Posted on 10/12/2015 6:42:03 PM PDT by markomalley
The Pentagon acknowledged on Monday that Iraqi forces could have discovered a cache of U.S. weapons and missiles seized by Islamic State (IS) militants operating in the country, according to U.S. officials and regional media reports.
Iraqi forces combatting IS (also known as ISIS or ISIL) are said to have found a stockpile of U.S. weapons, including ammunition and anti-armor missiles, hidden at sites controlled by terrorist forces, according to foreign military sources who spoke to Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency. This is said to include a “huge volume” of advanced TOW II anti-tank missiles.
When asked to address the reports on Monday, a Pentagon official acknowledged that U.S. weapons had gone missing last year, but denied that the United States was intentionally arming IS or its affiliates in the region.
“As you may recall, when ISIL overran Iraqi positions last year, we were aware of ISIL capturing some Iraqi weapons and equipment that had been supplied by the U.S. to Iraqi forces,” the official said. “However, the claims that U.S. and Coalition forces are directly supplying ISIL with any weapons, equipment, or ammunition are completely false.”
Fars claimed the U.S. weapons and ammunition were discovered over the weekend near the Iraqi city of Fallujah and that they had been “airdropped” into the area by American forces.
“The military hardware and weapons had been airdropped by the U.S.-led warplanes and choppers for the ISIL in the nearby areas of Beiji,” a military source was quoted as telling Fars.
The U.S. defense official rejected this claim, calling it “nothing more than propaganda intended to mislead readers about the true nature of the coalition’s efforts to support our Iraqi partners and defeat ISIL.”
Another Pentagon official noted that Iran often disseminates these types of reports and officials “regularly have to correct the record.”
Iraqi sources had claimed over the weekend that U.S. shipments had been spotted being sent to IS, though the claims could not be verified. Videos disseminated via Twitter appear to show Iraqis digging through U.S. supply crates.
The claims follow months of speculation among some Iraqis that the United States is wrongly arming terrorist forces in the country.
Such claims are a sign of a growing propaganda war on both sides of the fight, with the United States working to dampen conspiracies about its supposed support for IS.
Iranian officials and the country’s media outlets have attempted to perpetuate this narrative.
Fars quoted an Iraqi official earlier this year who claimed that U.S. aircraft were dropping food and weapons for forces believed to be affiliated with IS.
“The U.S. planes have dropped weapons for the ISIL terrorists in the areas under ISIL control and even in those areas that have been recently liberated from the ISIL control to encourage the terrorists to return to those places,” Jafar al-Jaberi, a coordinator for the Iraqi popular forces, was quoted as telling the outlet.
Meanwhile, U.S. coalition forces continue to strike IS positions.
The Pentagon announced on Sunday that it had conducted 17 airstrikes in Iraq and another seven in Syria.
“The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community,” the Pentagon said. “The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group’s ability to project terror and conduct operations.”
More like they were given those missiles.
It wouldn’t surprise me to find that obama is arming isil.
“Could have” = “DID” = As part of the ObamaGOP plan.
Hey lay off....the president is leading on more important iasues like climate change.
I think that’s pretty much a given....
Don’t worry. The Kenyan has it handled. He’s “leading” the “climate change” assault against hardworking American families.
To be used immediately against Russian forces in Syria no doubt. What convenient timing!!
Little did any of these people know that in reality they were cheering for the success of Islamo-Nazism.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1HSnnDfCks
there was a report earlier where we dropped a few tons of weapons for anti Assad forces.
My guess is that it was for ISIS and we have been helping them for the get go while waging war on a sovereign country and ignoring ISSI atrocities.
I suspicion this is why they so against Putin - they;re afraid their treasonous arming of the enemy will finally be revealed for the world to see....
watch out for Martial Law
Horse manure, these types of weapons were knowingly supplied to Islamic terrorist "rebels" by US assets in, and under the direction of the US Embassy in Libya/Christopher Stevens Gun Running fiasco.
...’seizes’...
"If we want to actually dismantle ISIS, we need to dramatically change course. We need a real, robust campaign that maximizes our overwhelming air advantage.
We need to focus our efforts not on trying to create friends, but on supporting our real ones, especially the Kurds in Iraq and Syria who have actually had success against ISIS."
-snip-
"We can redouble our efforts to develop the defensive weapons that neutralized the offensive Soviet threat -- particularly missile defense, which has seen a 25% budget reduction under Obama, according to an analysis from the conservative Heritage Foundation, and has been constrained by bad arms deals like New START.
We should not only move quickly to install the canceled interceptor sites Putin opposed in Poland and the Czech Republic, but also to develop the next generation of systems that will only increase his discomfiture.
These options do not entail a ground war in Syria, yet would effectively shake us free from the failed policies that have brought us to our current impasse.
These options set us on a new path that puts Putin on notice that the United States is reclaiming our traditional role as leader of the free world."
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/09/opinions/cruz-syria-putin/index.html
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“I think it would be a mistake to get involved in the Syrian civil war. There have been voices in Washington eager for us to send our sons and daughters over to fight that civil war for some time. I haven’t been one of them. I think the touchstone of U.S. military policy should be protecting the national security of this country.
“What we’re seeing Putin in Russia do is a direct response to the profound weakness of Obama over six and a half years.
Putin views Obama as weak, as ineffective, and frankly, as a laughingstock. And, as a result, he is moving in, he is invading his neighbors – like Ukraine – he’s kidnapping Estonians, and he’s moving into Syria to gain a stronger foothold in the Middle East."
Bingo
They found Obama’s weapons.
Wouldn’t want them to have anything but the best, you know.
Our government and military knew about that cache site. They have been bombing for over a year. Never got around to bombing it.
It must have felt like this at some point in Germany. To know your government and beloved military has become a force of evil.
We are literally fighting on the side of the people who did 9/11. Al qeida.
Disgusting and a dark day in American history.
You post: “Hey lay off....the president is leading on more important iasues like climate change.”
LOL
and teaching kids at the WH basketball court how to sink baskets - After all, basketball is supposed to be his best sport.
Oh my....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IjDqm-JHrA
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