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!