La Salle Professor Turzanski On Iraq: Troop Withdrawal Created 'Jihad Summer'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Chris Stigall talked with Ed Turzanski, the John Templeton Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Political Science Professor at LaSalle University, on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT about political turmoil in Iraq as the radical Sunni Muslim group ISIS marches toward Baghdad.
Turzanski blames President Obama for not staying on top of the situation after the U.S. completed the troop withdrawal in 2011.
"The Administration has seen things happening and thought if it averted its gaze, we wouldn't have to be involved in any way, it would be someone else's problem. So, the Arab Spring has given way to what we can call the 'Jihad Summer.' You see hot steaming messes across North Africa, Central Africa, Syria, right down through to Iraq," he explained.
He believes Iraq would be in better shape today had we not withdrawn the troops over two years ago.
"We had won. Iraq was going through peaceful elections. They were going through a very difficult process to get on their feet, but in large part, the most consequential Arab Muslim state in the Middle East was taking a turn toward peaceful, democratic self-government, and then we walked away…Whenever we leave, bad things happen, and now it may be too late to get in militarily," Turzanski stated.
Turzanski feels a coalition of nations is needed to solve this crisis, assuming it is not already too late.
"What we have to do is reach out to all of the friendly governments in the region and the ones who are in real trouble. Right now, Nouri Al-Maliki in Iraq wants to talk, wants to parlay. We have to take a very careful measure of what they want, do a serious quid-pro-quo…Weeks ago, they asked for air cover. We decided not to give it to them. Right now, in the short term, because of where things are, we may have to step back and just watch a blood bath in Iraq," he said.