Posted on 03/06/2017 6:30:07 PM PST by Lorianne
A Pentagon plan for the coming assault on Raqqa, the Islamic State capital in Syria, calls for significant U.S. military participation, including increased Special Operations forces, attack helicopters and artillery, and arms supplies to the main Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighting force on the ground, according to U.S. officials.
The military's favored option among several variations currently under White House review, the proposal would ease a number of restrictions on U.S. activities imposed during former President Barack Obama's administration.
Officials involved in the planning have proposed lifting a cap on the size of the U.S. military contingent in Syria, currently numbering about 500 Special Operations trainers and advisers to the combined Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. While the Americans would not be directly involved in ground combat, the proposal would allow them to work closer to the front line and would delegate more decision-making authority down the military line from Washington.
President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to expand the fight against the militants in Syria, Iraq and beyond, received the plan Monday after giving the Pentagon 30 days to prepare it.
But in a conflict where nothing has been as simple as anticipated, the Raqqa offensive has already sparked new alliances. In just the past two days, U.S. forces intended for the Raqqa battle have had to detour to a town in northern Syria to head off a confrontation between two American allied forces - Turkish and Syrian Kurdish fighters. There, they have found themselves effectively side by side with Russian and Syrian government forces with the same apparent objective.
Approval of the Raqqa plan would effectively shut the door on Turkey's demands that Syrian Kurds, considered terrorists by Ankara, be denied U.S. equipment and kept out of the upcoming offensive. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that arming and including the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, in the operation is unacceptable and has vowed to move his own troops and Turkish-allied Syrian rebel forces toward Raqqa.
Remember that group called ISIS?
Why did we go to war with Germany. Only John Belushi thought they bombed Pearl Harbor.
Why do we care about Muslims killing other Muslims?
Cause as crazy as it sounds, ISIS controlling swaths of land and money is infinitely more dangerous than secular dictators like saddam, Momar, Assad ever were.
If long range missiles and nukes that can be shipped here didn’t exist, i probably wouldn’t care nearly as much.
Al Sisi taking the reigns in Egypt from Morsi was a great thing.
The less fanatical the ruler, the safer it is for the world and us.
Believe me, when Iraq and Iran killed a million of each other in the 80s, I think, I was not upset at all.
We don’t want Raqqa, or shouldn’t. The only thing we should want is ISIS dead.
They should seal off any escape routes and make sure no military-aged men leave there alive.
These are the guys that were slaughtering Christians.
They had strong dictators in these places before we interfered.
Also, there are more than just ISIS and we don’t know who is who and who we are helping. Alliances change daily if not hourly. It is a quagmire.
Which ones? We don’t even know who is who over there. And we’ve trained and given weapons to some who have used them to terrorize other clans or religious sects.
Escalation is scary. It’ll change the subject from the election, if they do it.
Sure, and in a few years all the 11, 12 and 13 year olds will be back at it in their religious civil war.
AND WE SHOULDN’T HAVE INTERFERED!!!
We should have blown Saudi Arabia straight back to heck but the bushes were so in bed with them i’m surprised they didn’t get pregnant.
I agree with you there.
And it takes a much smarter person than me to come up with a long term answer.
I still have trouble with the remote, no less the “Echo”
This will never be fixed until the ME has strong government and borders. Transnationals will continue to go between countries causing problems. I dunno if they have this fixed or ever will.
ISIS was Obama’s Frankenstein monster, believe it or not, and it has committed open genocide against middle east Christians. Trump has promised to exterminate them, and that is a promise he should keep. He has also promised to exit the middle east once that is done, and that is also a promise he should keep.
They like to say that Obama created the vacuum that allowed ISIS to flourish. Its much worse than that. He really is their godfather, and the genocide they committed is on his head. And on ours, if we don’t set it right by wiping them out.
It’s a promise he can’t keep.
There have been ISIS-like groups in the Middle East and N. Africa for millennia. They never go away, they are never destroyed, only sometimes subdued by strongmen (like Saddam Hussein).
He will never “exterminate” them. No one will. The best that can be hoped for is to contain them. And even that is becoming harder with Europe allowing so many ‘refugees’ in.
Sounds like it’ll be screwed up. I see nothing more than some silly northern alliance style thing like in Afghanistan.
This is a time to make them into an object lesson. Blast them in such a way that actually shocks the world and re-instills fear of the USA.
And I see no plan for mass arrests inside a perimeter and hanging hundreds for war crimes. They will all flee back to Europe.
And not a word that we will turn it over to the Syrian government.
Our generals will screw this up like they have everything else for the last 20 years.
Delightful.
No more U.S. troops in Third World sh!t-holes.
We knock a few legs from out under the table, to allow local neighborhood types to manuevuer. We have a vested interest in defeating ISIL, however, we do not own the fight. Create enough space to allow the local players to move, and we’ve done our part. Scope creep is always the danger. There is no victory for us, just influence.
We’ve been over there for at least 16 years!
Also, I think we’ve learned that a secular despot, as despicable as they are against humanity, is far less of a threat to the US, as is a power vacuum that allows radicals in. A complete solution is up to the folks that live in the neighborhood, we just need to ensure the struggle remains in the neighborhood.
Better there than here.
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