America's Graveyard of Ambition

America's graveyard of ambition is Iraq? I think he means Detroit. NYT August 8

emphasis mine

Hoping to end the war in Iraq, Mr. Obama became the fourth president in a row to order military action in that graveyard of American ambition.

Iraq should never be seen as America's place of ambition.  It was our worst impulses that took us by choice to start the war in Iraq.  Maybe it can be argued that we had some good intentions and really hoped for democracy, but critics raised their voices from 9/11 until the invasion that this war in Iraq was wrong and would have unforseen consequences (see US Invasion led to Rise of ISIS Leader).

You don’t have to have a ton of insight to know he feels reluctant,” said Douglas Ollivant, a former Iraq adviser in the White House under Mr. Obama and President George W. Bush. “He wants the Iraq problem not to exist. And that’s exactly what the American people sent him to the White House to do.” But “all these factors may kind of drag him kicking and screaming into some kind of decision.

There is also the crowd that blames Obama for anything regardless of the facts, who blame NOT Bush for invading Iraq, but Obama for leaving Iraq as their explanaition for the current crisis.

US Vet blames US Pullout for Current Crisis

Tony Blair says US invasion not the cause of current ISIS invasion (see again the above "US Invasion led to Rise of ISIS Leader)

Don't Blame the US, Blame these two countries instead



The real "graveyard of American ambition" is Detroit.

New Yorker emphasis mine

In “Detropia,” we’re looking at American ruins—an impromptu graveyard of industrial ambition.....This city didn’t fall victim to warfare or weather. It was abandoned.

 Hour Detroit

 What’s important to remember, though, is that this place changed the world not once, but twice — and in very short order.....The middle class in America was born.

 Detroit 1701

No city played a larger role in shaping the Twentieth Century than Detroit. The most popular mode of local transportation was perfected in the Motor City, revolutionizing where people lived, how they got to work, when they shopped and how they took vacations. Vehicles designed and built in Detroit drastically improved living standards and fundamentally altered how we live. The modern blue-collar middle class is largely a Detroit creation. It emerged after decades of struggles between capitalists and their workers.

Iraq is a country that America broke and needs to fix.  There is no military answer. It needs to be invested in with infrastructure, political will and diplomacy.  But then again Detroit and many other American cities need the same as well.


Detroit Bankrutcy News
NYT Detroit Files for Bankruptcy

Detroit Free Press: How Detroit Went Broke

 
Some Current Issues

Water Shut-Offs RT Detroit Water Cutoff, United Nations says Water is a Human Right

Residents of Detroit, Michigan who are $150 or two months past-due on their water bills are having their water shut off by the bankrupt city. Now, even the United Nations has stepped in, saying Detroit is in violation of the human right to water.

The Art Museum NPR All Things Considered

Deaccessioning has been a huge issue in Detroit. When the city declared bankruptcy, it had to put all of its assets on the table. Detroit's most valuable asset? The art collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts. But Michigan's attorney general said the art cannot be sold because it's a public trust.