Welcome my friends….shall we begin?
Most of the news is bout the same…..airstrikes………killed terrorists……….but then there are the propaganda points…….Christians kidnapped….then there is the report of ISIS burning books (shades of Germany in the 30’s)….like I said good quality propaganda……
Item 1–As we sit and wait to see if Congress will give Obama his request to use force wherever necessary……..there is something to consider….yep it will be used to fight ISIS….but will it stop there?
Does anyone else see the danger in this?
Item 2–Continuing the thought from Item 1……….thanx to Jason Ditz and his reporting………………
The language of the nominal ban on ground combat only applies to “enduring offensive combat operations,” which includes so many exclusions that almost anything could be allowed.
Kerry insisted that “enduring” combat only meant “weeks and weeks of combat,” and wouldn’t cover any operations which are meant to assist Iraqi or other forces on the ground.
If one thinks about this turn….then Ukraine should immediately come to mind.
Item 3–It is possible that ISIS and its AQ ally are prepping for a push into Lebanon…..
BEIRUT: Syria-based jihadi groups are gearing up for a major offensive deep into Lebanese territory along the eastern border with Syria to achieve two main goals: securing new supply routes and establishing a foothold as a prelude to setting up an Islamic emirate in Lebanon, analysts and military experts said.
According to retired Lebanese Army generals, ISIS and the Nusra Front, entrenched on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, have long been preparing for such an attack, but have been hampered by bad weather conditions, particularly the severe blizzards that hit Lebanon in recent months.
“The two militant groups are just waiting for favorable weather conditions to launch their attack, which could happen in the second half of March,” they said.
It is possible this is a propaganda ploy to gain more aid from the West……if accurate then this campaign will expand and get a lot uglier.
The Army general who oversaw training of Iraqi troops says the rushed mission to retake Mosul from the Islamic State this spring is doomed.
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero said Mosul is booby-trapped with explosives and controlled by thousands of suicidal fighters. Evicting them will take a coordinated ground and air campaign with precise intelligence on enemy locations. It is a combat mix that Iraqis simply lack the ability to execute in accordance with an announced U.S. Central Command timeline to attack Mosul in April or May.
“They could be ready to attack. I doubt they’d be successful,” Mr. Barbero told The Washington Times. “Two months is clearly inadequate to think that they could start offensive operations of any effect in Mosul.”
“Urban fighting is the most sophisticated, complex fight there is,” Mr. Barbero said. “Multidimensional. It’s direct fire. Indirect fire. Precision fires. If you want to gain support from the occupants, the Sunnis, you can’t go in there and just run with it. So it has to be a very, very precise application of firepower against an enemy that has no regard for the population and will indiscriminately use violence to hold on. There’s no way the Iraqi Security Forces will be ready for this kind of fighting.”
– Islamic State militants have abducted, injured and killed thousands of civilians across northern Iraq and uprooted millions from their homes in a bid to eradicate the country’s ethnic and religious minorities, rights groups said on Friday.
Several minority communities, including Christians, Yazidis and Turkmen, have been subjected to killings, rape and sexual enslavement, and women and children have been targeted in particular, a report by four human rights organizations said.
Item 6–ISIS is about to control the important province of Anbar in Iraq…….
The strategically important Anbar Province town of al-Baghdadi is entirely under ISIS control as of Thursday evening, according to provincial officials who say the last Iraqi troops withdrew from a residential compound in the town.
Various estimates in the Anbar Province has said ISIS controls roughly 80% of the territory. The Sunni-dominated province first began losing territory to ISIS over a year ago, and Iraqi forces have been unable to reverse the momentum so far.
Control here is a sign that they are about to consolidate the influence…..and US troops are relatively close to this fighting…..something to watch.
Item 7–Iraq has opened another front against ISIS…….
Backed by allied Shiite and Sunni fighters, Iraqi security forces began a large-scale military operation today to recapture Saddam Hussein’s hometown from ISIS in a major step in a campaign to reclaim a large swath of territory in northern Iraq controlled by the militants, according to state TV. The city of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad, fell into the hands of ISIS last summer along with Mosul—the country’s second-largest city—and other areas in the country’s Sunni heartland after the collapse of national security forces. Tikrit is one of the largest cities held by ISIS and sits on the road to Mosul—and any attempt to take Mosul likely would require Iraq to seize Tikrit first because of its strategic location for military enforcements.
