Good morning and let a new week begin.

The airstrikes continue…..ISIS continues on Korbane…….and the excuses continue…….but as far as any progress in slowing the expansion of ISIS……..NADA!

Item 1–The big news over the weekend is that Turkey has finally stated some of what they are willing to do as part of the Coalition…….

Turkey will allow American and coalition troops to use its bases, including a key installation within 100 miles of the Syrian border, for operations against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, Defense Department officials said Sunday.

Obama administration officials have urged the Turkish government to play a more significant role in fighting the extremists who have seized large parts of Iraq and Syria and driven refugees into Turkey.

So far Turkey has NOT confirmed the reports of this…….

Item 2–We have heard the the Iraqi government does NOT want US troops in the country…..but then there was this……..

The top officials in Iraq’s Anbar Province are pushing hard for a US ground invasion, warning the situation is worsening, and that ISIS is close to completing the takeover of the province.

The reality is that the province fell in all the ways that matters months ago, with Ramadi and Fallujah falling way back in January, and ISIS making other key gains in April and May. They talk of ISIS sending 10,000 fighters to Anbar, but its not clear that any of those are new fighters who haven’t been there since the summer.

My question is…Is it the government or the region’s people that call for this invasion?  It does make a difference.

Item 3–I know there is a debate on whether the US will use ground troops as a solution to the ISIS problem….of course mental midgets like McCain want it so much that they are giving themselves ulcers until it happens.

There are others that seem to be working the possibility into the conversation………..

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey today said his “instinct at this point” is that the war will eventually require the “advisers,” US ground troops sent to Iraq, will have to engage in ground combat, particularly in the push to retake the major city of Mosul.

Gen. Dempsey went on to say that ISIS is successfully blending in to the Sunni population in towns along the outskirts of Baghdad, and that “indirect fire” from mortars and artillery against the Iraqi capital are virtually certain in the coming days.

Keep en eye on this……the case is starting to be made……

Item 4–If ever there will a be trigger for US forces it is this piece of intel……..

Fighters for the Islamic State were managing to blend in with disenfranchised Sunni populations in some Iraqi towns and villages near the capital, raising the chances of militant attacks against targets in Baghdad, President Obama’s top military adviser said on Sunday.

“I have no doubt there will be days when they use indirect fire into Baghdad,” the adviser, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, said in an interview with “This Week” on ABC.

Indirect fire refers to the use of mortar, rockets or artillery. General Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said American military officers still think that an outright assault on Baghdad remains unlikely, but that strikes from a distance by militants infiltrating areas near the capital could greatly heighten the sense of insecurity in Iraq’s most important city.

That would be the perfect excuse….the need to protect American lives….

Item 5–Over the weekend McCain did what McCain does best……..exaggerate and play the fear card……like a good neocon……..but he is not alone……

“They’re winning, and we’re not,” says John McCain in his assessment of the American effort against the Islamic State. “The Iraqis are not winning. The Peshmerga, the Kurds are not winning.” The Arizona Republican wants American boots on the ground to better coordinate airstrikes, Politico reports, as well as a no-fly zone in Iraq and Syria—and he wants to strike the latter. “You have to go after ISIS and Bashar al-Assad. There’s no boundary between Syria and Iraq. Why should we differentiate?” National Security Adviser Susan Rice also weighed in on the issue, noting that “We are in the early stages of what is going to be, as President Obama has said, a long-term effort,” adding that “this is going to take time.” Elsewhere on your Sunday dial:

• Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey: ISIS militants were “within, you know, 20 or 25 kilometers” of the Baghdad airport. “Had they overrun the Iraqi unit, it was a straight shot to the airport. So, we’re not going to allow that to happen. We need that airport.”
• Bob Woodward: The anti-ISIS campaign is “a mess,” President Obama is “clearly going through a wake-up call” and has “got to come up with something that’s going to work,” and his aim of destroying ISIS is a “mighty ambitious goal.”
• Leon Panetta on Washington: “Having been in this town close to 50 years … Right now, I think it’s Washington at its worst because of the gridlock and stalemate that’s involved in this town.”
• Panetta on President Obama: “Presidents need to also have a heart of a warrior. That’s the way you get things done … to engage in a fight.”

The full court press has begun……polls will help or hinder this attempt…I expect to see polls released this week.

That concludes today’s briefing……events should start spiraling again very soon…….

Thanx for your time and attention.

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