: re: Sunni Militants Drive Iraqi Army From Big City

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Tue, Jun 10, 2014 at 9:00 PM
Subject: re: Sunni Militants Drive Iraqi Army From Big City
To: "letters@nytimes.com"

To the Editor:

  Seven years ago, when the U.S. embraced general Petraeus' strategy of empowering and arming sectarian militias rather than building national Iraqi institution, we ensured and fueled the civil war that has been churning since. Now, what had been relatively peaceful and prosperous Iraqi Kurdistan is being swept into the maelstrom.

    Maybe when the Iraqis despair utterly, we'll give them a new strongman whom we find convenient.

Barry Haskell Levine

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/world/middleeast/militants-in-mosul.html?_r=0