Posted on 03/06/2017 4:38:04 PM PST by gandalftb
After months of planning and deliberations, the 75th Ranger Regiment has been deployed to Syria to participate in the war against ISIS as the coalition closes in on the so-called caliphate’s capital city of Raqqa. Yesterday, the first images emerged of Stryker armored vehicles on their way to Manbij. This comes weeks after Rangers deployed to theater with their Strykers and elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment had been passing through Kurdistan.
By looking at the call sign tag on the back of the Stryker, it is evident that this is 3rd Ranger Battalion out of Fort Benning, Georgia,
(Excerpt) Read more at sofrep.com ...
Agreed, I wish Congress had even a fraction of the courage that our troops have.
President Trump, get a position out on this. Declare war, do something, come out of the shadows, our troops deserve at least a formal public support.
No one is questioning the courage of our troops.
But here we do again, meddling in the internal affairs of another country - one that has been taking care of ISIS with Russian help (while we undermine their sovereign govt).
I am so sick of this.
We are invading a sovereign country with out authority. It’s one thing or not when we pretend and are ISIL. Are troops are not welcome there. All they are doing is serving big oil interests.
More dead US troops for the Saudi Government. How grand!
It is FR, so let the ammo fly. The truth sucks! You will figure it out sooner or later. Despite the false media!
Wow. Rangers are trigger pullers, and don’t have law degrees. This may not turn out well.
I’ll never forget that day when we declared war on Syria.
I don’t care if we are fighting the devil himself, it requires a declaration of war.
Yup, driving around, shooting up a sovereign nation, that is some meddling.
Sure, we could sit back while the Russians, Syrians, Free Syrian Army, PKK Kurds, YPK Kurds, Al Nusra, Turks, and 50 some odd militias shoot it out and maybe once in a while shoot at ISIS.
That would take years, while ISIS metastasizes all over the Muslim world and we’ll be putting fires out for decades.
Once again the world turns to America, our blood, because quite frankly we are the only ones that can get it done.
“Sure, we could sit back while the Russians, Syrians, Free Syrian Army, PKK Kurds, YPK Kurds, Al Nusra, Turks, and 50 some odd militias shoot it out and maybe once in a while shoot at ISIS.”
We know best?
This would seem to be the same neocon interventionism that Trump campaigned against...in other words, HRC’s foreign policy.
I don’t see how it can turn out well in Syria, just as it didn’t turn out well anywhere else in the ME.
SMH.
Pffft...that's so early 20th Century.
Long and loud, Trump has stated emphatically that he would destroy ISIS.
“Pffft...that’s so early 20th Century.”
The whole Constitution is so late 18th century. I guess we should just dispense with that as well. That’s what the Progressives want, anyway.
You know, if we were actually in a good place with the Russians, and not accusing them of interfering in our elections, I still would not support this particular endeavor, but at least we could maybe avoid shooting at Russian planes or troops (or their allies the Syrians). Instead we are going in there with the table set for a confrontation with someone who is has already been fighting the same enemy. What could go wrong?
There are lots of ways to do it.
The HRC/neocon plan is a disastrous plan. Again.
Everything.
“Everything.”
Exactly
I don’t think that the occupation of Mosul will delay or postpone this operation in anyway at all. For that matter, they’re purposely running at the same time and been simultaneously planned for months to unfold at the same time.
I can tell you from a source I have that progress in the West is going very well in Mosul, with low casualties for FF. This too has to be disheartening to the death cult that we’re destroying.
Other than loss of American lives my biggest fear regarding ground troops in Syria is that any land they take will become flooded with refugees. If they take one acre of land every desperate person in Syria will run to it and that one acre will be shoulder to shoulder refugees.
Good point, we saw that in our own Civil War.
Winning the peace will be a problem.
Raqqa is the official capital of the ISIS Caliphate, Mosul is the de facto Capital. Rumor has it that Abu Bakr al Baghdadi might be caught in Mosul, and the encirclement is nearly complete.
