Barrasso: Iraq could split into three parts

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Sunday that Iraq could easily split into three separate parts, an idea floated years ago by Vice President Joe Biden.

{mosads}“That may be what happens here,” Barrasso said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” about potentially separate Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni countries carved out of Iraq.

“I think it’s in the best interest of the United States to have a stable Iraq, but we’re not there now.”

But while Barrasso didn’t dismiss Biden’s idea, he also strongly criticized President Obama’s handling of Iraq, which has come under threat from Islamic State in Iraq and Syria militants.

Barrasso said that he believes Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “needs to go,” and that the U.S. should be arming the Syrian opposition. The Wyoming Republican added that Obama made a mistake in withdrawing all troops from Iraq, and should reverse his plan to withdraw from Afghanistan.

“When the president came into office in 2009, I think the world was a lot safer than it is now,” said Barrasso, a member of GOP leadership. “I think the president’s decision to withdraw the United States, to keep a campaign promise in Iraq, without leaving a stay-behind force was a mistake.”

“When there is no sense of deterrence by the United States that lets bad actors move and fill the void,” Barrasso added.