Major losses on both the Iraqi and Syrian sides of the ISIS conflict emerged over the weekend, with ISIS routing a pro-Iraqi govt Sunni tribe and massacring hundreds of them, while Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s wing in Syria, forced a key US-allied moderate rebel faction to surrender.
The Pentagon is trying to downplay the problems, despite these both being clearly huge defeats for their strategy in the ever-escalating war, and is mostly falling back on semantic arguments to deflect concerns.
“If they join the Nusra Front, the Nusra Front is not a moderate organization. So therefore they are not moderate either,” insisted Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren of the defeated Syrian Revolutionary Front (SRF).
Yet the SRF didn’t willingly join Nusra. Rather they were completely clobbered by them and unconditionally surrendered, turning over all their US-made weapons and armor to Nusra.
The Pentagon may want to split hairs here, but the SRF was awash in US weaponry and was repeatedly touted by the administration as one of those “vetted, moderate” factions. The problem was that, like so many of the “vetted, moderate” factions, they couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag, and were long reliant on Nusra to do the fighting for them. When the US war split them irrevocably from Nusra, it just meant they were going to get taken over, and the real loss is the US weapons.
The Pentagon seems so far content that it can deflect all criticism of its many, many failures in Iraq and Syria by arguing that the war is so open-ended that it is unfair to judge it by “just three months” of failures. It’s unclear how long this excuse will remain viable, though with some officials talking up a 30-year war and the Pentagon now expecting any tangible gains until late 2015, it could be quite some time.
This is another politics horse sheei't't talks, Obama nor his pentagon officers were not and still not doing anything about ISIS, they created it so they are not going to do anything about it for the U.S. and eu oil companies to begin with, behind all that manipulative political talks, Obama's politics is and was based on demolishing the unity between Iran,Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Creation of isis was Saudi arabia and other barbarians regime in Saudi Arabia and UAE demand for Obama's manipulative politics to succeed, nothing regarding Obama's domestic or international politics been about democracy, Obama is carrying the same war, militarizing flag as Bushism did when they started cooperating with saudis Wahhabi barbarians in Afghanistan, Obama doing exactly the same while manipulating the fact calling it "moderate" rebels. Turkish Erdogan regime is yet another guilty nato members from the Neo fascism entity of Europeans whom are the sworn enemy of the Kurdish people and democracy in middle east.
You are missing one fairly obvious point — but that seems to be the blind spot today out of habit. Turkey is one of the intended targets for destruction of unity — but as a NATO member, Turkey is playing along with NATO agenda, while acting in its own interest. How is it possible that we are missing big picture? Turkey and Iran all along trading in oil and gas — but technically Turkey is not violating sanctions by paying in liras, allowing Iran to convert liras in gold in Turkey. Turkey joining Sanghai Cooperation Organization, key Chinese-Russian Eurasian giant. China including Iran and Turkey into infractructure corridor, part of southern Silk Road route that will get into Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe. China holding annual conference on funding these regions. Russia trying to get energy to those regions, South Stream. EU and US objecting to South Stream on moranic grounds that the gas pipeline violates "third package" of energy regulatiions. If this is the case, why would not Germany give up its North Stream — direct pipeline route from Russia to Germany, but it is expanding it all the way to UK? Of course, it is to prevent the Asian arc, from China and Central Asia, Iran and Turkey to get into the deliberately impoverished Balkans and surrounding countries. Turkey is key to access to Black Sea, and is enforcing Montreaux agreement by not allowing non-Black Sea states to bring their military ships for longer then 3 weeks, and not more then two at a time. Along with Iran, Turkey is also a target — consider only billions of dollars Turkey's nemesis, Gulen, is making in US for nefarious purposes. Salafism is an enemy of Turkish Sufizm, and will not easily take