An example of what can happen when other countries become too reliant on the United States to defend them can be seen in Iraq. Clearly, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other leaders thought Americans would bail them out of their current dilemma.

In January, a Sunni Muslim army from Syria invaded Iraq. Within the past couple of weeks, it has scored disturbing successes against the Iraqi army.

On June 26, al-Maliki called members of Iraq’s parliament into a session.

That’s right:?Facing a threat that could destroy their country, Iraqi lawmakers have not even been meeting.

It is difficult to imagine a similar crisis in the U.S. But if one occurred, members of Congress would not wait to be called into session. They would rush to Capitol Hill.

It will – and should – be difficult to convince Americans we should bail Iraqi leaders out of an emergency they do not seem to be taking more seriously.