Friday’s briefing will begin….you may take notes if that will help…..
Item 1–Deja vu all over again……where have we seen this before?
In a 300-119 vote, the House has approved the newest annual military spending bill, pumping another $585 billion into the Pentagon for assorted wars, including the newest war against ISIS.
The bill also includes an extension of the authorization for the Pentagon to train and arm “moderate” Syrian rebel factions, which was supposed to expire on December 11. The bill will extend the deadline through 2016.
An authorization for war is never a good thing.
Item 2–Even Kerry and Obama are pushing the successes in Iraq….but it may not be the ‘success’ they keep claiming…..
Three months into the US air war, the situation on the ground in ISIS territory in both Iraq and Syria is largely unchanged, with only a small amount of territory lost in the conflict.
ISIS has lost a handful of towns along the Kurdish frontier in Iraq, particularly those near Iranian territory. At the same time, they’ve taken more territory inside Anbar Province, further securing their stranglehold on Iraq’s largest province.
Propaganda is a useful tool…..
Item 3–Iraq is the most optimistic country ever…….
Iraqi security forces are speeding up plans to retake territory seized by the Islamic State, and could launch a major offensive against the militants this winter, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
A centerpiece of the ground offensive against the Islamic State will be a push to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, which is expected to be a complex battle that could take months and involve bloody street fighting.
Success in Mosul will hinge largely on the ability of Iraq’s central government, composed many of Shiites, to win the cooperation of local police, many of whom are Sunnis, to secure the city. Iraq’s military also will have to work alongside Kurdish forces and local Sunni tribes in retaking the city.
Personal opinion…the Iraqi government is not capable of this bold assumption without help….and we know what that means….don’t we?
Item 4–US has found an off-site ISIS training camp and is looking at it……
African Command chief General David Rodriguez says that the US military is keeping a close watch on a fledgling ISIS training operation which has been set up in eastern Libya.
There are a lot of unanswered questions about the program, and Gen. Rodriguez conceded that it was unclear what actual ties the group has with ISIS, apart from pledging loyalty to them.
Did I not see something like this in “Patriot Games”?
Because of the reaction to the grand juries decisions there will not be a lot of info on the war…….better luck next week…..
That concludes the briefing……
Thanx for your time and attention……..
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