Panetta and Secretary Clinton lobbied 'privately and publicly' to keep troops in Iraq, but the Obama White House pushed back.
So, too, did Michele Flournoy, then the No. 3 civilian 鈥� and top-ranking woman ever 鈥� at the Pentagon. The position 鈥渞eflected not just my views, but also those of the military commanders in the region,鈥� he writes. 鈥淏ut the president鈥檚 team at the White House pushed back, and the differences occasionally became heated.鈥�
Those in favor of keeping US troops in Iraq post-2011 viewed the White House as 鈥渆ager to rid itself of Iraq.鈥� Negotiations continued with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but 鈥渢o my frustration,鈥� Panetta writes, 鈥渢he White House never really led them.鈥�
While the White House 鈥渟eemed content to endorse an agreement if State and Defense could reach one, without the president鈥檚 active advocacy, Maliki was allowed to slip away. The deal never materialized,鈥� Panetta writes, adding that: 鈥淭o this day, I believe that a small, focused US troop presence in Iraq could have effectively advised the Iraqi military on how to deal with Al Qaeda鈥檚 resurgence.鈥�
As it stands now, the Islamic State offensive now taking place 鈥済reatly increases the risk that Iraq will become Al Qaeda鈥檚 next safe haven,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 prevent these Sunni extremists from taking over large swaths of territory in the Middle East, it will be only a matter of time before they turn their sights on us.鈥�
