Why should Iraq take our advice?

Re “In war and peace, Iraq and U.S. need each other,” Opinion, May 15

What reader, having any familiarity with nearly two decades of the U.S. “relationship” with Iraq, can take seriously Sara Allawi’s and Michael O’Hanlon’s formulations for what is needed in order for Iraq’s new prime minister to succeed?

The authors conveniently omit any mention of the dictates imposed on Iraq by the U.S. since the 2003 invasion. Accordingly, they attribute none of Iraq’s pervasive institutional and governing failures to its greatest source of foreign influence, the United States.

After this many years of engagement and no end in sight, does anyone still buy into the concept of the U.S. being most able to identify Iraq’s “problems”?

Ted Rosenblatt

Pacific Palisades

To be clear, in 2011, it was 75% of the American people and the Iraqi government, and not just President Obama, who wanted our troops withdrawn.

With green energy alternatives to Mideast oil and considering the futility of our past efforts, Obama was right all along to try and “pivot” to Asia, while leaving the Middle East to its self-determined misfortunes.

Arthur D. Wahl

Port Hueneme