried to keep the country as it was under Saddam Hussein instead of creating three regions that would work together. We left 10 years too soon. I'm sure there are more missteps, but both George W. Bush and Barack Obama made a lot of mistakes in handling Iraq: Bush in going into Iraq in the first place; and Obama for leaving too soon and not committing to the process.

— Brian Harris

Support the Kurds directly and let the Sunnis and Shiites fight it out on their own. Iraq maybe should just be divided into three states. Let them deal with it. The U.S. has spent enough lives and dollars.

— Paul Curtin