roots in Turkey — but US, Saudi Arabia and Gulen are doing their best to change that. This whole situation is an attempt to once again replay the end-game of Ottoman empire, but this time, with Saudi Arabia taking under its control major parts of Middle East, diminishing influence of Turkey, Iran and other Shiia populations in the region. Let us not forget how dangerous we are to a large conflagration — with Egypt now entierly controlled by US and Saudi Arabia, Egypt is the largest source of Sunni population in Arab world. Turkey is positioning itself — with a weak hand — to manuever for whatever happens in Syria, to insure that Saudi Arabia CANNOT get full control of the country, full control of Kurds, and then bring about both Kurdish isurgency as well as Salafi fundamantalism on itd doorstep. Neither China nor Russia want this outcome. And I am sure they are not asleep at the wheel — we just do not know what is their game. If I were to speculate — three possibilities. One, forcing Saudi Arabia to fight for its share of oil market in US — and lower prices are the key. Russia is not fighing lower prices, as it has reserves to cover years of such slump. But Saudi Arabia, if it does not knock out expensive shale, and if it does not expose the debt mountain behind shale ponzi scheme, stands to lose US market. It will lower price to US, and raise prices to Asia. Second possibility is that ISIS is infiltrated with Iraqi, Iranian, Chechen, Lebanese, Syrian, Turkish etc special ops that are working for their countries. Lose organizations such as ISIS cannot easily be controlled from top — and their fantism makes them susceptible to being suspicious if their leaders seem to be working in foreign interests. And third is the undemining of Saudi Arabia through their alienated but wealthy non-Saudi oligarchs. Building up Yemeni insurgency using Shiia tribes that border Saudi Shiia populace that is highly oppressed — seems to be pointing in that direction. Shiia allies are Sunni from Hadrawmouth south, were most Saudi oligarchs come from. Saudi internal battles for the throne are also looming. Egypt's military is not thrilled to execture Saudi orders. Many things can and will go wrong, but our necons seem to have developed an art — every time they screw up, a new mission is created to cover up the crap they created in their previous missions. And we let them. God Bless our meak nation — let's hope we will in the end inherit our own land once neocons burn out.
Everyone involved in Middle East at this point in time with ISIS, the saudis barbarians, in action is looking for their own interests, among them is turkish Erdogan government in cooperation with NATO Neo fascism on the rise including that English david Cameron. Turkey is after its own interests when they regard the Kurdish people as their enemies which is the main reason not helping them, saudis and UAE in generals interests are in expending their religious, barbarism idea from 1900 to cut off the unity between Iran,Iraq,Syria and Lebanon which was the reason for Barack Hussein Obama in cooperation with French, Swedish and Italian mafioso (NATO) hand in hand with Saudi and qatari barbarism invaded Libya, architectec and orchestrated by Obama and Hillary Clinton. So is not only few but rather entire world is engaged in war then just neoconservativesm in USA.
Iranian government is cooperating with regional governing buddy against ISIS, the saudis fifth column barbarism trained and feed by Turkish and nato including USG. Kurdish people are more beneficial then saudis are which is the other reason for USG not willing to let the Iranian get involved in a larger scale, so goes for the syrian government which agin is the reason for barack Hussein Obama following the "axes of evils" theory presented by Bushism, a far right american Neo fascism consist of neocons. ISIS could have been destroyed in matter of weeks, yet turkish Erdogan regime geopolitical "interests" so as NATO and that Swedish King and USG being against the unity between Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Libya have made the Neo cons stronger then before, which if democrats lose the ekection they will takeover the USG and its militarism agendas in middle east, Balkan and central Asia completing the dream of Neo cons controlling the area for its natural resource that started with Bill Clinto and orchestrated by Madeline Albright and the blessing of NATO, turkish government included, to this date where ISIS a 1900 saudis barbarism needed to be used for USG and all other to achieve their geopolitical/economic goal.
