Day: September 24, 2014

ISIS: I Am Just Not Convinced

Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

First of all, I am not convinced that the American people fully realize what the country has gotten itself into……this will be a multi-year operation…..an operation that needs a name….why not call it “Operation We Are Making This Shit Up As We Go”?

Second, I am nit convinced that the airstrikes will do any good other than making the M-IC orgasmic because the ordinances will need replenishing.

What of the airstrikes?

Six weeks of ever-intensifying US airstrikes have had Obama Administration officials hyping the “progress” in their new war in Iraq. The situation on the ground, however, doesn’t bare that out.

Far from progress, the situation on the ground appears virtually unchanged in six weeks, with only a handful of frontline towns changing hands and ISIS controlling the same massive chunk of Iraq it did when the US started launching attacks.

The US has been giving airstrikes to Iraq for 23 years and what, if anything, has changed?  Good question, right?  If anything the area has become more and more volatile with each American mission.

Since the most recent airstrikes began….ISIS has overrun numerous villages and even more Iraqi failure as they overrun a base camp…..

ISIS fighters attacked a surrounded military camp in Saqlawiya, near the city of Fallujah, quickly routing them and killing 40 soldiers. Another 70 soldiers who fled the camp during the attack were said to be captured.

Suicide bombers approached the site in an armored personnel carrier, blowing it up and starting the onslaught. The area around the case had been mostly cut off, preventing the escape of the scattering troops. The troops are said to have mistaken the truck for one of their own, allowing it into the base.

As the war continues there is NO evidence of a “success” that Kerry and the admin are pushing on the public.

Then there is the thought out there that sending in troops, any troops, not necessarily American, will do little to solve the ISIS problem……if anything I could strengthen their resolve and provide them a massive recruitment coup.

And then there is the all popular….”train the moderate rebels” for a sustained program against ISIS. and Assad.

I am not convinced that we or anyone can actually find these ‘moderate’ rebels and training and arming them may only help ISIS in the long run.

I am not convinced that we are at all capable of defining who is a “moderate rebel”.

I am not convinced that even if we were fortunate enough to locate these ‘moderates’ that they would be capable of fighting both ISIS and Assad or that they would even want to do such a thing.

In closing, I am not convinced that this war was a good idea and I am sure that it was pout together without much thought of the consequences.

In closing I would like to reiterate…….I am not convinced that the American people are aware of what they have gotten themselves into…..it will be much harder to extract ourselves the further into the mission we go.  The case for war was made in steps just like 1991 and 2003…..those were lies, for the most part….what about today’s?

I am not convinced that we, the American people, have been given accurate information….only the items that would garner popular support.

I am just not convinced that all this was truly necessary.

Are you?

 

 

9/11 and Iraq Revisited: Remembering How We Were Lied Into War « Antiwar.com Blog

Just a reminder……since most Americans have a short attention span and even shorter memory…….and their propensity to fixate of trivial bullsh*t………Just a reminder!

Our newest war on the Muslim world has begun……this is the 23rd year that the US has had airstrikes in Iraq…Bush1 started it…Clinton continued the operation……Bush2 invaded with ‘shock and awe’…..and now Obama has thrown his hat into the ring……

Keep in mind the lies that were given to the American people…..keep that in mind in the coming months and years…i do believe we will see a repeat of the Bush2 years….

 

9/11 & Iraq Revisited: Remembering How We Were Lied Into War « Antiwar.com Blog.

ISIS Coalition: Who Are Those Brave Souls?

We have heard all the rhetoric about the partners we now have as part of the coalition against ISIS…….and recently the fight has begun in Syria…….and the US was joined by 5 Arab countries in these attacks……which from the US point of view is a good thing….but what are their stories?

Jordan

Nervous about overt involvement in US-led effort but keen to put its vaunted intelligence capabilities and special forces at the disposal of coalition. Has allowed discreet CIA training for Syrian rebels. Worries about domestic backlash from Sunni extremists. Hosting millions of Syrian refugees and desperate for western financial help to cope with the burden.

