Islamic State Lures US Military Back to Iraq

Two years after President Obama took the US out of combat in Iraq, he’s authorized airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State. The Kurds have re-taken some small towns, but the threat of genocide against religious minorities still remains. The President says further military assistance will be conditioned on a stable Iraqi government, but in Baghdad, there’s political chaos. How deeply should the US become re-engaged? Can Iraq remain a unified country?

Also, a new Iraqi prime minister is named, and are black, male teenagers “collateral damage” in America’s need to feel safe?

Banner Image: Peshmerga on a T-55-Tank outside Kirkuk in Iraq; Credit: Boris Neihaus