Ramadi

[Thumpalumpacus]

Going to be hard to know who to root for in this fight.


http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/iraq-chr...mic-state/

Iraq Christians train to recapture homes from Islamic State

Oh, it's easy .... root for both sides, and keep our own noses out of it.

[Minimalist]

I guess it makes things easy on our pilots.  If they drop a bomb where they are fighting they don't have to worry about who they hit.

[brewer]

John McCain, shithead that he is, doesn't see it that way.  He wants to piss more money down the same shit hole.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/c...story.html

“The problem is that when we left, there was a vacuum. Maliki decided to control the armed services. He fired all of his good people and hollowed out the army and then we had this consequence ... of, really, a collapse,” McCain, R-Ariz., said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“So, we’ll have to start all over, I think, on training the Iraqi military and have a kind of a change in attitude on the part of the Iraqis that makes them understand the importance of good leadership and good training and that’s going to take, by the way, some American trainers.”

No.  They need to grow balls.  Until they decide that the government in Baghdad is worth fighting for they won't fight for it.  All the training in the fucking world will not solve that.  ISIS doesn't have that problem.  One swing over the monkey bars, they give them an AK-47 and send them out to chase the Iraqi Army off the field.  That's what commitment does.

Reminds me of Nam.

[Minimalist]

If there is one thing fucking McCain should remember it is 'Nam.

[Minimalist]

So well trained................


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33412997

Iraqi air force jet accidentally bombs Baghdad

I'm surprised they hit it.

[Minimalist]

Right, McCain.  All the fuckers need is "training."

http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-police-militi...05773.html

Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi paramilitaries exchanged fire with police in Baghdad Thursday, the latest sign of tension between the government and the country's Shiite militias, security sources said.

[Minimalist]

Whoops.  Sorry about that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/world/...=5043&_r=0

Friendly Fire From U.S. Helicopters Kills Afghan Troops, Officials Say

Really, guys.  They seem to have enough trouble.

[Minimalist]

I hope the Afghans hold on long enough for us to declare victory and get out of there.  50-50 about now.


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/world/...TE&ei=5043

Unlike in previous years, when the Taliban’s annual offensives largely focused on the south and east of the country, the insurgency has mounted daring attacks in the north this year.
Caught off guard as Taliban fighters neared major cities, the Afghan government turned to arming militias to support its security forces, undermining a process of disarmament that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade. In recent weeks, major strongmen in the area have vowed to continue the rearmament if the government forces fail to push back the Taliban threat.
In Faryab, the Taliban are active in “almost all the districts,” Mr. Fayeq said. They control many strategic areas on the way to neighboring provinces, he added.

[Minimalist]

Looks like the Turks have finally had enough.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/24/world/...=5043&_r=0

ISTANBUL — Turkey plunged into the fight against the Islamic State on Thursday, rushing forces into the first direct combat with its militants on the Syrian border and granting permission for American warplanes to use two Turkish air bases for bombarding the group in Syria.

The developments ended a longstanding reluctance by Turkey, a NATO member and ally of the United States, to play a more aggressive part in halting the Islamic State’s expanding reach and influence in the Middle East. American officials said it carried the potential to strike Islamic State targets with far greater effect because of Turkey’s proximity, which will allow more numerous and frequent bombings and surveillance missions.

[abaris]

Yet they happily stand by and see the Kurds decimated. There's always more to it than meets the eye.