Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Obama Is Taking Personal Control Over The War Against ISIS In Syria
BI ^ | 18/9/2104 | Michael B. Kelly

Posted on 09/18/2014 5:08:02 AM PDT by GonzoII

US President Barack Obama will personally sign off on any airstrike targeting Islamic State militants in Syria, Julian Barnes and Carol Lee of The Wall Street Journal report.

With the high level of personal control in Syria, "Obama can better ensure the operation remain focused on his main goal for that part of the campaign: weakening the militants' hold on territory in neighboring Iraq."

The U.S. has conducted 174 strikes in Iraq and is preparing Islamic State (aka ISIS) targets in Syria. Obama has sent hundreds of special operations advisors to Iraq to assist Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish peshmerga while asking Congress to grant the authority to train and arm vetted factions of the Syrian opposition.

Officials told WSJ that the commander-in-chief "wants to make sure the military actions in Syria are more like the counterterrorism operations in Somalia or Yemen."

(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.in ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Syria; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: airstrikes; isis; isissyria; obama; obamanewisisstrategy
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-69 next last
To: Westbrook

At least Hitler and Mussolini served in the military and had a grasp what it takes to win a war....both were lousy generals.
Obama couldn’t lead hungry wolves to fresh meat.


21 posted on 09/18/2014 5:31:02 AM PDT by Yorlik803 ( Church/Caboose in 2016)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: P-Marlowe

Like Mark Levin says.... “the Constitution. Or, what’s left of the Constitution”.


22 posted on 09/18/2014 5:31:09 AM PDT by Jane Long ("And when thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII
That's a fantastic plan! :-/

After all, having politicians run military operations worked sooo well in Vietnam.

Oh, and don't worry that bammy and crew have zero military experience, I'm sure that on-the-job-training thing won't cost too many lives.

Hey, nothing like a nice long chain of command to get approvals from for fleeting targets of opportunity. While bammy ums and ahs his way through a few minutes of indecision ISIS will kill more people on the ground while the tac air waits for approval...

bammy and his cohorts in crime are staying true to form here, what screw ups.

23 posted on 09/18/2014 5:33:55 AM PDT by ThunderSleeps (Stop obarma now! Stop the hussein - insane agenda!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ouchthatonehurt
LOL! OH! MY! 😆

24 posted on 09/18/2014 5:34:49 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics in always to pick up a weapon...eh? "Bathhouse" 0'Mullah? d8^)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

We have a new “Great Squad Leader in the Sky”, I guess he has never heard of the concept of delegation. Who lets these press releases out, do they not have one single history major on staff? Also, Syria is 7 hours ahead of us, that is a lot of late nights and early mornings for El Presidente to be signing air strike release forms


25 posted on 09/18/2014 5:35:51 AM PDT by ClayinVA ("Those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII
Why would Obama would to attack an organization that he birthed, trained, and armed? Obama wants to attack Assad, get rid if him as they did the rulers of Egypt and Libia. The Egyptians came to their senses and got rid of Obama's stooges.

Once Obama replaces Assad with his stooges [ISIS or the same under another name], Israel will be in for a hard time.

But, as they say in the NFL, upon further review, this is what a majority of voters in the United States voter for twice in succession. Said voters included self hating whites, blacks, Jews, parasites, American haters, self professed Christians. So they are finally getting what they wanted.

26 posted on 09/18/2014 5:36:42 AM PDT by sport
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

He doesn’t want his boys (Islamists) getting hurt over there.


27 posted on 09/18/2014 5:37:23 AM PDT by Old Yeller (D.A.M.N. - Deport All Muslims Now! Starting in the White House.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ouchthatonehurt
maybe the "Furher" 0'Mullah graphic, would be more precise.
Hitler, was such a "great" general. "Heil! 0'Mullah! "

28 posted on 09/18/2014 5:43:08 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics in always to pick up a weapon...eh? "Bathhouse" 0'Mullah? d8^)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: ThunderSleeps
violations, the precepts of Command..Tzu Sun.

29 posted on 09/18/2014 5:46:43 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics in always to pick up a weapon...eh? "Bathhouse" 0'Mullah? d8^)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

kinda like hitler took over the war in france? that worked out well for him didn’t it?


30 posted on 09/18/2014 5:49:13 AM PDT by camle (keep an open mind and someone will fill it full of something for you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

The disaster before Moscow in December 1941 led him to dismiss his Commander-in-Chief von Brauchitsch, and many other key commanders who sought permission for tactical withdrawals, including Guderian, Bock, Hoepner, von Rundstedt and Leeb, found themselves cashiered. Hitler now assumed personal control of all military operations, refusing to listen to advice, disregarding unpalatable facts and rejecting everything that did not fit into his preconceived picture of reality. His neglect of the Mediterranean theatre and the Middle East, the failure of the Italians, the entry of the United States into the war, and above all the stubborn determination of the Russians, pushed Hitler on to the defensive. From the winter of 1941 the writing was on the wall but Hitler refused to countenance military defeat, believing that implacable will and the rigid refusal to abandon positions could make up for inferior resources and the lack of a sound overall strategy.

