Page 25 - December 2011 News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Can turn the tide, the tide was turned when we left in december 2011. we handed it over to iran, whether we like it or not, and immediately maliki cleaned all the sunnis out as much as he could, and so the train has left the station. 300 special operation forces, no matter who they advise, are not going to change that, and that won't change until you get a leader in there that can reconcile the sunnis, shias, and the kurds. >> boy, you know, i've heard a lot of that today. pete hegseth, are you in the camp that says, you know, we've done enough, we've lost enough treasure on the ground in iraq...

Troops and for mations and weaponry we saw over the years in iraq that u.s. pulled out of in december 2011. but, mine here's a big but, the u.s. has been out of iraq since 2011. now very small group, but they are special forces on the ground, they will be at brigade headquarters, advising iraqi troops, but also gathering intelligence. i think we will have to see what their exact orders are, so to speak, which has not come out yet publicly, but i can tell you, i've spoken to a number of sources who say look, special forces, they are always prepared, they always know that combat can come to them...

See. that's going to be the hardest. >> pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been reporting all morning on the possible plan that president obama will pick, sent over by the pentagon, up to 100 special operations forces sent to iraq to help the iraqi government fight off this terrorist group, this militia, isis. barbara, what is the military reality on the ground for the u.s.? >> reporter: well, look, jake. what are we really talking about here? we are talking, for the first time, since the u.s. left iraq in december 2011 100 u.s. military families seeing their loved ones sent back into ir...

Ambassador to the united nations. also bill kristol is the editor of the "weekly standard" and p.j. crowley is a former assistant secretary of state for public affairs and a professor at george washington university. so hopefully you guys can answer how did it get to this. p.j., to you first. the war in iraq ended in december, 2011. at that time iraq was relatively calm, so how did we go from more or less a stable iraq to the predicament that we're in now? >> i think one of the key dynamics going on right now, particularly in the sunni part of the country is that sunnis fear the iraqi governme...

Leave iraq, that was made by george w. bush and agreement he seened in 2008. he said all u.s. forces would be out by december 2011. >> combat forces. >> but that was a decision made by george w. bush. >> combat forces. that's an important distinct. >> yes, it is an important distinction. the iraqi government wasn't willing to give diplomatic immunity. do you think he should have kept troops in there without diplomatic immunity? >> no. when we put forces back in there, one of the prices for malaki is to sign a status agreement write away. >> but he did not sign one with president obama. i want ...