There have been reports that this whole new strategy against ISIS is a “take no prisoners” plan to defeat them in detail. Multiple simultaneous operations were swiftly launched after the new CENTCOM Commanding General Joe Votel took over last year. He has been kicking ass ever since. The thought was that ISIS could not command and control that many things at once, and if they tried, their communications would get leadership targeted. Those operations are now closing in on the last major ISIS strongholds (Mosul and Raqqa).
When the Iraqi Army melted in front of ISIS in Mosul, it was actually coordinated - many viewed ISIS as liberators of the Sunnis, and former Ba’athist intelligence officers working for ISIS invoked the old Ba’athist networks to support a handover. The day after our last troops crossed the border into Kuwait, the Shiite Prime Minister (Maliki) declared the Sunni President a terrorist (punishable by death). He had to flee the country that day, and the Sunnis were cut out across the board from that day on. They were kind of driven to rebel against a sectarian Shi’ite Government in Baghdad.
The Iraqi Army has since reconstituted, and now has a lot more Shi’ite officers (still a lot of Sunnis). They are doing a professional job in Mosul, and did so in Fallujah last year as well. Their Counter-Terrorism (CT) units have distinguished themselves, as have their Special Forces “Golden Division”.
They also have large formations of Shi’ite “Popular Mobilization Units” militias (Hashd al Shaabi) participating, some of whom are straight up Iranian fifth columns, directed by their old “Special Groups” commanders. Iran has provided a bunch of rocket and tube artillery for counter-ISIS operations, and Gen Qassim Sulemani has personally participated on the ground in Iraq for the liberation of Tikrit and Fallujah, where the Shi’ite militias conducted some sectarian war crimes and cleansing ops.
“I wonder what’s going on with those Syrian rebel groups Obama was so intent on supporting?”
Bottom Line: The “moderate” Sunni Arab militias were dropped like a hot potato when Trump was inaugurated. Arms shipments and paychecks from the Americans have halted. Our train and equip mission shifted from those units in NW Syria more than a year ago, with all the new effort going to the Syrian Kurdish YPG/YPJ, and Iraqi Kurdsish Peshmerga - but we still kept financing and supplying the former units, who so famously/repeatedly “lost” their heavy weapons over to ISIS and al Queda. The Syrian Kurds have since recruited lots of local Arab Tribes and Assyrian Christians under their leadership in the unified Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - which has been reliably kicking ISIS ass ever since.
Turkey was a big supporter (the main commanders and logistics providers) of those “moderate” Arabs - who were mostly jihadis (with lots of money from the Gulf Arabs and weapons from the US - including those captured in Libya). They are still working for the Turks, who have invaded Northern Syria between Azaz and Jarabulus, and are attacking our Kurdish allies with them as we speak.
The Syrian Army has become more active against ISIS since GEN Votel took over CENTCOM. Just this week, they recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS in a serious fight. Palmyra is out in the desert area, and is the last city of its size between there and Raqqa 130 miles to the North. Syrian Army in Aleppo Province is only 90 miles to the West or Raqqa.
They are tying down and attriting ISIS, but don’t seem likely to make it to Raqqa before the party starts - the SDF is drawing the cordon in, and is just outside of sniper range in the NE of the city. They will probably shape the battlefield and clear more of the outlying areas, while waiting for reinforcements (Rangers!), heavier weapons, and log stockpiles to jump forward before the assault.
Most of the Main Supply Routes into Raqqa have been cut, except the road to the West, which is guarded by the ISIS garrison at nearby Tabqa. They may start probing the city, or more likely try to seize the 17th Division Base, on the North edge of town - but when the Western road is cut, the conditions will be set for a proper siege. Then once everyone on the assault force gives a thumbs up, the fireworks will commence in earnest.
Mosul is all but wrapped up. ISIS is exfiltrating, many are going to Raqqa for a last stand. It’s all part of shaping the battlefield and letting the enemy gather together.
That's good. The west side was the area that most concerned me as far as progress potentially stalling. The northeast was fairly dense, too, but it sounds like the east side is pretty much under control by now.
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