Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov wrote a scathing indictment of President Obama’s foreign policy Tuesday night, in which he said that, “No matter how well-intentioned and popular the U.S. exit from Iraq was … the results clearly have been disastrous.”
“A look at a map of Iraq and Syria shows that the rise of [the Islamic State] was a logical response to American abandonment of the region’s Sunnis,” said the former Russian grandmaster.
“In world affairs, as in chess, you have to play the position that’s on the board when you sit down. Criticizing George W. Bush for starting the Iraq war in 2003 does not change the fact that in 2008 there was no mass refugee crisis or massive [Islamic State] army on the march,” Kasparov wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
The surge of American forces in 2007, coupled with the “game-changing” decision to work with Anbar’s Sunni tribesmen and lure them away from their previous allegiance with al Qaeda, could have brought equilibrium to the region, Kasparov wrote. But then the U.S. abruptly left the national stage, abandoning the newly-forged alliance and leaving the Sunnis to be slaughtered by Syria and Iran-backed Shiite forces.
“The people had to fight, flee or die, and they are doing all three in horrific numbers,” Kasparov wrote. “It’s important to remember that the waves of refugees reaching Europe are not running from [the Islamic State.] They are fleeing Mr. Assad — who counts on active support from Iran and now Russia.”
The American exit from Iraq and Obama’s “refusal to deter” Syrian President Bashar Assad “ended any possibility of security,” according to Kasparov.
Both moves emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Kasparov depicts as a decisive man of action.
Obama, who has insisted on a “policy of disengagement from” the Middle East, has not taken the motivations of Russia or Iran sufficiently into account, he said.
Wars drive up the price of oil, which both Russia and Iran desperately need. And war and chaos are good for Putin because they allow him to “look like a tough guy” on Russian state TV. Putin was greeted with headlines and photos celebrating him like a conquering hero after his Monday speech to the United Nations General Assembly.
“[N]ot only did the valiant Mr. Putin confront and condemn the weak Mr. Obama and the evil United States, he did so in New York City, the belly of the beast itself,” Kasparov said. “As soon as the first pictures were taken, the meeting became a great success for Mr. Putin, and another self-inflicted defeat for American foreign policy — and for stability and democracy in the Middle East.”
Obama’s Monday speech “rang hollow” because “platitudes about cooperation and the rule of law” mean nothing without “power and action,” he said. “Obama’s speech was routine because he knows he will not act. Mr. Putin’s speech was routine because he knows he will act anyway.”
The two leaders met briefly Monday and promised to fight the war against the Islamic State, but two days later, Russia bombed U.S.-backed rebels in Syria.
“I, too, would like to live in the world of diplomacy and law that Mr. Obama seems to believe we inhabit. But unfortunately we do not,” Kasparov said. “Putin didn’t say anything new at the U.N., because he didn’t need to. He knows that he has concrete assets that are more effective than mere words. He has tanks in Ukraine, jet fighters in Syria, and Barack Obama in the White House.”
