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Iraq turning into ‘Middle East Vietnam’ for US: Analyst

Friday, 09 March 2018 2:28 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 09 March 2018 2:32 PM ]

An analyst says Iraq is turning into another “Middle East Vietnam” for the United States, adding that the US invasion of the country was completely "unconstitutional" and in contradiction of the UN Charter in the first place.

"The Iraqi commanders, as most of the other people in the region…. are all recognizing the totality of the situation for the past 18 years," Scott Bennett, a former US army psychological warfare officer, told Press TV in an interview on Friday.

"The US present in the region… has led to nothing good but destruction, death and ruin,” he added.

In 2003, the US invaded Iraq to topple the then-regime of Saddam Hussein, who the US and Britain falsely claimed was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. Former US President Barack Obama pulled out all US combat troops from Iraq in 2011, effectively ending the invasion and occupation of the Arab country.

But the destruction that the war had caused, including the decimation of the Iraqi security structure, allowed Daesh to emerge in 2014. In September that same year, the US led a number of its allies in launching an aerial bombardment campaign against purported Daesh targets in Iraq.

That coalition continues to be present in Iraq even as the Iraqi leadership announced the end of the war on Daesh in the country in December last year.