ISIS/ISIL make major gains in Iraq

[Silent Hunter]

Reason #45 why Saddam Hussein should have been left in power.

I have a feeling that what we'd be seeing had that happened would be far worse than what is happening now. Of course, there'd have been far fewer deaths in the country 2003-10, but after that one assumes there would have been an uprising, just as there was everywhere else, and it would have made Syria's conflict look like a polite disagreement by comparison.

That is of course assuming that he'd still be alive. He'd have been 77 this year - Stalin died aged 74 and Hafez al-Assad at 69.

[Silent Hunter]

Reason #45 why Saddam Hussein should have been left in power.

I have a feeling that what we'd be seeing had that happened would be far worse than what is happening now. Of course, there'd have been far fewer deaths in the country 2003-10, but after that one assumes there would have been an uprising, just as there was everywhere else, and it would have made Syria's conflict look like a polite disagreement by comparison.

That is of course assuming that he'd still be alive. He'd have been 77 this year - Stalin died aged 74 and Hafez al-Assad at 69.

Uday and Qusay would still be there.

Do you think they would be half-way competent?

[Silent Hunter]

ISIS have actually lost ground in the last couple of days; the Iraqis may be able to sort this out without US assistance.

[Silent Hunter]

So apparently Bashar Assad is pounding ISIL in coordination with the Iraqi government. Who is our friend again? Who is our enemy?

The enemy of my enemy is the enemy of my enemy. No more. No less.

[Silent Hunter]

Of course.  The way Malaki has treated them, I don't blame them too much for thinking that ISIL is the lesser of the two evils.

I can - they should be smart enough to know better.

[Silent Hunter]

Not only Russian; it appears that Iran has given back the Su-25s it confiscated in 1991.