"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Saturday, September 13, 2014
I hope President Obama follows through on his pledge to destroy ISIS
"Don't worry. My follow-through is much improved!"
No. No, Mr. President, that's not what I mean at all...
2 comments:
Michael Lonie
said...
President Obumbler wants to make war lite, using aircraft alone for any actual fighting. I'd say it was a strategy of "Victory thorugh air power" except that he doesn't seem intent on victory, just drawing it out until he can hand the problem off to somebody else in January, 2017.
By establishing a "state" the jihadists have erected a target for conventional forces to attack. Their army can be targeted and destroyed. Of course, at some point they'll revert to guerilla tactics again, but that can be handled if done intelligently (yeah, I know, this is Obumbler we're talking about; nevertheless).
The Pentagon has apparently told him that it requires combat troops on the ground to win this fight (Obumbler and C;ueless Kerry don't call it a war). I think the generals are correct, and the sooner troops are deployed the better. For that reason, I would like to see the 82nd flown into Kurdistan and act as spearhead for the Peshmerga. SOF troops too. In the south, a brigade of Marines to stiffen Iraqi resistance and act as a reserve to counter any new ISIL breakthroughs there.
The intel operation we had in Iraq once must be rebuilt, and the men knowledgeable about dealing with the tribes sent back. The key to breaking ISIL, in addition to overwhelming force, is diplomacy with the tribes. It was their cooperation that allowed the speedy breakthroughs of ISIL that overran so much of Iraq. The tribes hold down the conquered areas for ISIL.
While Obumbler dithers ISIL looks to the Sunnis like it's on a roll, and not just the Iraqis and Syrians. The last report I saw claimed 30,000 fighters for the group, 2000 from the Western nations like Britain and the US. Turkey had backed out of any cooperation, and so has Britain. Maybe they're worried ISIL will behead the 49 Turkish diplomats and their families that the jihadists hold captive, or maybe it's just that Erdogan and his government sympathize with the jihadists.
We were left with no good options, the ISIL grew out of the old AQI, and Maliki alienated the Sunnis by his actions because we did not leave a substantial force of troops in Iraq. At least one, and better two divisions with appropriate air support and SOF assest, with the superb intel operation ought to have stayed after December 2011. Such a force would give us diplomatic leverage in the region and a way of pressuring the Shi'a not to dump on the Sunnis, and stiffening the Iraqi spine against Iraq. There is no way at present that the Iraqis can stand up to Iran's influence even if they want to; they are too exposed to Iranian pressure.
Obumbler, his consiglieri, his SecState C;ue;ess John, andLilberals/Progressives/whatever you call 'em this week in general seem to lack an understanding of the synergy between diplomacy and the other elements of natinal power, particularly military power. I don't know why, they are perfectly ready to be intimidated by other nations' military power. Obumbler is supposed to have studied International Relations at Columbia. Obviiously they did not teach him anythign about how international relations actually work.
Napoleon once commented "Ask me for anything but time." Obumbler needs to understand that this fight must be carried out ASAP, and not as a long,. drawn-out dither in his usual fashion. The quicker we get troops engaged against ISIL the quicker the jihadists' faux caliphate will be smashed.
2 comments:
President Obumbler wants to make war lite, using aircraft alone for any actual fighting. I'd say it was a strategy of "Victory thorugh air power" except that he doesn't seem intent on victory, just drawing it out until he can hand the problem off to somebody else in January, 2017.
By establishing a "state" the jihadists have erected a target for conventional forces to attack. Their army can be targeted and destroyed. Of course, at some point they'll revert to guerilla tactics again, but that can be handled if done intelligently (yeah, I know, this is Obumbler we're talking about; nevertheless).
The Pentagon has apparently told him that it requires combat troops on the ground to win this fight (Obumbler and C;ueless Kerry don't call it a war). I think the generals are correct, and the sooner troops are deployed the better. For that reason, I would like to see the 82nd flown into Kurdistan and act as spearhead for the Peshmerga. SOF troops too. In the south, a brigade of Marines to stiffen Iraqi resistance and act as a reserve to counter any new ISIL breakthroughs there.
The intel operation we had in Iraq once must be rebuilt, and the men knowledgeable about dealing with the tribes sent back. The key to breaking ISIL, in addition to overwhelming force, is diplomacy with the tribes. It was their cooperation that allowed the speedy breakthroughs of ISIL that overran so much of Iraq. The tribes hold down the conquered areas for ISIL.
While Obumbler dithers ISIL looks to the Sunnis like it's on a roll, and not just the Iraqis and Syrians. The last report I saw claimed 30,000 fighters for the group, 2000 from the Western nations like Britain and the US. Turkey had backed out of any cooperation, and so has Britain. Maybe they're worried ISIL will behead the 49 Turkish diplomats and their families that the jihadists hold captive, or maybe it's just that Erdogan and his government sympathize with the jihadists.
We were left with no good options, the ISIL grew out of the old AQI, and Maliki alienated the Sunnis by his actions because we did not leave a substantial force of troops in Iraq. At least one, and better two divisions with appropriate air support and SOF assest, with the superb intel operation ought to have stayed after December 2011. Such a force would give us diplomatic leverage in the region and a way of pressuring the Shi'a not to dump on the Sunnis, and stiffening the Iraqi spine against Iraq. There is no way at present that the Iraqis can stand up to Iran's influence even if they want to; they are too exposed to Iranian pressure.
Obumbler, his consiglieri, his SecState C;ue;ess John, andLilberals/Progressives/whatever you call 'em this week in general seem to lack an understanding of the synergy between diplomacy and the other elements of natinal power, particularly military power. I don't know why, they are perfectly ready to be intimidated by other nations' military power. Obumbler is supposed to have studied International Relations at Columbia. Obviiously they did not teach him anythign about how international relations actually work.
Napoleon once commented "Ask me for anything but time." Obumbler needs to understand that this fight must be carried out ASAP, and not as a long,. drawn-out dither in his usual fashion. The quicker we get troops engaged against ISIL the quicker the jihadists' faux caliphate will be smashed.
In this post-FDR world, the US shouldn't be shy about outright colonisation.
Set up a permanent US colony in the Middle East. Why not? Exploit the resources, make it pay for itself.
They call you imperialists anyway. All previous empires benefited from foreign conquests - that used to be the point of it.
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