The proximate cause of Iraq's unraveling was the increasing authoritarian, sectarian, and corrupt conduct of the Iraqi government and its leader after the departure of the last U.S. combat forces in 2011.
Interpretation
The quote highlights how the failures of the Iraqi government post-2011 led to instability and chaos in the country.
David Petraeus emphasizes the significant role that the poor governance characterized by authoritarianism, sectarianism, and corruption played in the destabilization of Iraq following the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. By pointing to these factors as proximate causes, he suggests that leadership decisions and government actions are critical in determining the stability and order within a nation, especially in the aftermath of foreign interventions.
In practice
This quote could be used in a political debate to illustrate the consequences of poor governance.
There is nothing I can do to undo what I did. I can only say again how sorry I am to those I let down and then strive to go forward with a greater sense of humility and purpose, and with gratitude to those who stood with me during a very difficult chapter in my life.
I considered our British comrades to rank with the finest men and women of any armed service in the world. And I know that my fellow American soldiers - and those of the other coalition countries under my command - valued very highly the professional expertise, capability, courage, and determination of our British partners on the battlefield.
In the 101st Airborne Division headquarters in Mosul, we had a sign on the wall. It was a question that we would ask ourselves before every new operation or policy initiative. It asked: Will this policy or operation take more bad guys off the streets than it creates by its conduct?
The idea is to go to bed every night with fewer enemies than you had in the morning.
We periodically note that there are no silver bullets, there are no magic formulas, there's no single action or component of the overall... comprehensive civil-military approach.
At least from a national security standpoint, none of the problems the U.S. and U.K. face will become easier to solve if the U.K. is out of the E.U.; on the contrary, I fear that a 'Brexit' would only make our world even more dangerous and difficult to manage.
That's the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don't work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital.
Herr Schroder has conducted two electoral campaigns, and he is doing it again now, by not telling people what is really necessary. He keeps avoiding the difficult and uncomfortable issues, those that imply changes and therefore provoke discussions.
The only prize much cared for by the powerful is power. The prize of the general is not a bigger tent, but command.
They are patriotic in time of war because it is to their interest to be so, but in time of peace they follow power and the dollar wherever they may lead.
Voting rights is how we address the deepening divides in our country, by ensuring every eligible voter's voice is heard.
Up against the corporate government, voters find themselves asked to choose between look-alike candidates from two parties vying to see who takes the marching orders from their campaign paymasters and their future employers. The money of vested interest nullifies genuine voter choice and trust.
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