HAYDEN ON IRAQ – Former CIA Director Michael Hayden has always struck me as a stand-up guy.  Although he was part of the Obama administration, he speaks his mind, and I'm sure isn't welcome at too many Obama parties these days.  He says Iraq is gone as a nation.  From Newsmax: 

The country of Iraq is, for all intents and purposes, dead and has been replaced by three successor states, former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden told Newsmax TV Wednesday.

"The state of Iraq as we know it is gone, and it's not going to be reconstituted," he told "The Steve Malzberg Show."

And...

He said the only way out of the Iraq mess might be a science fiction-type scenario.

"[I'd] get in the way-back machine, go back three years and undo some incredibly unwise decisions that we made then. That's really the nub of the issue,'' he said.

"We've got three successor states there now," Hayden, a retired four star Air Force general added. "As much as we might look for opportunities to keep Iraq together, we need to be prepared for the reality that it's not going to stay together.

"Unwise" is exactly the word for this administration.

"This is all going to be very, very hard going forward, and we frankly may have to limit our objectives. In other words, seek to achieve things less than we would have thought to achieve had we made different decisions a few years back."

COMMENT:  Nothing like an indictment of the commander-in-chief.  We consistently say here that the mistakes this administration makes today will be paid for by our children.  But we'll be making the down payment, and the bill is coming due.

June 19, 2014