Exclusive: Read the Inauguration Day letter Obama left for Trump — CNN

Here's the thing, LTC......what ever Obama did or didn't do, it doesn't mean Trump shouldn't listen to his experts more. He ignores the scientists, disparages his intelligence agencies, and has said he knows more than his generals. He also ignores and/or picks fights with the leaders of his own party. These things do not lead to a successful presidency.

LTC David Brown - The requested page "/panetta-slams-white-house-iraq-withdrawal." could not be found.
At this point though, the point is moot. Panetta advised, and a decision was made that went against that advice. We can speculate all day long about how a residual U.S. force would have prevented ISIS from filling the power vacuum, but to me it sounds like hubris. We could just as easily argue that it would have left U.S. forces in place without adequate legal or physical protection. Or we could look at the cost for keeping them in place and continuing down the path of country building on the back of the American taxpayer. We could also discuss the optimum conditions for pulling out of Iraq, and assess what it would take to put those conditions in place, and how long, and at what expense... but it is still speculation. A point of comparison might be Afghanistan, and looking at our continued presence there. America's longest war., and I am still not entirely certain what we are trying to accomplish there (though I imagine it has something to do with lithium and mineral rights).

Point is Obama refused to listen, don't complain about aTrump when Obama is complicit.

LTC David Brown - Obama refused to endanger US troops by subjecting them to Iraqi law, not listening and not obeying are different things.