Does the West have an obligation to return to Iraq?
Iraq is in crisis once again, as entire cities have fallen under the control of the violent jihadist group, ISIS. And some say the West is obligated to intervene....
Iraq is in crisis once again, as entire cities have fallen under the control of the violent jihadist group, ISIS. And some say the West is obligated to intervene.
I don't rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria for that matter.President Barack Obama
While the U.S. President made no commitments, he left the door open to some form of intervention. The New York Times reported the Iraqi Prime Minister asked for U.S. airstrikes, but was turned down.
There are people who believe not only that the West should intervene, but that given its history with the country, it's morally obligated to do so.
To discuss, we were joined by three guests:
- Hoshang Waziri is a journalist in the Kurdish city of Erbil, in northern Iraq.
- James Dubik is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General who commanded the Multi-National Security Transition Command in Iraq from 2007 to 2008.
- Peter Mansoor is a retired U.S. Army Colonel who was the Executive Officer to General David Petreaus during the surge in 2007-2008.
Do you think the West has a moral obligation to help Iraq?
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This segment was produced by The Current's Catherine Kalbfleisch and Marc Apollonio.