The growing US military escalation into Iraq has been hugely unpopular domestically, and has the administration and the Pentagon brass constantly trying to minimize exactly what the US is doing there.
Initially, officials pledged “no boots on the ground.” That was broken quickly, and replaced with “no combat troops.” The combat troops came Monday, and followed up with attack helicopters for the troops to fly.
Despite all the escalation, the Pentagon is still sticking to the old playbook, with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel now preposterously insisting that the US sent combat troops to Iraq but doesn’t intend for any of them in combat.
Ironically, as the US occupation of Iraq wound down, the US redefined everyone as “non-combat” troops for rhetorical reasons, while they continued to engage in combat. This time, we’re expected to believe they’re doing the exact opposite, and military officials continue to reject public concerns of mission creep.
At the same time Hagel is denying any combat missions will happen, the US is setting up “joint forces” bases, and openly talking about Iraq needing direct military aid to recapture lost territory.
It isn't carpet bombing, it's rug punching.
Yeah, there is a naked woman in my bed, but I don’t intend to have sex with her…. Really guys.
If left to the military to decide, which it surely seems is the case at this point, they will send more and more troops in order to assuage their pride after so many unsuccessful engagements. It's time for the American people to remind the politicians that the military is subservient to the pols and that the pols are subservient to the American people. This mission creep normally takes years to "happen" but because the warmongers know that there is a limited time left before they are completely shutdown, whether through a complete and utter military defeat or the will of the American people, they have put things into full speed ahead mode.
The entire ME region is on the verge of complete conflagration and the US despite being a major contributor to that state needs to remove themselves entirely. The stage is set for something really, really bad to happen and we don't need to be a part of it.
Where are the young American inheritors who can salvage what their elders have phugged up? The young did it once before…they need to do it again, now.
Being a 12-year veteran myself, the word 'mutiny' leaves a bad taste in my mouth- but at this point, an actual soldier's revolt may be the only thing that gets anyone's attention.
Obama and Hagel might as well be parroting the words of French Foreign Legion General De Negrier from a speech in 1883, "You legionnaires are soldiers in order to die, and I am sending you where you can die.”
Combat troops with no mission. No, that's not right, they have a mission:
BAIT
Oh, really? So that's how it works- I was wondering, then, why Moscow didn't just tell Washington that Soviet missiles were going to be placed in Cuba but that they didn't have any missions planned for them. I'm sure Kennedy and McNamara and Co. would have believed Kruschev and Co., wouldn't they? No? Then why on God's green earth do we expect anyone to believe we aren't planning to use combat troops that we send to the hottest combat zone on earth?
Once again, the Washington hypocrisy is staggering.