Is it even possible to reasonably argue that American adventurism in Iraq is not a cause of the current conflict? The ISIS as it currently exists is a product of the U.S. invasion. The Iraqi military that is collapsing so spectacularly was built from the ground up with U.S. taxpayer dollars, with American training and equipment. The chronic instability of Iraq that allowed this to happen was caused directly by the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. What is happening now is what critics of the war predicted before it began in 2002 and 2003.
Sure, there are other factors too. The outbreak of the Syrian civil war also helped the ISIS to get where it is now. The fecklessness of Nuri al-Maliki didn't help either. But that does not mean this isn't a product of American adventurism. If George W Bush had left Iraq alone, I'm pretty certain that the ISIS would not be controlling large swaths of Iraq right now.
Sure, there are other factors too. The outbreak of the Syrian civil war also helped the ISIS to get where it is now. The fecklessness of Nuri al-Maliki didn't help either. But that does not mean this isn't a product of American adventurism. If George W Bush had left Iraq alone, I'm pretty certain that the ISIS would not be controlling large swaths of Iraq right now.
