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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Camp and fish for free at Oregon state parks next weekend 10 things to know for Friday SOU launches arts institute for high school students It's a family affair for these trick riders at the Expo 10 things to know for Thursday Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Metal thieves ordered to pay $206,394 Police arrest repeat offender after 90-minute chase Report of shooting in Jacksonville was a hoax, police say Missing Ashland woman found dead Politics and Elections Case, Salmon leading in Central Point School Board race Lundberg, Mannenbach leading Eagle Point races Jackson County district election turnout under 17 percent Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Education SOU launches arts institute for high school students SOU names new development, foundation leader Rogue River Chieftains not ready yet to drop team name Education Board again says tribal mascots must go Sen. 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Mangino: The promise of legal representation often not fulfilled Letters to the Editor, May 29 Michael Gerson: Religious conservatives' shifting role Granlund cartoon: FIFA corruption charges Editorials Our View: State needs to speed up retail pot timeline Our View: A fitting legacy for a wildlife champion Our View: Wine growers take note of climate change Our View: Don't siphon off prison savings just yet Other Views: PERS ruling leaves little room to maneuver Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, May 29 Letters to the Editor, May 28 Letters to the Editor, May 27 Letters to the Editor, May 26 Letters to the Editor, May 25 Columns Michael Gerson: Religious conservatives' shifting role George Will: The separation of campaign and state Dana Milbank: The decline of Rand Paul Kathleen Parker: It must not be easy being Bill Kristol We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions Guest Opinions We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions Guest Opinion: BLM management plans fail people and forests Guest Opinion: Medford needs SkyPark more than it needs parking Guest Opinion: Ample water? Think again Guest Opinion: Oregon mothers need much more than flowers Lifestyle Latest stories Cocktail Hour Community blog: Raise your glass to rhubarb before it's toast Atkinson film on Klamath Basin water wars to play at Varsity Get Out: Friday, May 29 Health Watch: Taking action, with skin cancer on the rise Food Community blog: Raise your glass to rhubarb before it's toast Community blog: Scallions, scapes bring more savor to rhubarb Lavender in your larder Traveling in time with Grandma Skinner's Scottish Shortbread Andrea Honaker: Getting to know rhubarb Home and Garden Betty Montgomery: Clematis is a lovely, versatile flowering vine Make herbs part of your plant world Homeowner’s insurance: What it covers, what it excludes Monarchs are disappearing, but you can help with a wildflower garden Linda Cobb: Time to make a list of spring garden chores Health Health Watch: Taking action, with skin cancer on the rise It Is What It Is: Come on body, stay with me! Community blog: It�s a Shame: How to Understand and Manage It Health Watch: How to avoid the diet rut Donna Knight: How to lessen your risk Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, May 22 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 15 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 8 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 1 Milestones and Achievements New rec program targets park events Prefontaine-style running trail proposed in south Medford Bukair-Hinkle Wedding: Stephanie Anne Obad and Mark Douglass Schmor Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories 5 picks for live entertainment Live Music in Local Clubs Cast of Clowns pays tribute to Grateful Dead at Brickroom in Ashland YSSO showcases Mozart, Jerry Su and Mark Jacobs 'Night Train to Memphis' Theater Oregon Cabaret Theatre stages gritty 'Cabaret' SOU presents Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale' OSF commissioned plays tour throughout country 'Cuckoo's Nest' is a big play, well presented 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Music Live Music in Local Clubs Cast of Clowns pays tribute to Grateful Dead at Brickroom in Ashland YSSO showcases Mozart, Jerry Su and Mark Jacobs The Farr Side: ‘American Idol’ could have continued much longer 'Night Train to Memphis' Community Events Camp and fish for free at Oregon state parks next weekend Backstage tours give insider's look at Oregon Shakespeare Festival It's a family affair for these trick riders at the Expo Unleash your inner cowboy at the Wild Rogue Pro Rodeo May 28-30 in Central Point Memorial Day celebrates veterans Movies Movie review: ‘San Andreas’ has its faults, but it’s a fantastic-looking disaster film What the ‘Entourage’ gang has to say about the film The ‘Entourage’ movie: Catching up with Vince, E, Drama, Turtle and Ari Interview: ‘Good Kill’ offers blistering look at ‘battlefields and blackjack’ of drone warfare Review: ‘Tomorrowland’ feels like another Disneyland staple — Dopey Dining Teapot on Wheels an outpost for Anglophiles Lavender in your larder Upscale pub fare at The Point Wine by the