USG and its social economic and social politics will never change unless american people wanting or willing to change it. Otherwise, as they have been fooled for so many years they still think that U.S. Democratic Party actualy is about democracy and not a militarism force controls by vulture capitalism and its social economic entities Neo cons, Neo fascism and oil companies that are involved in buying ISIS stolen people's natural resource in Iraq and Syria, their politics toward Israel is as same as their politics toward ISIS wanting to keep it for the given reasons. Tony Blair is hired by the Egyptian militarism regime as economic advisors, in reality he is the one managing and orchestrating the saudis/Israelis and Egyptians politics toward the people of Gaza and in general the Palestinian people.
The helicopters are in place, ready to lift off the last Americans and Iraqi hangers-on from the roof of the Baghdad embassy.
Can't come soon enough.
As a veteran of the Nixon-Kissinger Fig Leaf Contingent (Vietnam 1970-72), I say that you can always tell when the U.S, military has lost another war the minute you hear them start calling it "long." Successful military organizations call their brief wars "over," "done with," "completed," "finished," or "ended." You certainly won't hear the U.S. Military ever using language like that to describe its ruinous, pointless bungling wherever no actual military threat to the United States exists. So added to George Orwell's "War is Peace," "Ignorance is Strength," and "Freedom is Slavery," we must now add, courtesy of the United States Military, a fourth Oxymoronic Slogan of the Corporate Oligarchic Collective, namely: "Defeat is Victory."
Our excuse in Vietnam was that our enemy hid in the jungle, but in the ME they cross open deserts to aggressively take on any and all enemies. If we build up another huge alliance like Desert Storm, it had best be a much bigger one because these ISIS guys are just waiting for an opportunity to take us on. We are running out of options here, repeat Desert Storm or storm out of the Middle East. Oh yes, the third option would be to nuke the desert.
But then again, maybe this ISIS group that we so eagerly train and support with arms is really a secret ally of the US, used to create total turmoil in the ME for the sake of Israel. Nothing makes sense here, because no country could possibly perform as stupidly, militarily and diplomatically, as the USA, it is statistically impossible to find so much stupidity with one country. In which case, it must be part of a successful ongoing plan.
But Walter, don't you know victory is just around the corner? After all, the Canadians are now on the scene, and their six war planes will certainly turn the tide. The CBC is celebrating the glory and the gore: yesterday the Mighty Canadian War Machine bombed a dump truck — and a bulldozer!!
You can't make this stuff up. They were practically having an orgasm while reporting on this spectacular victory. Harper is now guaranteed to get his new Keystone pipeline, having kissed the Emperor's ring…
Thanks Joe, I didn´t know the calvery was coming to the aid of America. Canada to the rescue, thank God for Canada! Those ISIS guys are really in trouble now.
What can an Empire do when the people want freedom instead of money.
Glad we've got ISIS on the run-just like the Taliban in Afghanistan. Well, at least with Israel's help we can make life a living Hell for the Palestinians. And so it goes.
So the Pentagon misses the strongmen of the region, eh?
And so do the people there I bet. Saddam, Qaddafi…Assad. The stability of these strongmen is probably preferable for the general populations than all the death and head-choppers telling people how to live.
Shame when you have pro-Israel Neo-con fantasists with no brains and no clue telling the US what to do for the benefit of their Hebrew Klansmen pals.
"…Pentagon now expecting any tangible gains until late 2015…"
Yeah, well, things should pretty much be beyond salvage by the end of 2015. That is, of course, if that is what the Pentagon really wants. Surely they don't expect the SRF/Nusra/ISIS/ISIL to wait patiently while the Pentagon figures out what they want to do and who they want to arm.
The Iraqis are planning a 'spring offensive' … maybe.
Canada's high value targets..
ISIS needs to bring a sense of community to the places they have captured. They should have a competition among the town's people. Everybody goes a few Km out into the desert and builds a "mortar position" or "command bunker" which isn't allowed to cost more than $10 (sandbags, scrap sheet metal etc.). Sit back and watch the fun. The winner is the one who has the highest ratio of US tax payer money wasted on laser bombs verses the investment in scrap iron.