Tag: Military Leadership

“This Is How We’ll Beat ISIS”

Yesterday Obama gave a rare speech at the Pentagon and basically outlined the strategy for the defeat of ISIS…….he did tell one piece of truth…..this will be a long battle, a generational conflict……and then he presented his outline for victory………

President Obama made a rare visit to the Pentagon yesterday and delivered an update on the mission against ISIS and an outline of US strategy in what Obama stresses will be a long-term fight. The four key points, per the Pentagon conference and the White House, which uses the ISIL acronym for the group:

  • More airstrikes. The US is stepping up strikes in Syria as well as Iraq, and Obama says the strikes will “continue to target the oil and gas facilities that fund so much of their operations.”
  • More support for those fighting ISIS on the ground. The White House says the US has “ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition” fighting the group, as well as continued to provide the training and support Iraqi government forces and Kurdish fighters need.
  • Making full use of US power and counterterrorism expertise. To fight ISIS in ways that include cutting off its funding, the “comprehensive strategy” includes “harnessing all elements of American power across our government—military, intelligence, diplomatic, economic development, and perhaps most importantly, the power of our values,” Obama said yesterday.
  • Helping civilians displaced by ISIS. The White House says its strategy includes helping Muslims of all sects forced out of their homes by ISIS, “as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities.”

Obama didn’t announce the deployment of any more troops, and he said the strategy recognizes that “no amount of military force will end the terror that is ISIL unless it’s matched by a broader effort, political and economic, that addresses the underlying conditions that have allowed ISIL to gain traction,” ABC reports. “They have filled a void and we have to make sure that, as we push them out, that void is filled.” But so far, filling the “void” has exposed weaknesses in US strategy, the Washington Post reports. ISIS has suffered major setbacks in Syria in recent weeks, but the anti-ISIS offensive has been led by Kurdish forces backed by US airstrikes, and as it moves into Arab-dominated areas, even Syrians firmly opposed to ISIS fear that the Kurds are trying to change the demography of the region, the Post reports.

If you are a regular reader of IST then these tactics are NOTHING new!  This is the strategy the US has pursued since the beginning of this conflict.

Can you now see why I am so critical?

All of this “NEW” strategy is the same strategy that we are pursuing and it is NOT working……and yet we will continue to waste time and money chasing a failed strategy……it is pathetic attempt to make all parties happy……..if we continue down this path then any victory may not necessarily be one for the home team……and then we will really have something to bitch about…….and I can utter the four most beautiful words in the English language……”I TOLD YOU SO!”

Say Good-Bye To Chuck

And hello to the new SecDef and a world at endless war….even more so than in the past…..

Carter has been confirmed by the Senate as the new SecDef………

The Senate easily confirmed Ashton Carter as defense secretary today, and while he’s got plenty of international problems to wrestle with, the Wall Street Journal suggests that his biggest challenge might be overcoming White House micromanagement. Predecessors Robert Gates and Leon Panetta complained of it, and Chuck Hagel was forced out after a relatively brief stint. Mitch McConnell touched on it in offering his endorsement for the 60-year-old Carter, reports AP: “The incoming secretary needs to have the courage to speak truth to power—to Congress, yes, but also to his commander in chief.”

Gates tells USA Today that it might not be a problem this time around. “The difference is that Ash has served more than five years with this administration,” he says. “So he knows this president; this president knows him. He knows all the players at multiple levels. They will be familiar to him, and he to them. That’ll make a big difference.” Carter, who happens to be a physicist by training, is expected to be sworn in as Obama’s fourth defense chief next week. In today’s 93-5 vote, only Republican Sens. Roy Blunt, Mike Crapo, Mark Kirk, John Boozman, and James Risch voted against Carter, reports Stars and Stripes.

Chuck Hagel is gone!  The only SecDef that had combat experience and knew the horrors of war first hand….now we have a physicist that will be a yes man for the M-IC……Neo-Cons rejoice…..

The Democrats’ Dick Cheney – Michael Crowley – POLITICO

Recall how actively Dems attacked Cheney back in the day?

I have given my opinion on the newest nominee for SecODef……..Carter is a neo-con…..I do not care who put him up for the nomination…..is this the legacy that Obama craves?

If so, then the world just got to be a more dangerous place!

 

The Democrats’ Dick Cheney – Michael Crowley – POLITICO.

McChrystal Should Go

Daily Agitator

By now the media is flooded with so called experts analyzing everything that the US commander in Afghanistan has said, especially in his latest gaff in an issue of the Rolling Stone……it seems that he has disparagingly made some unfortunate comments about the President, VP, Adm. Mullen, the head of the CIA and others.

I have heard many call for McChrystal’s head when he meets with the president.  And I have heard some call his words unfortunate and lame, but that he should remain at his post in Afghanistan.

He has been commanded to appear in person at the White House for an official meeting and a private meeting with the president.  This will be strike three.  His first strike was a leaked memo where he said that the prez was unprepared and intimidated by the brass.  Next, he made some really unfortunate statements that the prez met him in London and held a meeting on Air Force One.  So today’s meeting is strike three and in baseball we all know what that means.

But shoulkd he go or should he stay?

According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice…..he should go.  Why?

§ 888. Art. 88. Contempt toward officials

Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

Pretty straight forward.  Now if this had been a ranking NCO or some private, he would get busted in rank and some would be given a discharge….none would be allowed to retire to avoid punitive action!

But if McChrystal leaves the military he will be allowed to resign so that he can keep his dignity and his pension and all the benefits that go with the word general.  Personally, he should be barbecued for insubordination and made an example of for future morons that cannot keep their mouths shut when dealing with the media.

Set Your Watch Back 50 Years

The title is derived from something I told a friend when he wanted to visit Mississippi from Wisconsin……basically the sign would say Welcome and set your watch back 50 yrs…….I n case your are confused my state is still living in the pre-civil rights era…..

When I first heard this story it was the single thing I thought of……..

The U.S. military has dropped a controversial rule that called for punishing soldiers in northern Iraq for becoming pregnant or impregnating another soldier.

Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo created the rule about pregnancy, covering 22,000 people under his command in northern Iraq, including 1,682 women.

It prohibited “becoming nondeployable for reasons within the control of the soldier,” including “becoming pregnant or impregnating a soldier … resulting in the redeployment of the pregnant soldier.”

While violation of any rules in the general order could lead to court-martial, Cucolo insisted that he never intended such a drastic punishment for pregnancy.

All units have a general order that outlines a code of conduct. Commanders have been allowed to add to those rules but not allowed to make the rules any more lax.

In all cases, the women were sent back to the United States for medical care, as is military policy. Each has the right to submit a letter in her own defense to be included in her file.

Of the men involved, three were reprimanded, Cucolo said. One, a sergeant, was given a more severe punishment of a written reprimand in his permanent file because he fraternized with a subordinate and committed adultery. A letter in the permanent file can affect a person’s career because it is evaluated when a service member is considered for promotion.

Let me see if I have this right……(this is sarcasm…in case there was any confusion)

The men got a whack on their pee pee and the women could have been up for a court martial?

You have come a long way, baby………When this general got back to his office on Monday….Obama should have a note on his desk that says “I accept your resignation”….

This is the 21st century there is NO room for this mental midget……