Iraq danger: U.S. needs clearer and more realistic foreign policy

The news this past week about the fighting -- and the subsequent resurgence of al-Qaida in Fallujah -- should have made every American pause.

The first moment of thought should be for the service members who lost their lives trying to get control of this Iraqi province -- and for the heroes who actually made it happen.

The second moment should be one of deja vu. This is what happened last time the U.S. did not finish a job in the Middle East.

Is the answer to stability in Iraq more U.S. troops on the ground? Not long-term. We cannot use our military to police that region forever just waiting to stomp on civil uprisings.

But what does need to happen is that we need a very serious talk about where we are in our foreign policy and where we need to be to protect U.S. interests and our nation now and in the future.

And perhaps one strategy we ought to discard is placating our enemy.

U.S. commanders warned the president about leaving too soon. It was a mistake not to listen to the men who were there on the ground.

Now, we are faced with a renewed militant danger in Iraq and potential for even more trouble in the region.

It is time we figured out where we stand and created a coherent policy that addresses the very real, and very dangerous, realities.

Published in Editorials on January 7, 2014 11:08 AM