U.S. Pilots Confirm: Obama Admin Blocks 75 Percent of Islamic State Strikes

Washington Free Beacon ^ | 11/20/15 | Adam Kredo

[markomalley]

U.S. military pilots who have returned from the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq are confirming that they were blocked from dropping 75 percent of their ordnance on terror targets because they could not get clearance to launch a strike, according to a leading member of Congress.

Strikes against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) targets are often blocked due to an Obama administration policy to prevent civilian deaths and collateral damage, according to Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The policy is being blamed for allowing Islamic State militants to gain strength across Iraq and continue waging terrorist strikes throughout the region and beyond, according to Royce and former military leaders who spoke Wednesday about flaws in the U.S. campaign to combat the Islamic State.

“You went 12 full months while ISIS was on the march without the U.S. using that air power and now as the pilots come back to talk to us they say three-quarters of our ordnance we can’t drop, we can’t get clearance even when we have a clear target in front of us,” Royce said. “I don’t understand this strategy at all because this is what has allowed ISIS the advantage and ability to recruit.”

When asked to address Royce’s statement, a Pentagon official defended the Obama administration’s policy and said that the military is furiously working to prevent civilian casualties.

“The bottom line is that we will not stoop to the level of our enemy and put civilians more in harm’s way than absolutely necessary,” the official told the Washington Free Beacon, explaining that the military often conducts flights “and don’t strike anything.”

“The fact that aircraft go on missions and don’t strike anything is not out of the norm,” the official said. “Despite U.S. strikes being the most precise in the history of warfare, conducting strike operations in the heavily populated areas where ISIL hides certainly presents challenges. We are fighting an enemy who goes out of their way to put civilians at risk. However, our pilots understand the need for the tactical patience in this environment. This fight against ISIL is not the kind of fight from previous decades.”

Jack Keane, a retired four-star U.S. general, agreed with Royce’s assessment of the administration’s policy and blamed President Barack Obama for issuing orders that severely constrain the U.S. military from combatting terror forces.

“This has been an absurdity from the beginning,” Keane said in response to questions from Royce. “The president personally made a statement that has driven air power from the inception.”

“When we agreed we were going to do airpower and the military said, this is how it would work, he [Obama] said, ‘No, I do not want any civilian casualties,’” Keane explained. “And the response was, ‘But there’s always some civilian casualties. We have the best capability in the world to protect from civilians casualties.’”

However, Obama’s response was, “No, you don’t understand. I want no civilian casualties. Zero,’” Keane continued. “So that has driven our so-called rules of engagement to a degree we have never had in any previous air campaign from desert storm to the present.”

This is likely the reason that U.S. pilots are being told to back down when Islamic State targets are in site, Keane said, citing statistics published earlier this year by U.S. Central Command showing that pilots return from sorties in Iraq with about 75 percent of their ordnance unexpended.

“Believe me,” Keane added, “the French are in there not using the restrictions we have imposed on our pilots.”

And the same goes for Russians, he said, adding, “They don’t care at all about civilians.”

The French have been selecting their own targets since beginning to launch strikes on the Islamic State earlier this week, according to a second Pentagon source who spoke to the Free Beacon earlier this week about the strikes.

France dropped at least 20 bombs on key Islamic State targets within two days after the terror attacks in Paris that killed 129. French strikes have killed at least 33 Islamic State militants in the past several days.

In the case of the initial French strikes, the “targets were nominated by the French whose strikes against them were supported by the coalition” fighting the Islamic State, the official explained.

Any coalition member can nominate a potential target.

“Once a target is validated, great care is taken—from analysis of available intelligence to selection of the appropriate weapon to meet mission requirements—to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to non-combatants,” the official said.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 22,000 munitions were dropped on Islamic State targets during more than 8,000 sorties, according to information provided to the Free Beacon by the Defense Department.

Some experts questioned whether the administration is handing off portions of the battle to other nations.

“The French airstrikes have been billed as a significant uptick in the battle against the Islamic State, Preliminary data indicate that this is not the case,” said Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism expert at the U.S. Treasury Department. “It appears that the U.S. is simply allowing France to strike many of the targets that would usually be reserved for the U.S. and some of its coalition allies. In other words, this appears to be a redistribution of daily targets in the ongoing campaign, and not a significant change.”

These strikes have forced the Islamic State to evacuate at least 20 to 25 percent of the territories it held one year ago in both Iraq and Syria, according to the Pentagon.

Attacks have focused on the Islamic State’s “staging areas, fighting position, and key leaders,” as well as its “oil distribution chain,” according to the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, a poll released Thursday found that at least 70 percent of American support an expanded fight against the Islamic State, including sending U.S. troops to the region.

[griswold3]

Afraid of blowback from imperialist actions.

[ought-six]

He's been deliberately weak going after ISIS in order that his Russian comrades have reason to move in and grab control of the Middle East.