The cooperation between Shiite and Sunni fighters is an important development in the battle against ISIS, though the presence of Shiite forces in the Sunni area risks prompting a backlash in the future. Hours ahead of the operation, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a Shiite, called on Sunni tribal fighters to abandon the extremist group, offering what he described as “the last chance” and promising them a pardon. “I call upon those who have been misled or committed a mistake to lay down arms and join their people and security forces in order to liberate their cities,” he said, adding that the “city will soon return to its people.”
This concludes today’s briefing…..thanx for your attention and your time……
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Reblogged this on My Soapbox and commented:
Lobotero has pointed out some very valid points to consider. He is very knowledgeable about these things so please take him seriously and pay close attention. He does his homework and I appreciate his wisdom and that he shares it willingly. Thank you, lobotero, for posting this!
You are very welcome……and the re-blog is appreciated…..if one cannot see both sides of an issue then one makes lousy decisions…..
My only question, and this may be naive, is what does SITREP #76 mean?
Situation Report #76….I have been issuing them for several months now….
OH! How absolutely simple and how absolutely stupid of me not to be able to figure it out. I thought it was some military thing. Sorry for being such a ditz. Thanks for being patient with me and explaining the obvious to me, again! I really, truly appreciate you very much!
BTW, there is only one Vietnam Vet that I don’t have anything good to say about and that is the current Jesse Venura. He didn’t serve under that name. He chose it when he started wrestling for the WWF. I imagine he has legally changed it to Jesse Ventura, however his name was not that when he served as a UDT in Vietnam. I think he is a scumbag and as much as I hate to say something against a Vietnam Vet, he deserves every bit of it. I hope you don’t take it personally, Chuq.
It is no problem…we Viet vets have our characters like any other group….a butthead is a butthead….LOL
Did you know that he is now suing the publisher of the book? I bet he’ll go after Clint Eastwood next! Apparently taking $1.8 Million from the widow and children wasn’t enough.
Jesse is a media whore…..he will do whatever hew must to stay in the news….
He’s in his “winter home” in Mexico right now. I say “good riddance, stay there!” But he’s suing HarperCollings in the Supreme Court. I’m sure he will go after Clint Eastwood afterwards because of the success of the movie. You’re so right, he’s a media whore. Excellent description. But he’s also a Vietnam Vet and as much as I hate to speak ill of one, he doesn’t deserve any honor as he as defamed himself. He has defamed Kyle, do you see Taya suing him? No, she has more class than he does. If you are a member of the website, one place it says that you can make a (drinking) game out of how many times the word ‘douche bag’ is used! This is by other SEALS! Some have petitioned to have him removed. I can’t blame them, he makes them look bad. And he had the gonads say it in a bar full of SEALS. I believe he was looking for someone to beat the crap out of him so he could sue them. When Kyle only shoved him, his plan didn’t work. Then while he was on the Glenn Beck radio show, I’m sure he had someone call in and ask if the man he shoved was Ventura and Kyle affirmed that it was. That was what Ventura was looking for. He’s a dirt bag of the lowest kind. I think being a wrestler ruined his brain and his ego and I cannot respect his service because of all that he’s done afterwards. You should hear what he says about the SEALS and the military. Why would they have him listed as a most notable SEAL team member if he speaks so badly about them? I emailed one of the guys and asked. I hope I get a response. I hope that I haven’t offended you as a Vietnam Vet. I highly respect others, especially you. He just ruined his own by his own mouth and actions.
Being a Viet vet does not make one a hero just like being a sniper does not either…..the movie does not tell the whole story…it takes a special type of person to be a sniper…..he is murdering someone we can justify it however we …..want…..we need to remember that it was a movie and as such a lot of literary license can be takes to make it a more desirable view…..
True. I have not seen the movie. The book would be something that I would prefer. That is his memoirever named Ventura in the book. He referred to him as “scruffed face something or other” and I am totally convinced he had someone call into the Glenn Beck radio show to trap him into answering so he would have something to sue him on.
Reasonablyiiteral thought the publisher paid the $1.8 M but it was the estate so it came out of the mouths of his kids.
Now he is suing the publisher in Federal Court.
And I assume he will then go after Clint Eastwood since the movie did so well and it was based on the book.
That’s why he’s such a dirt bag. He put Taya in place of Chris after he was killed! He should have dropped the suit there and then went after the publisher if he wanted. This is what makes his such a dirt bag.
Great map, and Bibi Netanyahu would like you to add Iran and probably a few others to it…hey, who cares if they are Sunni or Shia…?!
BiBi basically has 2 options….Iran gets bomb or it is attacked…typical stick and move tactic….