keg, growler, box and ammo can 6 stars of the Rogue Valley food universe Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Our View: State needs to speed up retail pot timeline ... SOU launches arts institute for high school students ... Get Out: Friday, May 29 ... Our View: State needs to speed up retail pot timeline ... SOU launches arts institute for high school students ... Get Out: Friday, May 29 ... ANOTHER VIEW You want what-ifs? Here's one MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 24, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted May. 24, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Ramadi falls. The Iraqi army flees. The great 60-nation anti-Islamic State coalition so grandly proclaimed by the Obama administration is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it's the defense minister of Iran  who flies into Baghdad, an unsubtle demonstration of who's in charge — while the U.S. air campaign proves futile and America's alleged strategy for combating the Islamic State is in freefall. It gets worse. The Gulf States' top leaders, betrayed and bitter, ostentatiously boycott President Obama's failed Camp David summit. "We were America's best friend in the Arab world for 50 years," laments Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief. Note: "were," not "are." We are scraping bottom. Following six years of President Obama's steady and determined withdrawal from the Middle East, America's standing in the region has collapsed. And yet the question incessantly asked of the various presidential candidates is not about that. It's a retrospective hypothetical: Would you have invaded Iraq in 2003 if you had known then what we know now? First, the question is not just a hypothetical, but an inherently impossible hypothetical. It contradicts itself. Had we known there were no weapons of mass destruction, the very question would not have arisen. The premise of the war — the basis for going to the U.N., to the Congress and, indeed, to the nation — was Iraq's possession of WMD in violation of the central condition for the cease-fire that ended the first Gulf War. No WMD, no hypothetical to answer in the first place. Second, the "if you knew then" question implicitly locates the origin and cause of the current disasters in 2003 . As if the fall of Ramadi was predetermined then, as if the author of the current regional collapse is George W. Bush. This is nonsense. The fact is that by the end of Bush's tenure, the war had been won. You can argue that the price of that victory was too high. Fine. We can debate that until the end of time. But what is not debatable is that it was a victory. Bush bequeathed to Obama a success. By whose measure? By Obama's. As he told the troops at Fort Bragg on Dec. 14, 2011, "We are leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people." This was, said the president, a "moment of success." Which Obama proceeded to fully squander. With the 2012 election approaching, he chose to liquidate our military presence in Iraq. We didn't just withdraw our forces. We abandoned, destroyed or turned over our equipment, stores, installations and bases. We surrendered our most valuable strategic assets, such as control of Iraqi airspace, soon to become the indispensable conduit for Iran to supply and sustain the Assad regime in Syria and cement its influence all the way to the Mediterranean. And, most relevant to the fall of Ramadi, we abandoned the vast intelligence network we had so painstakingly constructed in Anbar province, without which our current patchwork operations there are largely blind and correspondingly feeble. The current collapse was not predetermined in 2003 but in 2011. Isn't that what should be asked of Hillary Clinton? We know you think the invasion of 2003 was a mistake. But what about the abandonment of 2011? Was that  not a mistake? Mme. Secretary: When you arrived at State, al-Qaida in Iraq had been crushed and expelled from Anbar. The Iraqi government had from Basra to Sadr City fought and defeated the radical, Iranian-proxy Shiite militias. Yet today these militias are back, once again dominating Baghdad. On your watch, we gave up our position as the dominant influence over a "sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq" — forfeiting that position gratuitously to Iran. Was that not a mistake? And where were you when it was made? Iraq is now a battlefield between the Sunni jihadists of the Islamic State and the Shiite jihadists of Iran's Islamic Republic. There is no viable center. We abandoned it. The Obama administration's unilateral pullout created a vacuum for the entry of the worst of the worst. And the damage was self-inflicted. The current situation in Iraq, says David Petraeus, "is tragic foremost because it didn't have to turn out this way. The hard-earned progress of the surge was sustained for over three years." Do the math. That's 2009 through 2011, the first three Obama years. And then came the unraveling. When? The last U.S. troops left Iraq on Dec. 18, 2011. Want to do retrospective hypotheticals? Start there. Charles Krauthammer's email address is [email protected]. MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 24, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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