More than terrorism at issue in Iraq

As stability in Iraq continues to break down, the US needs to look closer at its motivations for intervention in Iraq, said New America Foundation president Anne-Marie Slaughter on BBC's World News America on Friday.

"The real question is what are our national security interests," the former Obama administration state department director of policy planning said. "And the president seems to define that only as, we need to protect Americans from the threat of terrorism."

With Iraq sinking deeper into sectarian violence, she suggested that the US go beyond only focusing on terrorism threats, but support policies that "prevent the Middle East from descending into a 30-year war, horrific destabilisation, where effectively countries come apart."

She said the US cannot act alone, however.