TweetPresident Barack Obama acknowledged that U.S. intelligence agencies underestimated the threat from Islamic State militants and overestimated the ability and will of Iraq's army to fight.

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TweetIf we left Sadaam in place ( bush Sr and Reagan supported him) his secular Bath party was brutal and pragmatic enough not to let such radical elements take over. ISIS is rooted in the Iraq conflict and the political void it created. Although the group was founded in Afghanistan it never amounted to much there. It was only when ISIS relocated to Iraq following the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that it found succes. ISIS also took root in the de-Baathification programs following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. It was also fostered by the atrocities that Shiite militias committed against innocent Sunnis. ( That's what happened when Bush bought "democracy". Mob rule ) De-Baathification helped Jamaat al-Tawhid and Jihad and later al Qaeda in Iraq, attract many Sunni fighters who were former Iraqi officers and gain support from Iraq's powerful Sunni tribes.

Democracy doesn't work in the middle east ( with the exception of Tunesia). Militant, autocratic rulers or dictators are easier to control and serve our interests best. ( Look at Egpyt who ousted the democratically elected muslim brotherhood sympathizer and replaced it with a ISIS and Hamas hater, Sisi). Bush Sr. was smart enough to leave Sadaam in power after the Gulf war as a Sunni bulwark against Shia Iran. It was the same reason Reagan's CIA supplied Sadaam with weapons secretly. I wish Bush Jr. had taken heed of his father's smart actions....but then, 15 of the 19 terrorists were Saudi Nationals and both Bush Jr. and Obama's administration are in bed with the house of Saud.....