My briefings are aimed at keeping the American people abreast of the background noise that will lead the armed conflict….the noise from the candy ass politicians is a diversion……the real story is platyed out in the shadows……

Good Morning.

Item 1–The House and the Senate have given their approval to part of the plan that will defeat ISIS……so now it is official…Congress has given its permission to return to a war footing……

273-156 vote the House of Representatives approved President Obama’s plan to train, fund, and arm “moderate” Syrian rebels. The bill included a handful of limitations aimed at placating disturbed rank-and-file Democrats and Republicans.

The measure passed easily, 78-22, but the Hill notes that some potential presidential candidates were in the “no” camp,

Let the fun begin.

Item 2–Now that we have a way forward to war the stepping on toes will,.begin….every agency will have its fave tactic and the battling will begin….as a matter of fact is has already begun…..

the CIA has already been covertly equipping Syrian rebels at the instruction of the White House, but has come to find the fighters increasingly disorganized and radicalized as the conflict goes on, with U.S.-supplied arms winding up in the hands of more radical fighters.

Meanwhile, some turf issues are at play. While officials in the CIA are skeptical of the broader strategy to arm and train the rebels, they are also wary of a plan that would give the Pentagon a responsibility that has so far rested with their agency.

I can understand the CIA’s skepticism…..they have been dealing with the situation in Syria for a long time even while the country was worried about how many children were going to invade from the South.  Now they will have to compete with others for resources.

Item 3–The big concern in the hearings I watched was the pressing question….troops on the ground?  Of course the admin people echoed the prez…..American forces “do not and will not have a combat mission,” he said. “They will support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists.”  That is a good thing, yes?  But that does not answer the question of WHO will be the unfortunate SOBs to be the ‘troops on the ground”?

Item 4–ISIS is preparing for the coming war……..they seem to be consolidating their forces…….

Jihadists in a Syrian stronghold near Iraq have abandoned some bases and redeployed their forces and armour from other positions, with the US military poised to strike, activists said Wednesday.

The Islamic State group (IS) has “started to empty out many of their bases and positions in Deir Ezzor province,” said Abu Osama, an activist from the eastern region mostly under jihadist control.

Speaking to AFP via the Internet, Abu Osama said all of IS’s known positions in Eshara, a town about 60 kilometres (45 miles) east of Deir Ezzor’s provincial capital, had been “shut down”.

They are making all the necessary precautions to be ready for the onslaught…..now, is Iraq doing the same?

Item 5–Have the Iraqis learned anything from America’s two invasions of their country?  The answer is that they may have…….part of the problem with the last invasion was the presence of US soldiers in every town and city…….the Iraqi people felt like they were being occupied……

In a new interview with the Associated Press, Iraqi Prime Minister Hayder Abadi ruled out any move to send ground troops to Iraq to engage in combat, insisting they would be unwelcome.

“We don’t want them. We won’t allow them,” declared Abadi, who said he was fine with the ongoing US airstrikes against ISIS but found it “puzzling” that the US had excluded Iran from the Paris summit on ISIS Monday.

Abadi’s comments come just days after Iraqi President Massoum had commented that the US recruitment of Saudi Arabia and the UAE to join the air war were likewise unwelcome.

Item 6–The Kurds in Iraq are not the only ones being pressed by ISIS……..

Despite the indications that ISIS forces in Raqqa were moving underground in anticipation of US attacks, the group continues to remain on the offensive across Northern Syria, and is once again pressing Kurdish territory.

ISIS has reportedly taken 21 Kurdish villages in the past 24 hours and is once again mounting an offensive against the oft-threatened Kurdish border city of Ayn al-Arab.

I include this in the briefing because it involves Syria and Turkey and also may help to weaken Kurdish forces as they try to protect all Kurds….something that needs watching…

Item 7–France has joined the US in carrying out airstrikes against ISIS targets…….

Less than 24 hours after President François Hollande announced he had approved a request from the government in Baghdad for air support, at least two French Rafale planes attacked the insurgents’ positions.

A statement from Hollande’s office read: “This morning, at 9.40am, our Rafale aircraft carried out a first attack against a logistics centre of the terrorist organisation Daesh [Isis] in the north-east of Iraq. The target was hit and entirely destroyed. Other operations will be carried out in the days to come.”

That concludes today’s briefing……not much to report….that should change in the coming days and weeks as the plan flies into a full court press……please stay informed.

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