Holy shit...WHAT? There are reasons we lost in Vietnam? Vietnam was a clusterfuck, yeah, and it was to try to stop the Commies from spreading. What country are you from @Nine_Ender ? Obviously you are not "from the USA". Don't fuck with the emotions of the USA, man. We had some hideous shit happen to us many times, and we are trying to protect ourselves from people like YOU who ask us..."What have we suffered lately"? The shit the USA suffers is to try to protect people like you who do not even know the shit they face. You're welcome for our assistance. I acknowledge France helping us win our independence from the Brits, but NEVER assume that we owe anyone anything after that. THAT is bullshit.
The level of cope in your post is at levels previously unrecorded. We are separated by two oceans from any potential threat and possess the absolute best military and threat response system on the planet. We have the most carriers, the best anti-missile defense, and the most well trained troops on the planet. Our military contractors and aerospace companies develop all of the technology the world uses for it's defense. We could pull out of every conflict tomorrow and the only people that would be hurt would be non-Americans. Remember the outrage when Trump wanted to pull out of Syria? America has signed treaties to defend our allies despite the fact we have no geological reason to even come to your aid and this is the response you have? We'd have peace in America if we pulled out of every conflict on the planet tomorrow (and believe me, the left and right both agree we'd be better off letting the rest of the planet fight their own bloody wars!) The rest of the planet wouldn't. Everyone forgets who's troops are the one training, arming, and protecting the rest of this god forsaken space rock. I'm also curious what country @Nine_Ender is from. Even for a far-left shill his anti-American diatribe is pretty unusual.
Foreign policy isn't about being friends with the nice guys, its about relations which benefit the country, whether those people are nice or not.
"Iraqi insurgents"? Why not just call them "freedom fighters"? How come you understand Iranian motives and motivations better & more profoundly & sympathetically than of your own country?
What people do not realise is a lot of Iranians are also, being brutalized by the Ayatollahs and Soleimani. They only reason they do not celebrate his death is they would be arrested, tortured and maybe, even killed for it. Radical Islamists like Soleimani put down demonstrations with brutal force killing hundreds just recently. In Iraq, the same thing is happening. Shiites who now control the Iraqi government has been abusing the Kurds and Sunnis. That is why the Sunnis rose up and formed ISIS and supported Islamic radicals to fight the Shiite government. If the Iraqis want the US to leave, the US can leave. Let them fend for themselves. No US aid nor weapons should be given to them. ISIS elements will rise up again and this time will be much more brutal.
Spokesperson发言人办公室 @MFA_China FM Wang Yi just had a phonecall with Russian FM Lavrov. FM Wang Yi said military adventurism is unacceptable. He called on Iraq's sovereignty respected, UN Charter observed & regional peace maintained. China&Russia will continue to uphold international justice & peace.
Because "freedom fighters" fight for freedom, while "insurgents" fight against a regime -- whether cruel or just, partisan or balanced, tyrannical or democratic, anti-private-property or pro-private property. But you knew that, 100%, before you posted the thought. The shame of all this (and something I have not heard anyone yet voice, except for private persons who don't get camera time) is that while The Arab Spring was brought to you by those seeking freedom, it was brought to fruition with the participation of Tyrants-for-God -- who sought to trade one brand of soul-crushing dominance for another. *That* is the shame of it -- the theocratic tyrants held the field last.
It is a bloody mess over there. We overthrew Saddam Hussein, a Sunni and installed a majority Shiite regime who is aligned with the Shiite of Iran. Now we are fighting the Iranians so the Shiite in Iraq are against us who liberated them from the tyranny of the Sunni. And we are supporting the Sunni of Saudi Arabia to fight the Iranians & Yemen Shiite. In the mean time the ISIS who are Sunni are trying to kill us. So we support the Kurds to fight the Syrians and Sunni ISIS and all this time our ally Turkey tries to exterminate the Kurds....... And then there is Israel. It makes my head spins. I vote for the US to get the hell out of there and let them sort it out (fight) without our interference.
If a part of the western strategy is to keep the ME states divided and keep their militaries weak, so they cannot ally against a western partner or make aggressive moves towards their neighbours, its working very well.