How Obama abandoned Democracy in Iraq

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/04/obama-iraq-116708.html?ml=po#.VSQOK7Eo5dg

Yep

Democracy is self-government. It can't be exported. Meanwhile, back at home, the NDAA and the Patriot Act (gotta love the name) were eroding our democratic republic. Bush and Cheney gave themselves complete authority to round up any US citizen in the name of the "war on terror", which was, in reality, a war OF terror. My brother (RIP) was on the no-fly list. He made the mistake of packing a can of spray starch in his bag.

How Obama abandoned Democracy in Iraq


He did not. He was stuck with the Bush era inspired constitution of 2005 which was doomed to fail:


The Iraqi Constitution: Structural Flaws and Political Implications
Abstract Ten years after the US invasion, and following three rounds of elections, Iraq is one of the most dangerous, unstable and corrupt countries in the world. It is clear that the ill-conceived US experiment to remake Iraq has failed. The deep structural, legal and political failings of the Iraqi Constitution, for which both US officials and Iraqi politicians bear responsibility, have contributed greatly to this failure. In 2005, Iraqis approved the Constitution in a referendum, but they voted on an incomplete and badly written draft, not realizing that the document would deepen Iraq’s misery. The hasty way the Constitution was drafted, the many unhelpful external interventions, the absence of Iraqi constitutional expertise and the side-lining of Sunni Arab representation have all contributed to the precarious situation in Iraq in the subsequent eight years. Considering
the myriad confusions and divisions underlying the Constitution’s drafting
process, it is not surprising that the document has created more problems than it has solved. The Constitution’s vagueness and ambiguity has hindered its application. The excessive concessions granted to the Kurds on the issues of federal government, natural resources and Kirkuk (and their subsequent refusal to renegotiate) have been a major factor in maintaining the chaotic situation that pervades most of Iraq.


So our joy with the Kurds is part of the very destruction of Iraq and the constitution drafted and planned under Bush Administration policy parameters. Cleaning up that mess, like pulling the economy out of the ditch is not President Obama's fault.