Saudi Arabia

Frightened by Isis and stung by international criticism that it created it – a misreading of its enthusiastic backing for anti-Assad fighters. Now advertising a domestic crackdown on extremists and funding for jihadis in Syria and Iraq. Has been asked to use media and religious establishment for anti-radicalisation message. Has agreed to US request to train Syrian rebels and is reportedly prepared to use air power against Isis. Worries about strengthening Assad and Iran.

UAE

The most assertive power in the Gulf, obsessed by the threat from Islamists ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood to al-Qaida and Isis and happy to blur the huge differences between them. Believed to have offered to use its air force to attack Isis. Recently bombed Islamist targets in Libya from bases in Egypt without admitting to it. Wants wider action against jihadis in Yemen and north Africa.

Qatar

Fabulously wealthy emirate that has backed the Muslim Brotherhood across the Arab world, especially in Egypt, and used al-Jazeera TV as a cheerleader for the changes of the Arab spring. Like the Saudis, backed anti-Assad Islamist rebels in Syria to the point of recklessness and is now being attacked for supporting Isis. It insists that it does not, but it does have links to Jabhat al-Nusra, an extremist Syrian group. Signs that it is lowering its profile under Gulf and western pressure. Has carried out humanitarian relief work.

Bahrain

To host a conference on how to cut off funding to Isis.  Bahrain is the mystery partner…..why are they involved in this opening salvo?  They have basically no military…..what was their part?

These five ‘partners’ have done what was asked of them (possibly demanded to retain any aid) …..is their participation done now or will they be a constant participant?

According to Kerry there are many more ‘partners’….these just stepped up to the task, at least for now…….but what about tomorrow and the days and years ahead…….will they keep stepping?

And Then There Is Khorasan

In the beginning there was AQ……….then we had another bad guy….ISIS and now we have yet another bad guy bent on our destruction…….does anyone else see a pattern emerging?

The war begins.  US and its coalition has begun the war on ISIS.  And while they were fighting ISIS there was a side trip the planes and missiles took…….it seems that there is actionable intel that some heavy duty AQ affiliates are planning some sort of problems for the West and possibly western Europe……that group goes by the name of Khorasan.

I know the group sounds like the Courrasant of Star Wars fame…..but these guys are not some alien race trying to get by in the universe…..but rather a hard core AQ group set on destruction……

More than a third of the 22 US airstrikes in Syria weren’t aimed at ISIS. Instead, they targeted a lesser-known al-Qaeda cell known as the Khorasan Group—an organization that some US officials see as a “more direct threat” to the West than ISIS, the New York Times reports. Khorasan appears to be focused on recruiting Western jihadists in Syria. The group is attracted by their passports, which could make it easier to sneak bombs onto planes, CBS News reports. Last night’s airstrike’s hit a Khorasan training camp in Syria that was “nearing the execution phase” of terror attacks against US or European targets, an army official says, successfully disrupting those plans, according to USA Today. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby says the attacks were to be “major.”

Khorasan’s leader is 33-year-old Muhsin al-Fadhli, the Independent reports. A quickly-rising star in al-Qaeda, he has been linked to terrorist leaders like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Washington Post reports. Reports from the White House and UN note his involvement in al-Qaeda efforts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran; he allegedly took a leading role in both fighting and fundraising for the group. Khorasan also has bomb technicians who learned from Ibrahim al-Asiri, the man behind failed underwear and print-cartridge bombs that made headlines, insiders tell CBS. The group is pursuing “high-profile attacks against the West,” says a counterterror official, noting its “increasing awareness of Western security procedures and its efforts to adapt to those procedures that we adopt.”

I am sure we will be hearing more and more in this group as the war lingers on……more info on the seal team of AQ……….

