Good day…..over the weekend events have started to accelerate a bit…..the coalition keeps getting more and more countries signing onto the conflict……the airstrikes continue and it continues to be very limited in their effects on the Islamic State……

The major item that needs to be covered………

According to all official reports the airstrikes for the most part are a roaring success……..but there is a slight problem with the congrats everyone is passing around………

IRBIL, Iraq — Islamic State militants have taken control of key cities in Iraq’s western province of Anbar and have begun to besiege one of the country’s largest military bases in a weeklong offensive that’s brought them within artillery range of Baghdad.

The Islamic State and its tribal allies have dominated Anbar since a surprise offensive last December, but this week’s push was particularly worrisome, because for the first time this year Islamist insurgents were reported to have become a major presence in Abu Ghraib, the last Anbar town on the outskirts of the capital.

Then there is the fighting along the Syria/Turkish border…….

(Reuters) – Islamic State forces shelled the Syrian border town of Kobani on Saturday and its Kurdish defenders said they were expecting a new assault to try to capture it.

U.S.-led coalition warplanes had struck at Islamic State targets overnight to halt the insurgents’ advance and Saturday’s barrages were less intense than the previous day.

Previous coalition air strikes have failed to stop the insurgent offensive and an estimated 180,000 people have fled across the border into Turkey to escape the fighting around Kobani – a conflict now overshadowing Syria’s wider civil war.

It would appear that the airstrikes are not being as successful as they would have the public believe.

Item 1–A major power in the Middle East, Turkey has joined the coalition……

Turkey’s parliament gave the government new powers Thursday to launch military incursions into Syria and Iraq, and to allow foreign forces to use its territory for possible operations against the Islamic State group.

Perhaps more importantly, however, the language of the mandate allows Turkey to use its military forces not only against ISIS, but against virtually anybody they choose to label militants, which opens up the possibility that they will attack Kurdish factions as well, many of whom are labeled “terrorists” under Turkish law.

This could well be the hammer that so many have wanted….I foresee two problems…..1)  the conflict with the Kurds could prove interesting and 2) Turkey wants to be the main influence in the ME…..the Ottomans come to mind.

Item 2–the airstrikes are being ineffectual in some cases….while they are causing destruction it is not slowing the advance of ISIS……

ISIS is continuing to push its offensive against the Kurdish border town of Ayn al-Arab, and reports on the ground say they’ve been more successful than previously suggested.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, ISIS as seized more than 350 villages in the area in the last 16 days, and displaced at least 300,000 people from Ayn al-Arab and the surrounding area.

The airstrikes need to be re-thought….a plan needs formulation.

Item 3–The airstrikes have accomplished one thing….they are forcing IS to change their tactics……

Militants of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants are changing tactics in the face of U.S. air strikes in northern Iraq, ditching conspicuous convoys in favor of motorcycles and planting their black flags on civilian homes, tribal sources and eyewitnesses say.

They reported fewer militant checkpoints to weed out “apostates” and less cell phone use since the air strikes intensified and more U.S. allies pledged to join the campaign that began in August, saying the militants had also split up to limit casualties.

Before the US began attacks on Friday, ISIS was behaving like a traditional military, with its forces moving deliberately and in plain sight. Once the US strikes began, the ISIS troops dispersed, using familiar insurgent tactics to blend in with the local population.

This will make it more difficult to take out major points…about all that will be left is a vehicle or two and a group of soldiers….but major damage will be limited….for now.

Item 4–At least the directors of this newest war are all saying the same thing…….all on the same page if you will……..

President Obama’s newly appointed envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, retired Gen. John Allen, added his voice to the chorus of officials warning that the war is going to take a long, long time.

Gen. Allen told reporters today that the war is still in “early stages” and that the campaign is going to require time and patience. He also offered some of the first details on the plan for the campaign.

Of course NONE of these leaders will want to admit that it is just the same war they started back in ’03……..

Item 5–Now that Turkey has come into our war there will be a slight problem that some will not acknowledge…….

Syria’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement today blasting the Turkish parliament for its approval of cross-border operations into Syrian territory, saying the move is an “act of aggression.”

“The declared approach of the Turkish government constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter, ” the foreign ministry statement warned, saying Turkey would face “catastrophic consequences” if it continued on.

Let us nor forget that the Kurds have been fighting the Turks for decades…..and that will be a problem to watch.

Item 6–The whole ‘moderate’ rebel thing has not been settled yet and already there is a problem brewing in Syria……

To the United States and its allies, the Nusra Front is a fearsome al Qaida affiliate whose extremist ideology has no place in a future Syria.

To many Syrian rebels, however, Nusra fighters are vital warriors in the battle to topple President Bashar Assad, even if the moderates don’t share the group’s end goal of a religious state.