Al-Qaida has made significant military gains in Iraq recently, as one of its front groups, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), seized Fallujah and Ramadi in Anbar province and forced out the Iraqi army. The U.S. won control of Fallujah in one of its hardest fought victories in the war – at the cost of 1,300 American soldiers. ISIL already controls much of eastern Syria, and they’re now running freely across the border between the two countries. Secretary of State John Kerry pledged to help the Iraqi government “in any way possible” – as long as that help doesn’t involve the U.S. military. “This is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis,” Kerry added.

While the Obama administration doubles down on its failed Middle East policy, violence continues to spread across the region. The Syrian civil war that Obama washed his hands of has left at least 100,000 dead (the UN has even quit keeping count), and America’s lack of involvement has emboldened Hezbollah to stir up more trouble in neighboring Lebanon. Two deadly car bomb attacks took place in Beirut in the last two weeks, and reports indicate that Hezbollah is stockpiling missiles in anticipation of Israeli strikes on their arms shipments in the region.

As for Iraq, Obama’s move to summarily end America’s involvement there has now led to a near-complete reversal of the gains made during the 2007 surge. His report of al-Qaida’s demise was completely untrue, but most of America doesn’t know this because the Leftmedia are downplaying events. Obama’s actions were completely motivated by politics, and now the spread of violence in the region means that at some point the U.S. will have to return in force, perhaps paying a much higher price than we would have paid if we had stayed all along.