Not many people had heard of the Khorasan terror group until it emerged that many of the US-led airstrikes in Syria targeted the group—but some lawmakers say they’ve known about the threat for months, BuzzFeed reports. Rep. Peter King says he is surprised the name of the “lethal and dangerous” al-Qaeda cell is now public. “It was supposed to be top secret, classified, and it wasn’t until last week that an AP story had it in there,” he says. “But we weren’t supposed to talk about it.” Other officials say they were briefed on the threat months ago but didn’t know the name of the group or that of its leader, Muhsin al-Fadhli, until they appeared in the media this week.

American officials say the group is made up of al-Qaeda veterans from several countries who traveled to Syria under the orders of leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to plot attacks on the West—and the group’s activities were the source of recent airline security alerts, including a warning not to travel with uncharged electronic devices, the New York Times reports. Officials have confirmed that al-Fadhli was a target of the airstrikes, but it’s not clear whether he was killed, the Los Angeles Times reports. Khorasan was closely allied with the Nusra Front, another al-Qaeda affiliate, and that group has released a statement saying its leader, Abu Yousef al-Turki—also known as “the Turk”—was killed in the airstrikes, reports CNN. Learn more about the Khorasan terror group here.

War On ISIS: The Morning After

Now that we and our coalition partners have opened the salvo against ISIS in Syria…..there are a few things that Americans are probably asking themselves…….well I hope they are and showing the concern that this could all get out of hand.

Questions!  I suggest that Americans ask all the questions they can…..after all it is our citizens that are doing the deed…….Let me start it off.

  • Why Raqqa? It’s ISIS’ “de facto capital,” writes Terrence McCoy for the Washington Post. Militants took the northern city in January and now essentially govern it. “There’s a tax system, a school system, a court system, bakeries, mosques—and paychecks arrive on time. … [It] symbolizes everything the Islamic State hopes to achieve across the region: a functioning, militarized theocracy,” writes McCoy. That makes it an “attractive target.” And there’s a dark side to the orderliness. From a UN report: “Executions in public spaces have become a common spectacle on Fridays. Public squares have become the scene of amputations, lashings, and mock crucifixions.”
  • What did the effort consist of? USS Arleigh Burke and USS Philippine Sea fired 47 Tomahawk missiles; Air Force fighter jets, armed drones, and allied aircraft also participated. Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia were part of the effort. The Wall Street Journal reports that some of their planes flanked those of the US and sees their involvement as key, in that it detracts from “the appearance of a unilateral US attack on Syrian territory.”
  • What did we hit? Per CNN, training compounds, headquarters, storage facilities, supply trucks, armed vehicles, and ISIS militants, though the number of ISIS fighters killed wasn’t given by the Pentagon.
  • What did we target beyond ISIS? The “Khorasan Group,” which the Journal describes as a smaller group that’s actually a bigger threat to the West. A defense official told the paper that intelligence indicates the group was in the “advanced stages” of planning an attack against a target in the US or Europe. ABC News reports the US, with no assistance from our allies, carried out eight strikes against them; the remaining 14 were against ISIS.
  • So are we done? No. Think of this as the initial blow.
  • How many countries have we targeted with airstrikes (via plane or drone) since 9/11? We’re up to seven, reports the Atlantic: Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, and now Syria.

Now that the nut cutting has begun….there is a question that is plaguing me……What happens next?

U.S. military officials will be trying to assess the effectiveness of the first night of bombing.

Some analysts have suggested that ISIS had already started dispersing its assets and fighters following President Barack Obama’s warning of action in Syria earlier this month.

The response of ISIS fighters to the initial strikes may give military officials clues on what to target next.

“The follow-up to some of these strikes is — what are their actions now?” said retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a CNN military analyst. “There is intelligence that flows from the initial strike,” he said.

The Arab governments involved in the strikes could also face discontent among their own people.

“Parts of the population do not agree with Sunni going against Sunni,” Hertling said.

The United States is also pushing for a binding resolution at the U.N. General Assembly this week that aims to prevent and track the travel of foreign fighters to Syria.

All in all Pandora has opened the box…….there is NO closing it again……..the US has made it imperative that we remain in the Middle East for many more years……something that will not sit well with other extremists….there is the possibility that we just made more enemies that we will have to face……..sooner or later.