MarAzul
LongShip
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- Sep 28, 2008
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I wrote to Wyden last week about my thoughts on IS.
Waist of time, he will go with the tide where ever Obama flows.
Response from Wyden
Dear MarAzul:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the situation in Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
As you know, the U.S. military withdrew from Iraq in 2011, leaving behind a country divided by growing sectarian and ethnic divisions—a problem only exacerbated by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s failure to govern inclusively. Political and sectarian divisions erupted in December 2013, culminating in a military offensive led by Sunni extremists in northern and central Iraq. This extremist group calls itself the Islamic State, though it is sometimes referred to as either the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Islamic State has gained control over large parts of eastern Syria and western Iraq and has brutally executed Christians, Yazidis, Shiite Muslims, and several western journalists. In response to this crisis, President Obama has ordered air strikes and deployed troops to protect Americans and train the Iraqi military.
As one of only 23 Senators who opposed the 2003 Iraqi invasion, I share a lot of the frustration that folks in Oregon feel about what they’re seeing in Iraq. However, I also know that America can’t simply wash its hands of the planet’s most dangerous and chaotic places. Allowing an extremist group like the Islamic State to control vast amounts of land and infrastructure, to plan, to train militants — to serve, in effect, as a base for attacks — would threaten U.S. interests and national security. So while I cannot support a large scale redeployment of American combat troops to Iraq at this time, I do support the President’s use of air power in support of Kurdish and Iraqi forces as they fight to drive the Islamic State from their country. Please know that I will continue to monitor this situation closely as a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. As I do so, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.
Thank you for keeping me apprised of the issues that are important to you. If I may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me
Waist of time, he will go with the tide where ever Obama flows.
Response from Wyden
Dear MarAzul:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the situation in Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
As you know, the U.S. military withdrew from Iraq in 2011, leaving behind a country divided by growing sectarian and ethnic divisions—a problem only exacerbated by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s failure to govern inclusively. Political and sectarian divisions erupted in December 2013, culminating in a military offensive led by Sunni extremists in northern and central Iraq. This extremist group calls itself the Islamic State, though it is sometimes referred to as either the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Islamic State has gained control over large parts of eastern Syria and western Iraq and has brutally executed Christians, Yazidis, Shiite Muslims, and several western journalists. In response to this crisis, President Obama has ordered air strikes and deployed troops to protect Americans and train the Iraqi military.
As one of only 23 Senators who opposed the 2003 Iraqi invasion, I share a lot of the frustration that folks in Oregon feel about what they’re seeing in Iraq. However, I also know that America can’t simply wash its hands of the planet’s most dangerous and chaotic places. Allowing an extremist group like the Islamic State to control vast amounts of land and infrastructure, to plan, to train militants — to serve, in effect, as a base for attacks — would threaten U.S. interests and national security. So while I cannot support a large scale redeployment of American combat troops to Iraq at this time, I do support the President’s use of air power in support of Kurdish and Iraqi forces as they fight to drive the Islamic State from their country. Please know that I will continue to monitor this situation closely as a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. As I do so, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.
Thank you for keeping me apprised of the issues that are important to you. If I may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me