Out of and quickly back into Iraq, the Pentagon and its officials have talked about the new ISIS war with barely restrained glee as another chance to keep pushing Congress for bigger budgets, and for “emergency” war funding every single year.
Retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who has become President Obama’s special ambassador for the war, going around the world selling it to potential allies, today predicted the conflict would be much longer than anyone imagines, saying it “will likely take a generation or more.”
Citing his four decades in the Marines, Allen insists ISIS is the most brutal group ever, and claimed they are a threat to “the progress of humanity” if not defeated militarily. Which, again, he says is going to take “a generation or more.”
The American publicly is likely not up for another protracted, nation-bankrupting conflict, particularly since they’ve already got one ongoing in Afghanistan and just freshly got extricated from the last one in Iraq. Polls show war weariness already growing among voters nine months into the new war, with 61% saying the war is going badly, and 29% saying it’s going “very badly.”
That’s a surprising level of skepticism for this early in a war, particularly with the administration loudly insisting, every chance they get, that they are “winning” the war. The public is clearly not buying it, and that’s going to be a problem for the pro-war factions of both parties as months extend into years, let alone “generations.”
To the extent officials attempted to sell the American public on the ISIS war at all, it was couched as an extremely limited conflict, both in scope and timescale. The Pentagon has since escalated their involvement countless times, seemingly only making things worse with each escalation, and is now making it plain that what was supposed to be a quick intervention to shift the momentum in favor of the Iraqi military is actually going to be an endless war of attrition aimed at destroying the de facto caliphate.
Isis is the same barbarians that destroyed the Iranian heritages and culture of almost every other nations in Middle East, those that are supporting Isis are the left over of the very same barbarians presenting the culture of barbarism. Those that are supporting these barbarians, like Turkish Erdogan regimes and that Swedish king, have the very same idea from time of caliphate and its barbarism regime as in Saudi Arabia.
Sounds like he's really addressing the arms mafia. Who else wants to hear this crap aside from his neocon bosses.
"Defeat militarily"? How about PEACEFULLY? It's the way that works, dude.
Agreed. The US has defeated who militarily since WW II? Our experience w/Mao's 4GW has been one of frustration, stalemate and loss.
"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof." John Kenneth Galbraith
Psst…the glaciers are melting so this crystal ball gazing General had better calculate how many generations of subsidies he can wring out of the tax payers pocket before they get wet.
How in the world can people not believe that ISIS is being armed and funded by the US and it's criminal organization …
ISIS that they created, funded and armed is now a such a threat? Threat to who? Certainly not a threat to them. ISIS is just great really for Allen's career. Think of all those shiny medals he can get to pin on his chest. I would not believe a single word these liars have to say.
Perhaps, in order to help pay for all these "generational wars" these generals, who root for these wars and in most cases cause them to be bigger and more expensive than if they'd not pushed for more intervention would be willing to take only half of what they are given in retirement, especially if they are working as consultants for the war machine or the media – pushing for more war.
Regardless of how the American people feel about more war – generational war – they are not going to ask us and will do what they want.
Why haven't the press (I know, I know) asked them why they're so dead-set about bankrupting the country? Why hasn't anyone bothered to ask them what the end game looks like when they "defeat them?" …or don't defeat them?
I'm sure if the American people were asked if they had a choice between never-ending war and a bankrupted country where the dollar is worth zilch and bread costs $25 a loaf (if we're lucky), mass unemployment rampant, the American way of life completely gone – or – a policy of minding our own business and letting things work out without American involvement and interference they would choose the latter. Just a guess…
"President Obama’s special ambassador for the war"
But we already have a Special Ambassador for War, although the usual title is, "Secretary of State".
Mission accomplished! The original intent of creating the ISIS was to have a perpetual wars in the MENA by US ans Israel!!
I$I$ forever! ε> j
Well, thanks for telling us the plan. Though, it's really the endless wars that's the threat to civilization.
Why does ISIS keep making enemies?
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/16/opinion/bergen-isis…
Jan 28, 2015 (Video) Suspected ISIS leader in Pakistan admits receiving funds via US report
A suspected Islamic State operative in Pakistan, Yousaf al Salafi, confesses to recruiting jihadists to fight in Syria, and says he received funds, wired through the U.S. RT's Gayane Chichakyan reports.
For the kind of money the Pentagon gets you'd think they could wrap this little affair up in a bit less than a generation.
If the US is determined to "defeat" ISIS, why not start by finding a commander who actually says that he/she can, and one that has some sort of a plan that doesn't include retiring with the job half done (or barely started).
You can buy better but you can't pay more…..
this war will lasted to 20 or 30 years in future…militants will start up rising on behalf of muslms and Zinist haters to defeat zionist,America game fro ever..Zionist game in middle east will be an up set..Zionist knows the threat to israel and their nwo..but they really can,t turn back…Zionist and it ally America really make big mistake..arrogant people always make big mistake…ask Zionist and America to plant ore fool games on others in future.Zionist last game will kill them badly.Let we see how Zionist suicide them selves in very near future.