All this is on Obama’s head.
He abandoned our blood their and handed Mesopotamia to the Persians
Drat his hide.
ping.
US-trained security forces? Trained to desert to help their 0’s peeps?
A close relative fought for a year to free Mosul. It was a terrible time. If you were to ask my professional opinion as a pastor, and that’s because I’ve seen grief a lot, I’d say he is showing grief over this. He can’t believe it (shock/denial). He’s extremely angry when discussing it. (Anger). Then he just shakes his head in bitterness. (depression).
I imagine every soldier and family, who lost friends or loved ones, or who had them injured, are experiencing similar grief over the news out of Mosul.
I thought we were told that Al Qaeda was “on the run”
We need energy independence so we can get ourselves out of that god-forsaken part of the world.
It was naive to think things would ever change there, nothing but a bunch of savages.
Iraq is our ally. Compare this to Syria's Assad, which Obama wants to topple, that has been fighting for years to keep the terrorists from taking over. We do seem to be on the wrong side in a lot of this.
Remember South Viet Nam after the Democrats gained control of the Senate and refused to honor treaties?
Deja vu all over again ping. RE: Helicopters away
In order for the US to have had any kind of lasting influence in the region we would have needed a military presence there for at least 50 years. We barely had boots on the ground before there were calls for an exit strategy. Add to that the disastrous rules of engagement our military had to contend with and you have a formula for failure.
And Iraq just took possession of its first Blk 52 F16...and is supposed to get more...this could be an interesting turn of events if the goat humpers get a squadron or two of F16’s.
Realizing of course that they’ll need pilots that are worth a damn...otherwise, the birds will just be static displays.
I wonder if 0 will continue to send the F16’s to Iraq knowing how they’re faring against AQ...this would be a “tell”.
But GM is alive…
(from FReeper carriage_hill on another thread)
Whoever is training the other side is doing better than us and also doing better at recruitment. What is our purpose if they don’t want us?
So for years here on FR, I have said the Iraq war was a mistake (was BBQed for it many a time) because the end game wasn’t really spelled out and really Iraq is an artificial country (thank you Churchill and France). I also said we could not “fix” the problem until we looked at Syria the same way. It is at least 3 countries. I said years ago that we should partition it between Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis. It looks like that is what we are headed for with everyone pretty much disgusted with the USA and over 4000 casualties. I thought we would lose because we think they want to wear jeans and eat McDonalds. Now we know better, I think...
You can pay them.
But you cannot give them the willingness to fight. That has to come from inside. The Jihadis have the willingness. These guys don't.
Somehow I don't see audiences rushing to see:
MISS BAGHDAD - A musical tale of love and loss set amid the epic fall of the Iraqi capital.
G.I.s dancing with bikini-clad Vietnamese bar-girls
vs
Troops in Kevlar drinking tea with filthy bearded men?
Drama and song through two acts
vs
Fatima getting stoned to death by her own family in the first five minutes?
Oh, wait. never mind...