Not specific to David Brooks but here he is repeating a common claim of the last few weeks --
We are now living in what we might as well admit is the Age of Iraq. The last four presidents have found themselves drawn into that nation because it epitomizes the core problem at the center of so many crises: the interaction between failing secular governance and radical Islam.
The 4 presidents and their involvement being Bush I (Kuwait), Clinton (the no-fly zones), Bush II (Saddam) and now Obama.
The thing is, it's the last 5 presidents. Reagan supported Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war and actively intervened in the so-called Tanker War, which benefitted the Saddam regime. Iraq has been at war since 1980, and the US has been a player on the field since then.
We are now living in what we might as well admit is the Age of Iraq. The last four presidents have found themselves drawn into that nation because it epitomizes the core problem at the center of so many crises: the interaction between failing secular governance and radical Islam.
The 4 presidents and their involvement being Bush I (Kuwait), Clinton (the no-fly zones), Bush II (Saddam) and now Obama.
The thing is, it's the last 5 presidents. Reagan supported Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war and actively intervened in the so-called Tanker War, which benefitted the Saddam regime. Iraq has been at war since 1980, and the US has been a player on the field since then.