The pitfalls of Obama's Iraq War

Helping the Kurds might be justifiable. But we must not be sucked into a wider conflict.

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(Image credit: (REUTERS/Rodi Said))

Just like President George W. Bush before him, and President Clinton before him, and President George H.W. Bush before him, President Obama is getting the U.S. involved militarily in Iraq. It started with drops of humanitarian supplies, proceeded to targeted bombings, and has now reached arms shipments to Kurdish militias who are reportedly in a fight for their very existence against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The justification this time around is more compelling than for our previous military interventions. But let's not forget a historical context that is defined by horrifying failures on the part of the U.S. military and the U.S. political elite, which should make us wary of the very real possibility of a slippery slope in Iraq.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.