Day: February 9, 2015

ISIS Coalition SITREP #71

Good day…..lots has happened since the last SITREP……and very little of that news has anything to do with the death and destruction in the world……..but the war on ISIS is still a war with out end……..

Item 1–Since ISIS has executed a Jordanian pilot……the Coalition is using the situation to bring Jordan further into the Coalition……

Fresh off the death of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasaesbeh, the State Department has announced that they are planning to almost triple foreign aid to Jordan in response, tacking on another $1 billion per year.

The US had been sending Jordan $660 million per year, and the State Department says the “unprecedented strains” caused by the war with ISIS necessitates the increase.

The push will be for Jordan to do more…..and more……..

Item 2–The UAE has pulled back from the Coalition because they say there is not enough equipment to rescue downed pilots……..and as usual the US caves on the situation……..

The U.S. military has moved some search and rescue assets into Northern Iraq, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

The move was described as part of a constant rebalancing of search and rescue assets that are moved depending on the evolving airstrike mission. The source did not suggest it was a response to United Arab Emirates concerns about proximity of rescue assets and did not say when this latest rotation happened.

The reshuffling comes after news that UAE had suspended participation in coalition strikes out of concern that search and rescue assets were not placed close enough to ensure a timely effort to rescue, a claim disputed by U.S. military officials.

Glad to see the we can still be pushed around by oil nations…..

Item 3–Glad to see that soldiers of fortune is not a dying breed……

As Kurdish fighters gathered around a fire in this damp, frigid mountain town in northwestern Iraq, exhausted from battling the Islamic State group, a surprising recruit wearing a tactical vest with the words “Christ is Lord” scribbled on it joined them.

The fighter, with a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder and a Rambo-styled bandanna around his head, is 28-year-old Jordan Matson from Sturtevant, Wisconsin, a former U.S. Army soldier who joined the Kurds to fight the extremist group now holding a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Item 4–Then there is the promise of retaking Mosul in the Spring maybe the Summer……so do not think the Iraqis of capable of such a feat on their own….if not…then who will be the hammer in that operation?

ISIS has shown an ability to defeat Iraqi troops in head-on battles, even when backed by US warplanes, and the militants have had half a year to fortify Mosul, which they know is going to be attacked sooner or later.

US officials have downplayed the chances of Iraqi forces retaking the city on their own, and may be planning to use the importance of retaking it as an excuse to justify the use of US ground troops in direct combat.

Now is the time to start PAYING attention people!

Item 5–Appears the former Syrian rebels are forming a unit to fight ISIS…….

The Islamist rebel factions that still hold key districts on the outskirts of Damascus are facing a new enemy from an unlikely source: former rebels who have formed a pro-Assad militia.
The Islamist rebels in Douma have fought the military to a stalemate for over a year, but this new Loyalists’ Army includes a lot of their former allies, who have decided to change sides, and have considerable insight in these groups that the military lacks.

Just adds to the confusion of who is fighting who……

Item 6–It seems that there is much confusion within the Coalition…….

Arab leaders bemoaned what they called a lack of strategy and weapons in the fight against jihadists like Islamic State (IS) at a security conference attended by Western leaders in Munich on Sunday.
“I don’t see that there is a clear strategy how to deal with (IS),” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki said. “How to face it, how to contain it, control it, defeat it and eliminate it. I don’t see it… Unless the air strikes is a strategy. That’s not a strategy.”

It seems that the world sees the problem…..with the exception of the US and its western allies…..

This concludes today’s briefing……further ones will be issued as the events are called for…..

Thanx for your time and attention……

Turn The Page!

A Blackwater World Order | The American Conservative

I am sure that I have been vocal enough that my readers realize that I think that privatization of the government is a con job…….especially when it comes to fight wars or guarding diplomats…….one of my pet peeves is that of Blackwater (I believe they want to call themselves “XE” these days)……it is NOT in the countries best interest to have a private army….to me it iS NO better than the hated militias in the Middle East…..

Did anyone see “7 Days in May”?  If not, may I suggest you watch it and then tell me what you think of a private army operating within the US.

Yes, I know this article is from American Conservative”….get over it!  There are some good writing going on, especially this article……

Read and offer up an opinion……

A Blackwater World Order | The American Conservative.

