Ramadi

[Minimalist]

The Turks hate the Kurds more than ISIS.

[abaris]

The Turks hate the Kurds more than ISIS.

And that's a bit of a problem when really making an effort to fight ISIS. It can only effectively be fought from within the Islamic world. US or European interventions only worsen the situation.

[Minimalist]

Oh, yeah... this is going to work out just fine...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/world/...TE&ei=5043



At Least 20 Are Killed in Attack at Afghan Wedding Party

A member of the provincial council, Shamsul Haq Barakzai, said there were 20 dead and 14 wounded. He said the violence fit into a larger pattern of shootings at weddings, often caused by “family disputes and personal rivalries.”

The local commander whose gunmen opened fire was identified as Juma Khan Ayub by two politicians from Baghlan: Mr. Faisal and a member of the provincial council, Noorzia Aymaq.

The area of Baghlan Province where the shooting occurred is outside Taliban control and has few insurgents.

Thank goodness for that!  Much better to die in a vendetta than a terror attack, huh?

[Aristocatt]

What really confuses me is that the general conclusion of neoclassical economics is that the world is too complicated and in general should be left to its own devices*. But the conclusion of how to treat the world by the party that espouses neoclassical economics the most is to play whack-a-mole every time they don't like where the world is moving.

Unintended consequences work in one direction but not the other.

Reminds me of Pascal's wager. Works for god, but not for global warming.


*I realize it is not this simple, don't need a flurry of responses defending neoclassical economics.

Edit: I am responding to some of the earlier posts in this thread about neocons.

[Minimalist]

The logic here escapes me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/31/world/...=5043&_r=0

Kidnapping of Pentagon-Trained Fighters in Syria Is New Hurdle for U.S. Effort

On the surface that sounds bad but...

The biggest kidnapping prize on Thursday was the leader of the trainees, a Syrian Army defector who had been responsible for recruiting a pool of 1,200 rebels to the program.

In an interview just two days before he was seized, the leader, Nadeem Hassan, spoke at length about the troubles he had faced.

After screening, just 125 of his recruits were invited to the first course. Of those, more than half were thrown out or quit.

Sorry.  He just doesn't sound like that big a loss.

[Minimalist]

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/departin...rtitioned/

The US Army’s outgoing chief of staff warned Wednesday that reconciliation between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq is becoming harder and that partitioning the country “might be the only solution.”

General Raymond Odierno, who once served as the top US commander in Iraq and retires Friday after nearly 40 years in uniform, said the US focus for now should be on defeating the Islamic State, the jihadist group that has seized large portions of the country.

Interesting...too bad the idea was floated 9 years ago by then-senator, Joe Biden.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/12572371/ns/wo...cy_gpeJI5s

WASHINGTON — The senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee proposed Monday that Iraq be divided into three separate regions — Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni — with a central government in Baghdad.

We broke it and we can't fix it.

[Minimalist]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34071169

Iraq conflict: Bomb kills two generals near Ramadi

Reminds me of Aristophanes:  "Ah! the Generals! they are numerous, but not good for much!"

[Minimalist]

Ah.... so much for arming the moderates, McCain!

It wasn't so long ago that Ayotte and McCain were screaming the loudest to arm "moderate" rebels.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34278233

Syria crisis: 'Only four or five' US-trained Syrian rebels are still fighting

A US scheme to train Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State (IS) militants has been branded a total failure after a US general admitted only four or five were still fighting.
Congress approved $500m (£323m) to train and equip around 5,000 rebels as a key plank of US strategy against IS.
But the first 54 graduates were routed by an al-Qaeda affiliate, Gen Lloyd Austin told lawmakers.

This is what Obama gets for listening to republicunts and their hare-brained schemes to see the world as they want it, not like it is.

Meanwhile...speaking of Ramadi...

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/milit.../71641602/

No end in sight for Iraq fight against ISIS in Ramadi

Nearly four months after the fall of Ramadi, the American-backed effort by the Iraqi army to retake the provincial capital from Islamic State militants is moving slowly and fueling concerns that the Iraqis are not up to the task.
"I don't think there is any stomach to retake Ramadi right now and suffer the kind of causalities that such a battle would incur," said retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor, who served in Iraq in 2007 and 2008 as executive officer to retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, who led the war effort at that time. Mansoor now teaches military history at Ohio State University.
Others say the Iraqi army suffers from a debilitating lack of manpower and has never restored its force structure after the mass desertions in 2014 following the Islamic State's initial advance into Iraq.

Infuckingcredible.

[Minimalist]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/2...4I20150925

U.S. urges Iraqi forces to move 'as quickly as possible' to retake Ramadi

The problem is, they are.

[Minimalist]

<snort>

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/world/...=5043&_r=0

U.S. Is Struggling in Its Effort to Build an Afghan Air Force

Sixteen of the armed MD-530 scout helicopters were rushed here this year to great fanfare, and a dozen more are to join them. But Colonel Qalandari was not impressed. “This plane is a total mess,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t know why we have this plane here.”

An Afghan public affairs officer tried to shush the colonel as he spoke to a journalist at the Afghan Air Force base at Kabul airport. A United States Air Force public affairs officer looked on aghast.

I bet that whoever builds the MD-350 got a nice bonus from the Pentagon, though!