But that doesn't make sense, because King Putt wants to overthrow Assad, who is a Russian ally and proxy. I think your comment might have some validity but for that fact. I think the most likely explanation is that Obama is so incredibly clueless and inept, and is way ought of his depth, that he is just blundering about in a narcissistic fog.

[ought-six]

To anyone who wants to tell me that we shouldn’t sink to the terrorists level. Yes, we should. Fight fire with fire.

I agree.

[ought-six]

As if it is already not apparent, Obama is a incompetent, idiotic fool. I hate this man-child.

Your comment is gaining traction and agreement daily.

[Lazamataz]

More proof (as if any was needed) that OTrauma is a committed Muslim.

[McGruff]

“You went 12 full months while ISIS was on the march without the U.S. using that air power and now as the pilots come back to talk to us they say three-quarters of our ordnance we can’t drop, we can’t get clearance even when we have a clear target in front of us,” Royce said. “I don’t understand this strategy at all because this is what has allowed ISIS the advantage and ability to recruit.”

What is becoming crystal clear is that Obama never had any intention of defeating ISIS. It took Putin to force his hand.

[Hotlanta Mike]

President Snowflake personally directing military missions...reminds one of Der Fuehrer some 70 years ago...

[Neoliberalnot]

I notice a change in King Hussien’s demeanor as even his coddling
press has begun to challenge him on his blatant disregard
of the muzzie danger. He has gone from arrogant smugness
to overt anger. Look at his eyes and hear his clipped voice.
He is more dangerous than ever. He reminds me of Hitler
when the war began to turn against him. How can this be
happening to ME?

[upchuck]

Compare and contrast this MO/ROI with that of the Russians.

[pugmama]

I have also noticed this. He looks demented.

[ETL]

Re: "He's been deliberately weak going after ISIS in order that his Russian comrades have reason to move in and grab control of the Middle East."

But that doesn't make sense, because King Putt[Obama] wants to overthrow Assad, who is a Russian ally and proxy. I think your comment might have some validity but for that fact.

Smoke and mirrors. In the end, Obama has bent over backwards with his missile defense and nuke deals with Putin to see to it that the Russians are in a position to make their long-awaited comeback. Obama, and many around him, including John Kerry, were loyal supporters of the Soviet Union. And KGB Putin is basically looking to restore it.

I think the most likely explanation is that Obama is so incredibly clueless and inept, and is way ought of his depth, that he is just blundering about in a narcissistic fog.

Obama's decisions are made by a team of hard-core left advisers. He does what he does DELIBERATELY, especially something of this significance and magnitude. He basically shares the same (weak US/strong Russia) new international order vision with Putin and wants them to reemerge as a top superpower, despite all of the smoke and mirrors BS. He doesn't care if he looks like a fool in the process. In the end he thinks he will be remembered a hero for the cause by those with the same vision. Obama is the saboteur-in-chief. The commie left has infiltrated our system with the specific purpose of bringing it down.

[IamConservative]

His narcissistic personality disorder is showing.

[Fred Hayek]

Or LBJ and McNamara.

[kelly4c]

Yep. It’s obvious he doesn’t give a flying fook about Christians in the Mideast. Anyone who’s been paying attention can see who he really cares about. We are living in perilous times that’s all I can say.

[Neoliberalnot]

His psychopathy is close to the surface.

[Neoliberalnot]

He is beyond that. He is a closet psychopath. He has had that personality since childhood.

[donozark]

“...Sherman on his horse Duke, before Atlanta.” Found the photo.

[bert]

it is far more fundamental...... obama is not a warrior and opposes any war like actions. By declaring no civilian casualties, he made an end run around the military to prevent almost all action

if obama is martyred, will he get the virgins? will they be black?

[Joe 6-pack]

Thanks!

[ETL]

He is beyond that. He is a closet psychopath. He has had that personality since childhood.

From AsiaTimesOnline
Feb 26, 2008

"Barack Obama received at least some instruction in the Islamic faith of his father and went with him to the mosque, but the importance of this experience is vastly overstated by conservative commentators who seek to portray Obama as a Muslim of sorts. Radical anti-Americanism, rather than Islam, was the reigning faith in the Dunham household. ...

Barack Obama is a clever fellow who imbibed hatred of America with his mother's milk, but worked his way up the elite ladder of education and career. He shares the resentment of Muslims against the encroachment of American culture, although not their religion. He has the empathetic skill set of an anthropologist who lives with his subjects, learns their language, and elicits their hopes and fears while remaining at emotional distance. That is, he is the political equivalent of a sociopath. The difference is that he is practicing not on a primitive tribe but on the population of the United States.

There is nothing mysterious about Obama's methods. "A demagogue tries to sound as stupid as his audience so that they will think they are as clever as he is," wrote Karl Krauss. Americans are the world's biggest suckers, and laugh at this weakness in their popular culture."

Article: Obama's women reveal his secret
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/JB26Aa01.html
_________________________________________

Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left

by David Horowitz