Reid: GOP wrong to blame Obama for Iraq

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Republicans are wrong for blaming President Obama for the civil war in Iraq.

“This is an Iraqi civil war and it is time for Iraqis to resolve it themselves,” Reid said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Those who attack the President for bringing our troops home from Iraq are just flat wrong, and they are out of step with the American people. … It is not worth the blood of American service members. It is not even worth the monetary cost to the American taxpayer.”

{mosads}An extremist Islamic group, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has taken over several major Iraqi cities, advancing to the outskirts of Baghdad. The administration has sent hundreds of troops to protect the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. 

Republicans have blamed Obama, saying he ended the Iraq War too early.

“Conservative members of Congress and their pundit cheerleaders are more interested in playing their favorite game — ‘Blame Obama’,” Reid said. “It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s all his fault.”

Reid cited recent op-eds from Republicans pundits, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was a major proponent of the Iraq War.

“If there is one thing we can all agree on here, it’s that we should not be taking advice on Iraq from Dick Cheney,” Reid said. “We already tried it your way and it was the biggest foreign policy blunder in United States history.”

Reid said he had every confidence that Obama would handle the situation in Iraq successfully. Some lawmakers have called for airstrikes. House and Senate leaders have been invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday to discuss the problem.