memeorandum: Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush (Fareed Zakaria/Washington Post)

1:25 PM ET, June 13, 2014

Top Items:

Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:

Who lost Iraq? The Iraqis did, with an assist from George W. Bush — It is becoming increasingly likely that Iraq has reached a turning point. The forces hostile to the government have grown stronger, better equipped and more organized. And having now secured arms …

Discussion: The Dish, The Mahablog, The Week, National Review and Hullabaloo

CNN:

Obama: ‘We will not be sending U.S. troops to Iraq’ — [Adds breaking news update 12:05 p.m.] — President Barack Obama said Friday that the United States “will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq,” but that he would be reviewing a range of other options to support …

Discussion: Hot Air

Reihan Salam / Slate:

We Never Should Have Left Iraq — A U.S. military presence could have mollified Sunnis and prevented the new civil war. — The United States made a grave mistake by invading Iraq in 2003. Yet it also made a grave mistake by withdrawing its military forces in 2011.

Discussion: Washington Post, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Dish, AEIdeas, Reuters, National Review, Hinterland Gazette, RedState, Hullabaloo, Hot Air and Telegraph

New York Times:

Prime Minister Maliki Panics as Insurgents Gain — What's happening in Iraq is a disaster and it is astonishing that the Iraqis and the Americans, who have been sharing intelligence, seem to have been caught flat-footed by the speed of the insurgent victories and the army defections.

Discussion: Washington Post, emptywheel, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon, ThinkProgress and American Spectator

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:

McCain Iraq interview gets heated — Sen. John McCain continued his blistering attack on President Barack Obama's handling of Iraq on Friday, again calling for his entire national security team to be replaced and saying his decisions have been very costly. — “The president wanted …

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Beast and Shakesville

Shane Harris / Foreign Policy:

Jihadist Gains in Iraq Blindside American Spies — First Crimea, now Iraq. Why does America's $50 billion intelligence community keep getting taken by surprise? — GOOGLE +

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review, The Daily Signal, Politico, The Week, Hot Air, Institute for the Study …, American Spectator, Vox Popoli, Business Insider and TalkLeft

Daily Mail:
ABU DUA: IMPRISONED BY THE US, THE MAN WHO HATES THE WEST MORE THAN OSAMA BIN LADEN AND IS THE DRIVING FORCE BY ISIS

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Federalist, CANNONFIRE, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Riehl World News, TalkLeft and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

Parisa Hafezi / Reuters:
Exclusive: Alarmed by Iraq, Iran open to shared role with U.S. - Iran official

Discussion: Hot Air and Informed Comment

New York Times:
Iraqi Shiite Cleric Issues Call to Arms Against Sunni Militants

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Gawker

Leslie H. Gelb / The Daily Beast:
Iraq Is Vietnam 2.0 And U.S. Drones Won't Solve The Problem

Discussion: New York Times, National Review, CNN and Washington Post

New York Times:
U.S. Scrambles to Help Iraq Fight Off Militants as Baghdad Is Threatened

Discussion: JustOneMinute and The Huffington Post

Economist:
Two Arab countries fall apart

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor and Belmont Club

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

The absurdity of electing Kevin McCarthy to replace Eric Cantor as House majority leader — HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2014 ELECTIONS ERIC CANTOR KEVIN MCCARTHY DAVE BRAT — If House Republicans respond to the shocking primary defeat of Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Hot Air, New York Times, Washington Post, RedState and Wall Street Journal

Kyle Rothenberg / Fox News:

Embattled GOP Sen. Cochran says he was unaware of Cantor's loss — Two days after Eric Cantor's primary loss received national attention, Mississippi GOP Sen. Thad Cochran — who's caught in a tight primary race of his own — claimed he had no idea what happened in Virginia.

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, WJTV and The Week

New York Times:

David Brat and Jack Trammell show unease in the spotlight — ASHLAND, Va. — Before the two professors became overnight political rivals in one of the most improbable, high-profile races in memory, they knew each other best as basketball teammates. — David Brat, the economics professor …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Washington Post

Chris Christie / CNN:
Chris Christie, Jimmy Fallon dance around testy issues

Discussion: Politico

Peter Baker / New York Times: Obama's Odds With Congress: Bad to Worse

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Hillary Clinton's Gay-Marriage Problem — Until 2013, she held a position that lots of Democratic voters now regard as deeply wrongheaded. Some even insist that it is hateful and bigoted. — Hillary Clinton didn't refrain from supporting same-sex marriage for political reasons-prior to last year …

Discussion: The Dish, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air and CNN

Politico:
Hillary Clinton gets testy over gay marriage

Discussion: CNN and Poynter

Jonathan Allen / Bloomberg:
Clinton's Popularity Drops to 52% as 2016 Edge Shrinks

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Fox News and Weekly Standard

Tim / America Rising:
Hillary Clinton Snaps At Radio Host In Defensive, Testy Gay Marriage Interview

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Mediaite, Power Line, The Huffington Post, The Week, BuzzFeed and The Gateway Pundit

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
Anarchy in the GOP: The End of Authority in the Republican Party

Discussion: BillMoyers.com, New York Times, The Moderate Voice, Prairie Weather, Liberal Values, The American Conservative, Politico and NY Daily News

Politico:

Chelsea Clinton paid $600K by NBC — Chelsea Clinton earned an annual salary of $600,000 at NBC News before switching to a month-to-month contract earlier this year, sources with knowledge of the agreement told POLITICO. — Clinton, who joined NBC News as a “special correspondent” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Outside the Beltway and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Tyler Cowen / New York Times:

The Pitfalls of Peace: The Lack of Major Wars May Be Hurting Economic Growth — It's not because war spending itself is so good. It's because the threat of war can inspire countries to do great things. — Mexico, the World Cup's Luckiest Country — Mexico finished far behind …

Discussion: Althouse and Marginal REVOLUTION

Kimberly Dozier / The Daily Beast:

Exclusive: Bergdahl Explains in Prison Letters Why He Vanished — In a pair of letters, the captured U.S. soldier asks his government to reserve judgment about his disappearance—and complains about the officers leading his unit in Afghanistan. — Writing from a Taliban “prison,” …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite and The Lead with Jake Tapper

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
In Bowe Bergdahl hearing, Chuck Hagel hedges the tough questions

Discussion: Power Line and Conservatives4Palin

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Our ‘Dead Broke’ Leaders — In the largest turnout in a congressional primary in the history of Virginia politics, the voters of the Commonwealth's 7th Congressional District last Tuesday decisively chose not to renominate their seven-term representative, now serving as House majority leader …

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show

Fazel Hawramy / Guardian:

Kurdish peshmerga seize a chaotic victory in Kirkuk — Police loyal to Nouri al-Maliki are powerless to stop looting after Iraqi Kurds gain control of the oil-rich north-eastern city of Kirkuk — Looting at K1 Iraqi army base near the city of Kirkuk, which is under the control of Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, The Dish, Business Insider and RedState