“By their (rotten) fruits you shall know them”

I read a lot every day and I am always glad to see a post by Larry…..he always has some great insights….so read it and let him know what you think……

Woodgate's View

I no longer associate myself with the institution of the Christian Church and a belief at all that some supernatural power is in control of our lives has faded from my conscious behavior.   Not that what the faith has at its core isn’t some value to us as humans but because too many within the faith represent the worst of humanity

religious right

Christianity today appears to be suffering an identity crisis.  Perhaps it always has.   Believers who claim to represent the faith do a poor job of following their own scripture.  Especially those imperatives in Chapter 7 that warn against judging people too narrowly and harshly.  It imparts the universal golden rule in verse 12 imploring believers to treat others as they would want to be treated.  And it warns against listening to false prophets who can be identified “by their fruits”.

These are unequivocal pronouncements supposedly from the one who…

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Only In The Land Of The Tree Hugger

First it was the masked owl that is attacking passer bys……..the first victim was a surgeon that lost a cap and was mistaken for a wholly beast because of his hair……and then there was an escalation to include 3 other victims……as humorous as this all is….it is not what the best part is about……

Nope…it is the governor and his wife that is the big story……does not get any better than this situation………

First, Oregon’s first lady admitted to an “illegal” previous marriage, then to planning a marijuana grow operation and running a consulting business out of the governor’s mansion. Now, Gov. John Kitzhaber’s fiancee Cylvia Hayes faces claims that she was paid consulting fees to influence her future husband. The Oregonian finds two Kitzhaber associates, who later joined his administration, connected Hayes with jobs that landed her $143,000, including $118,000 from a clean-energy group from 2011 to 2012, while she served as an unpaid energy adviser to Kitzhaber. She allegedly failed to report the income on tax forms, nor did Kitzhaber account for the money on his ethics filings, the Los Angeles Times reports. While Kitzhaber has said Hayes “will have no policy role and no political role in the administration” for the rest of his term, “Kitzhaber is already enacting policies Hayes was paid to promote,” the Oregonian reports.

Dan Carol, the man who got Hayes the gig with group Clean Economy Development Center, was soon after hired by Kitzhaber. He now makes $165,720 a year, almost twice as much as Kitzhaber himself and significantly more than anyone else on his staff, the Willamette Week reports. “No one in the governor’s office or the governor ever asked me to do anything for Cylvia,” Carol says. “When it fits and the work makes sense, I connect good people, groups and projects together.” He adds he was hired because he had previously worked with Kitzhaber and “had the right skills and national connections.” The Oregon Government Ethics Commission will vote March 13 on whether to launch an investigation, but the Oregonian has already called on Kitzhaber to resign, noting his “credibility has evaporated.” Last week, Kitzhaber said he wouldn’t even consider resigning from his post. He added he had “no regrets” about his relationship with Hayes and “the marriage is still on.”

Has there been another state with as much drama as Oregon?  Not even Virginia can top this ….

GOD I love this stuff!

Thoughts?

Just Dying To Vote

Remember a couple of years ago there was a huge push for voter ID, especially in Red States …..of course there were added parts to the bills that went a long way to limiting the votes by poor people….there was the normal political babble about all the dead people that were voting in large numbers………

Then there is the red state of Indiana……that has made it official…the dead can vote……..

Just because your heart’s not beating shouldn’t mean your vote doesn’t count, according to lawmakers in Indiana. The House Elections Committee in the state is considering changing a law that nullifies absentee ballots cast by voters who die before Election Day, reports the AP. Rep. Matt Pierce told the committee he was moved by the situation of former US Rep. Frank McCloskey, who made a point of casting an absentee ballot while battling cancer but died days before Election Day in 2003. McCloskey knew the value of a vote: After a recount following the 1984 election, the Democrat was declared the winner by just four votes.

But while the proposal might sound odd, it would actually give dead Hoosiers the same voting rights as most other dead Americans. According to the Bloomington Herald-Times, Indiana is one of only three states with a “dead voter” law, which requires county clerks to check absentee ballots for recent deaths and has been blamed for election night delays. At a legislative forum last month, state Rep. Peggy Mayfield, a Republican, recalls that when she was serving as a county clerk, a man woke up from a coma and wanted to vote. He was given an absentee ballot but died the day before Election Day. “It’s sad,” says Mayfield, who isn’t opposed to changing the law.

Whatcha think?  Thumbs up…..or thumbs down?