My mind is out of gas for the day……I live in South Mississippi which has gotten little rain all summer and now into the autumn…..which is interesting since I am surrounded by water on 3 sides and still cannot muster even an afternoon shower……okay I will stop whining.
Today’s tune is one that I have always enjoyed…….The Doors!
Good day and welcome to the briefing…….
Item 1–The Coalition in the battle against ISIS is trying all venues to try and stop the successes of the group…..and now it ventures into cyberspace…..
The United States on Monday unveiled what it called an information coalition with Muslim and Western nations to combat efforts by Islamic State to recruit online and stoke sectarian hatred through a “cult of violence”.
“There is a military coalition that is on the battlefield with Daesh (Islamic State) every day and from the very beginning the partners in the coalition … felt that there should be an information coalition that complements the military coalition,” U.S. Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs Richard Stengel told a news conference after the talks.
Worried by the growing threat from Islamist militants after the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) captured large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in June, Washington has been working with regional and world powers to fight the militants militarily, financially and politically.
With the biggest successes that ISIS has had is in the use of social media so logically this is a good place to concentrate your efforts…..
Item 2–US has had its first casualty in the war against ISIS……..
Washington may not have “boots on the ground” in Iraq, but it still recorded the first death of a serviceman in the fight against ISIS—19-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Sean Neal, the Washington Post reports. The California native reportedly died in Baghdad in what the Pentagon is calling a noncombat incident. The military divulged no further details but says it is investigating Neal’s death, the Marine Corps Times reports. Neal was on his first deployment as part of a new crisis-response group under US Central command; most of the group’s 2,300-strong force are stationed in Kuwait, but Neal was one of the 150 assigned to guard US facilities in Iraq, the LA Times reports.
A sad moment…….and another thing to consider is that he will NOT be the last…….
Item 3–As the old saying goes, “war makes strange bedfellows”……….
Syria’s state media agency SANA has issued a report today claiming they are providing both “direct and indirect” military aid to Kurdish factions within Kobani to help them fend off ISIS.
The report did not specify which factions were receiving the aid, and the PYD, the largest faction, rejected the claim as “propaganda,” knowing that the confirmation of a link to the Assad government would portray them in a more negative light with US and other coalition members.
In essence the US and Syria are on the same side in this conflict…….
Item 4–For a month now we have been told that the Syrian rebels would take the fight to ISIS as a western surrogate….but now this report comes out…..
(Reuters) – The United States does not expect Syrian rebels it plans to train to fight Islamic State militants to also take on President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, but sees them as a crucial part of a political solution to end the war, the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted a senior U.S. official as saying.
Asked whether those rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) units would ultimately go on to fight Syrian government forces, John Allen, the U.S. representative to the coalition, told the Asharq al-Awsat daily:
“No. What we would like to see is for the FSA and the forces that we will ultimately generate, train and equip to become the credible force that the Assad government ultimately has to acknowledge and recognize.”
The most logical question to ask now…..Is there ANY plan for a ground force to take on ISIS?
Item 5–The war is a costly endeavor at best….so what is it costing?
The Pentagon has revised its estimate of the cost of the US air war in Iraq and Syria, saying the price tag for the campaign against the Islamic State group comes to about $8.3 million a day.
Since air strikes began on August 8, the campaign — which has involved about 6,600 sorties by US and allied aircraft — has cost $580 million, said Pentagon spokesman Commander Bill Urban.
Now the question is…from where will the funds come……which domestic programs will suffer to pay for this latest intervention?
That concludes today’s briefing…..I do hope that you found it informative……
Thanx for your time and attention.
Turn The Page!
The horrific news from the past is that ISIS has executed 3 westerners….some journalists and aid workers…..and now we have some good news….one of the Brit journalists that had been captured and being help by ISIS has made a video for the militants……
He points out several things and condemns the coalition for their attempts to control ISIS…..which is just another propaganda tool that the extremists are employing…….
And as I have said….it is great to know that he is alive and kicking, at least when this newest video was made……but beyond that I have a few observations……
The picture below was the time that we last say Cantlie from ISIS…..he appears to be tired and probably fed badly……he appears frail and a beaten man……..
Fast forward to the latest video from ISIS featuring Cantlie……this newest picture he appears well fed….vibrant……at ease…..
If I were an intel analyst I would be watching the latest video carefully….looking for any indication of coercion….
To me, without being part of the analysis team, he appears to have decide to save his life by collaborating with the enemy…….
Please before the attacks begin…I am NOT calling him a traitor….all I am saying is that he appears to have had a change of heart……
You view the video and then let me know what you think.
With the election in about a week………… I will be posting articles and posts that address the subject of governance……
The US has been voting since the beginning and with each vote we seem to be moving backwards….at least for the last couple of decades……
I realize that many Americans would not agree with this post…..but consider what the article is saying before dismissing outright……in other words Do Not fly off The Handle Before It Is Read.
Our system needs some changes…,..and I am not talking about minor tweaks…..it is a major overhaul that is needed.
3 reasons why New Zealand has the best-designed government in the world – Vox.
Since Ferguson and the protests and the reaction of the police America has been told about the militarization of police departments….and of course there are those that feel the police need this military equipment to deal with modern situations……
I for one think that logic is preposterous……but then I read a piece like this and then my feeling is it is unnecessary and pathetic….
After reading this article my only reaction was….,REALLY?
24 Armed Cops and a Military Truck Dispatched to Take Money from Old Man – Hit & Run : Reason.com.
The GOP spends so much time belittling Obama and the Democrats that it has little time to develop a good set of issues that would give Americans confidence in their attempts to rule……
This is about the best policy they have for this quickly approaching election……
