Ramadi

[downbeatplumb]

They went into Iraq like the village idiot into a bar brawl. Lot's of muscle but no signs of having two brain cells to rub together. And many knew beforehand what would happen. The idiots were warned of the consequences but in their brazen ignorance they refused to listen and were proud of allies like the Marshall Isles and Micronesia instead of asking themselves why countries like Germany and France didn't embark on their little adventure.

As has been said, the disbanding of the Iraqui army was the biggest mistake of all. Thousands of career officers with enough hatred and knowledge to make the opposition stronger.

I've just been reading about the English side of this, Blair wanted to focus on the post war era and improving the region but the americans(Cheney and Rumsfeld) just wanted a quick win and the post war era would take care of itself. They wanted to fight the war on the cheap and it proved to be a very false economy.

[nihilistcat]

International law is actually totally irrelevant where they conflict with the interests of powers with dominating influence upon event.  International law is only of any interest at all when it directly supports the interests of at least some of the major, internationally influential, powers.   The coherence of Iraq is vital to the immediate interests of all major powers with dominating influence, Saudi Arabia, gulf sheikhdoms, turkey, Israel, and the U.S.    In this situation the rights under international law of those who would benefit from breaking up Iraq is totally irrelevant.

---

I don't think it is that uncommon,  Chuck.

You notice he is armed with an ak-47, not some derivative of m-16.  As to the Humvee, it is being used much like the Toyota Hilux pickup, which is the standard ISIS runabout.

Right, I mean the dumb fuck sticking his head out of the top hatch, which is designed for a crew weapon and gunner, will make for a nice target if a group of half way competent soldiers ever engage these douche bags. 

[Minimalist]

will make for a nice target if a group of half way competent soldiers ever engage these douche bags. 

Don't have to worry about that in Iraq.

[Minimalist]

[Minimalist]

The Daily Show reminds us all how we got here.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jo...iran-obama

[Minimalist]

Oh, FFS.


http://apnews.excite.com/article/2015061...c5fd4.html

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — The Pentagon's top general said Thursday the U.S. military's reach could extend even further into Iraq if the anti-Islamic State campaign gains momentum, and he held out the possibility of eventually recommending to President Barack Obama that U.S. troops take on the riskier role of calling in airstrikes.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the White House's announcement Wednesday that up to 450 more U.S. troops would be sent to Iraq to invigorate its flagging campaign against the Islamic State is a natural extension of U.S. assistance. He said the support hub the troops will set up will not produce instant results but may serve as a model to be replicated elsewhere in Iraq, possibly requiring even more U.S. troops.

"The campaign is built on establishing these lily pads, if you will, that allow us to continue to encourage the Iraqi security forces (to move) forward

I keep hearing the refrain from the song....

"Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn? "

[Minimalist]

<sigh>  

http://apnews.excite.com/article/2015061...611b3.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — They call it the "mini-Pentagon" -- a white marble building in the heart of Afghanistan's capital built with U.S. funds to serve as the headquarters of a modern military more than a decade in the making.

Above the fantasy.....below the reality

The stepped-up fighting across Afghanistan has the government increasingly turning to local militias for help, undermining a decade-long effort to build a professional army that has cost billions of dollars. And in the northern province of Kunduz, the Taliban nearly seized the provincial capital in a surprise April assault, as defenders ran low on food, fuel and ammunition.

[Minimalist]

Oops.  Another little problem.


http://apnews.excite.com/article/2015061...d026e.html

The U.S. will fall way short of meeting its goal of training 24,000 Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State militants by this fall, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday on Capitol Hill where lawmakers are already skeptical of the Obama administration's strategy to address threats in the Mideast.

Carter told the House Armed Services Committee that the U.S. has received only enough recruits to train about 7,000 — in addition to about 2,000 counterterrorism service personnel.

Carter said the train-and-equip mission in Syria also lacks enough trainees to fill existing training sites, primarily because it's difficult to make sure the recruits are people who can be counted on and are not aligned with groups like IS.





"It turns out to be very hard to identify people who meet both of those criteria," Carter said.

You should probably add a 3'd criteria.....people who can't run too fast.

[Minimalist]

We should start a pool.

How soon will Afghanistan collapse after we pull out?


http://apnews.excite.com/article/2015062...cc8d5.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban suicide bomber struck the entrance to the Afghan parliament on Monday and gunmen tried to storm the heavily guarded compound, setting off a gunbattle with police that left two people dead as lawmakers were meeting inside to vote on the appointment of a new defense minister.

Afghan security forces managed to repel the attack, killing all seven gunmen and ensuring that no members of parliament were harmed. But the audacious assault came as the Taliban captured two districts in as many days in the country's north, displaying their ability to operate on multiple fronts.

[Minimalist]

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