Convinced that his own General Staff was weak and indecisive, if not openly treacherous, Hitler became more prone to outbursts of blind, hysterical fury towards his generals, when he did not retreat into bouts of misanthropic brooding. His health, too, deteriorated under the impact of the drugs prescribed by his quack physician, Dr. Theodor Morell. Hitler’s personal decline, symbolized by his increasingly rare public appearances and his self-enforced isolation in the “Wolf’s Lair,” his headquarters buried deep in the East Prussian forests, coincided with the visible signs of the coming German defeat which became apparent in mid-1942.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html


31 posted on 09/18/2014 5:49:31 AM PDT by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ouchthatonehurt

That’s disgusting and an insult to all current and former Marines.


32 posted on 09/18/2014 5:50:14 AM PDT by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

Similarly, near the end of the war he ordered that no unit could move without his express permission, and he demanded lengthy reports on every armoured vehicle and position that his forces lost. Such methods guaranteed that opportunities and dangers alike would go unnoticed, that good commanders would be trapped in impossible situations and bad ones allowed to avoid responsibility.

Hitler also combined his insistence on personal control with a leadership style that often consisted of equal parts indecisiveness and stubbornness. He sometimes put off difficult decisions for weeks, especially as the military situation grew worse. In 1943, for instance, his inability to make up his mind about an attack at Kursk eventually pushed the attack back from April to July - by which time the Soviets were well prepared.

Arguments among his commanders and advisors did not help the situation. By late 1942 Hitler’s subordinates had split into cliques that competed for increasingly scarce resources, while he remained the final arbiter of all disputes. His senior commanders felt free to contact him directly; they knew that the last man to brief him often got what he wanted. At other times, though, Hitler would cling to a decision stubbornly, regardless of its merits. His decision to attack in the Ardennes in 1944 is one good example: his commanders tried, both directly and indirectly, to persuade him to adopt a more realistic plan, without success.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/hitler_commander_01.shtml


33 posted on 09/18/2014 5:50:51 AM PDT by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ClayinVA
"signing air strike release forms"
nah..it'll interfere w/ his golf game/vacation/Reggie time.

34 posted on 09/18/2014 5:50:55 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (The end move in politics in always to pick up a weapon...eh? "Bathhouse" 0'Mullah? d8^)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

He is going after Assad for his ISIS,
Al Quada biddies.
He couldn’t get approval for air strikes last year but he has it now.
SFA = ISIS
We are now the official Air Force for the JIHAD! CONGRATULATIONS ALL AROUND /s


35 posted on 09/18/2014 5:52:36 AM PDT by TsonicTsunami08 (SEND BITCOIN 1CYfujvffxKKPHKvrQvLP3CDb3Z5Lu7LwM)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

Obama will ensure diversity levels are maintained.


36 posted on 09/18/2014 5:53:40 AM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

Politicians running military operations has worked great in the past. Just ask the Prussians.


37 posted on 09/18/2014 5:53:48 AM PDT by Organic Panic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Westbrook
More like Benito Mussolini or Adolph Hitler.

Jimmy Carter. Remember Operation Eagle Claw, the disastrous Iran hostage rescue attempt?

And at least Jimmy Carter served in the military!

38 posted on 09/18/2014 5:58:39 AM PDT by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII

Sounds like a perfect fit for this DRONE of a President.


39 posted on 09/18/2014 6:02:52 AM PDT by The Toll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GonzoII
LBJ is the first thought- however, I am going to be more cynical. Obama truly believes that he can defeat ISIL using alliances and US Air-power- a plan that no general believes. We know Obama is very arrogant and has been known to say that he is a better speech writer than his speech writers and understands the issues better than his advisers. Apparently now he is a better military commander than his generals.

Normmally what presidents do when they do not beleive they are being served is to fire his staff or generals. Lincoln fired many generals and even GWB had to go through many generals to find ones that wanted to fight the war. So in that spirit, Obama should fire his generals to find the one that can execute his strategy. But that won't happen.

So Obama needs to be involved in targeting because he does not trust the military- ya I said it. He has some history not to trust people under him- the OBL raid, Arming of Israel and public statements that contradict Obama. In essence, the President of the US is worried about a mini-coup!

40 posted on 09/18/2014 6:07:16 AM PDT by 11th Commandment ("THOSE WHO TIRE LOSE")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-69 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson