These updates will be a regular feature for now…….I think there is so much BS being fed to the American people that there needs to be a voice to keep them posted on the stuff the media will not report.
The shitty shitty bang bang has started and I will be posting on the major situations but I will issue a counter-terrorism operational report from time to time with info that I feel the American public will find useful in helping them understand just what the Hell is going on in Iraq and our battle with IS. Info that I feel does not need a separate post.
Instead of calling it a Iraq War Sit-rep I will be using what John Kerry is calling the war….a counter-terrorism operation……..I will assist in the spreading of BS…..but BS the people need to know or at least be aware of………
Since Syria will be closely linked to our actions against IS I will combine the region into one report as often as needed…….
Item #1–The prez and the boyz have said that we will work with the “moderate” Syrian rebels in our fight with IS…..that is good you would think….but maybe not so good…..
The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the most endorsed faction from the US perspective, is eagerly attaching itself to ISIS, with FSA commander Bassel Idriss admitting he regularly collaborates with ISIS in attacking Assad government forces along the Syria-Lebanon border.
Fighting at the border crossing in Qalamoun is a joint FSA-ISIS operation, and Abu Fidaa, the head of the local Revolutionary Council, says that a “very large number” of FSA fighters have joined ISIS outright.
And with that our counter-terrorism operation is off with a big bang!
Item #1A–the Syrian rebels are not in that good of a shape….it seems that they are in disarray…….something else for us to look forward to in the short run………
The leadership of a hardline Islamist group battling the Syrian regime has been wiped out by a suicide bomber—and suspicion has fallen on the even more hardline Islamists of ISIS. The blast hit a meeting of Ahrar al-Sham, a powerful member of the Islamic Front rebel coalition, killing leader Hassan Abboud and 11 other top commanders among a total of around 40 victims, the BBC reports.
Analysts say that the blast has thrown anti-Assad and anti-ISIS forces in Syria into even more disarray.
The Syrian opposition news just keeps getting more grim and it has only been 48 hours since we declared our intention to conduct counter-terrorism operations…….that would be what most people would call WAR.
Item #2–Once again there have been promises that American troops will NOT be used in this operation…….but there is a problem there also…….
A top Air Force commander has been quoted in USA Today tonight saying that any expansion of the ISIS air war into Syria is going to require US special operations forces on the ground, inside Syria.
“It’s absolutely crucial that pilots are talking to an American on the ground” to verify what’s being targeted, the commander insisted. President Obama has repeatedly rejected the idea of boots on the ground, despite sending more and more troops to Iraq.
You can believe all the BS you choose but I am not happy…..
Item #3–Americans have been told that Sec of State John Kerry is meeting throughout the region to put together a coalition to meet the IS threat…….here is what we got so far…….
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday Arab states would play a critical role in a coalition against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, but no country in the alliance was talking about sending ground troops to participate.
No troops? Then where will the fighting force come from….he asked knowingly……..are you starting to see a picture coming into view yet?
Item #4–Our big bud in the region Saudi Arabia a partner in our coalition……..has beheaded more people than IS has……..it does not allow women to drive…….it criminalized dissent……..but yet they are our buds….go figure…….Saudi is one of the most repressive governments in the Middle East and yet we hug them with open arms……
Item #5–Those weapons that we are supplying to the Sunni tribes may be used for something other than fighting…….
A prominent tribal chief in Iraq’s Anbar province claimed that weapons supplied to a Sunni militia to fight Islamic State militants are instead being sold off in Syria.
Qasim al-Karwali, leader of the Tribes Revolution, accused Ahmad Aburish, head of the Awakening Council, of the illegal arms sales to opposition and government forces Syria.
Not only will be supplying weapons for the Iraqis fighting IS….we may also be supplying IS weapons to fight the tribes…..both sides against the middle…….
Item #6–Just how many militants are we looking at as a fighting force?
The CIA says the number of fighters it believes ISIS can muster in Iraq and Syria has tripled in the space of months. The new estimate of between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters on the ground is based on intelligence gathered between May and August, reports the BBC. “This new total reflects an increase in members because of stronger recruitment since June following battlefield successes and the declaration of a caliphate, greater battlefield activity, and additional intelligence,” a CIA spokesman says. An intelligence official tells AFP that the estimate includes some of the estimated 15,000 foreign fighters—including 2,000 Westerners—who have joined the Syrian civil war.
Depending on the organizational make-up if IS……….that is 1 to 3 divisions of fighting forces…..a substantial force that must be dealt with post haste……
This ends the first of many ‘counter-terrorism operational reports”….ask briefing TBA……
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