Iran Opposes American Intervention

++Leslie Gelb and others proposed that the United States can coordinate its actions on Iraq with Iran. This idea was floated when Iranian President Rouhani suggested that Tehran was interested in assisting. But today, the hammer came down. Ayatollah Ali Kamenei came out strongly to oppose American intervention in Iraq. Last night ,the Shiite militias also told BBC journalists that they don't want Americans back.

++Secretary of State John Kerry is en route to Baghdad with a stop in Egypt where he urged President al-Sisi to create a government of diversity to prevent further violence. 

++I'm sympathetic to these calls for more inclusive governments in the area and think that represents our core national interests but there are some hard truths. We selected Prime Minister al-Maliki and we have given him billions to prop up his regime. He has purged the army of anyone except loyalists. He has developed a system of corruption within each ministry and where he has the portfolio he gets a cut of every contract. He's come a long way from the days when he was working as a butcher in Damascus. He has allowed Iranian intelligence control of his own intelligence agency. What is the incentive for him to leave when he received greater votes than before in the last election? And who are we at this stage to pressure him to leave?

++Are we at the stage again where we might have to accept the Saddam proposal--I'll leave if I can keep $1billion?

++Ayatollah Sistani beat us to the punch when he called on all Iraqis to defend the country and sanctioned the mobilization of the Shiite militias. 

++The Shiite fighters who were off fighting to defend Assad are returning home. It should be remembered that Maliki supplied arms to the Assad government and ignored our request to stop fly-overs from Iran to resupply the Syrian army. 

++Dick Cheney did battle with Rand Paul this morning. Rand Paul said we created a jihadist play land in Iraq and Libya. Cheney decried Paul's isolationism and warned of another 9-11 as he has warned of another 9-11 since 9-11 when he failed to heed warnings the first time. 

++The American Embassy has scattered in many directions as many have been evacuated to Erbil and other consulates. The same is being done in Nairobi, Kenya, where Islamic militants rampaged through coastal towns.

++Maybe we should heed the advice of a former Vermont Senator during Vietnam, "Let's declare victory and come home."