Posted on 08/11/2014 9:07:33 AM PDT by GonzoII
IS is skidaddling back to Syria.
From what I have read, there never were that many IS goons. They rely on terror to cower the population. Once a credible force opposes them, they prove to be cowardly bullies.
It’s got to be tough for ISIS to move about with F/A-18’s waiting to pounce. The U.S. should’ve hit their convoys MONTHS ago. There was never a more clear target than when they came parading into Iraq from Syria in a nice long line of howitzers, machine gun trucks, personnel carriers, etc.
bttt
10,000-15,000 ISIS members in Iraq estimated.
That is a small force that should be easy to drive out and/or kill if the Iraqis had half the intestinal fortitude of the pesmergas.
Nice to see soldiers who don’t wear masks or carry swords.
The Kurds will also buy a lot of goodwill and standing in all this. I’d rather see them do the liberating at this point.
As usual. What is really going to happen here is a replay of what American troops went through to clean out the insurgency. It’s a pity more lives now have to be spent doing it. Too bad the Iraqi central government can’t get their act together instead of fighting over their births on the Titanic.
The Kurds need to be supported all the way on this. They should be treated as a separate entity by our state department for normalized relations , trade and military support as an ally. We have some history with them here.
Does that means Obama's next career as Grand Caliph is in jeopardy?
Exactly. The Peshmerga are tough, competent fighters but they have suffered from the U.S. withdrawal (and a lack of recent training with our forces) and the trickle of equipment and supplies that are routed through Baghdad.
Use airpower to keep ISIS in check, and turn on the aid pipeline to the Kurds. I’m guessing that many of the 500 or so SOF that Barry sent to Iraq were routed to Kurdistan to serve as trainers and advisers. Give the SF guys some time to train up the Kurds and ensure they’re properly equipped, then turn them loose—with the full weight of U.S. airpower behind them. ISIS will melt like a snowball in the desert.
Of course, even that modest approach would require a commander-in-chief with a set, and that description doesn’t fit the current occupant of the Oval Office.
Groan. We’ve never supported IS regardless of what the Internet Conspiracy Theorists say. We’ve only supported those who have, in fact fought against them such as the Free Syrian Army, the Iraqi Army and the Kurdish Peshmergas.
The conspiracy theorists now have to explain how it is we’re now bombing IS, sending arms to the Kurds and continuing support to the secular Syrian opposition forces -all of whom are fighting IS.
I really don’t think Obama’s engaged on this. In fact I don’t even think he’s involved at all. He just doesn’t care.
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