Top Pentagon officials, including Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee today to brief them on the new war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The two offered very few details on the plans for the war, though Gen. Dempsey conceded that the US ground troops in the country as advisers could end up being used in combat operations, despite repeated insistence this had been ruled out.
Dempsey presented the eventual attack on Mosul as one particular circumstance which could lead to the use of US ground troops in combat, saying they’d do “close combat advising,” while of course fighting themselves.
The one thing that was clear was that the war is going to be long, and both Dempsey and Hagel conceded that the current plans were unlikely to defeat ISIS in Syria. Hagel insisted that the current plans to train 5,000 Syrian rebels to fight ISIS would not be nearly enough to defeat ISIS.
In that regard, Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) was unusually the voice of reason, saying that the belief that the rebels would fight ISIS was a “fundamental misunderstanding” of their nature, and that their focus was on the Syrian government. The US-backed rebels have been allying with ISIS off and on, and recently signed a non-aggression pact.
Both of them tried to assure the Senate, though the news was decidedly not reassuring, that the strategy continues to be a work in progress and that regular adjustments would be made.
13+ more years of quagmire. Mindless, pointless, and oodles if not gobs of slaughter. Won't be much longer and SecDef Chucky will start rattling sabers and a 'stop/loss we can't let you go' dynamic.
Senator John 'slapnut' McCain just ejaculated all over himself.
They should have think about such scenario long before, $50 million dollars here and $50 million dollars there to USG is peanuts, but it is the American people's money that government spends for absolutely nothing, zero, zilch result.
Stop fooling yourself by finding excuses, help the governments of Iran, Syria, Iraqi and Kurdish nations to defeate this Saudis/UAE barbaric Stone Age regime once and for all.
USG willing to give more money to a lesser evil terrorists, then they should seriously start thinking that Iraqi government is no terrorists, nor the Syrian or the Iranian government is, these barbarians are from Saudi Arabia and UAE, by inviting Saudis/UAE to fight for Iraqi people, Syrian people on the ground, the USG should know that ISIS is formed by Saudis and UAE, blindly helpet by USG/English hoping for regime change in Syria to please Saudis and UAE, which not only Syrian regime is still there but a bigger problem arisen by such deceptive politics.
The outcome of such dishonest politics is ISIS, what's the outcome of USG next move going to be is yet a bigger evil then ISIS is. The ISIS can be defeated in few weeks time if USG stop playing around wanting to gain something out of nothing, and start helping Syria, Iraqi and Iranian government for real.
Look: democrats, forget about Israel/Saudis/UAE are your friends, your foreign policies toward the Libyan nation has failed, your policy toward regime change in Syria is not only failed but back firing, your policies in Africa is in shamble so is your policy in Ukraine, the only weapon you have left is to fool yourself by proudly shouting that: I am wining nothing.
The Islamization policy by Barack Hussein Obama, and if such political maneuvering thinking that such political development would stop Israel, was wrong and still wrong, the only way to defeat Israeli apartheid/fascism regime is by boycotting Israel economically, all other political maneuvering are either fraud, dishonest or have a hidden agendas as when USG/Saudis/UAE/English created ISIS.
What about the money? Who is going to pay for all this more war as the U.S. coffers are empty. I mean like this war with ISIS is like driving from NYC to LA on a tank of gas already on E. One be lucky to get out over the Hudson. Oh, Washington is going to print some more $$ up? All of us say good-bye to what little our bank accounts are still worth.
"…Who is going to pay…??" Seriously? The same people who are going to pay for the past 15 years of meddling in the ME. You know, the one's the politicians all stand up and shout, "we should not be spending money our children and grandchildren will have to pay back!!" But, the politicians know that of course it will be our children and grandchildren who pay, so, whatthehell, let's stick it to them anyway. Maybe no one will notice in all their ginned up nationalism and flag-waving, which usually means they stop thinking and will buy anything the politicians throw at them.
Forgot to add the third part:
"Long difficult…..and *costly*"
Now is the time for the new outlets who have consciences to finally, FINALLY, start to publish the photos that they have been afraid of publishing for the past 50 years. The photos of what happens when high-powered ammunition comes out the other side of a human body. The photos of what happens to a human body when an RPG round explodes in the midst of a squad of infantry – you know, the sons and brothers and husbands and daughters and sisters and wives of all those who are waving flags and calling for more war. The photos of children and innocents caught in the crossfire of nation's leaders playing games that they have no personal skin in.
The photos exist…publish them!! Put them in front of the ignorant Americans who have never seen the carnage they are currently demanding. Make it friggin personal.
But, the media won't – they (their stockholders actually) can't stand the outrage and denigration from those who don't want to be forced to face reality, so they won't.
This is similar to all those Congresscritters who bothered to read the missing 28 pages and to a soul say they are outraged and that all Americans should see them and that it would change their perspective on "our friends" in the ME and that what is hidden is IMPORTANT for Americans to see and understand. BUT, not a one…not a single Congresscritter despite the importance has the stones to release the information…because the Bush Administration classified it – because they didn't want it released to protect their friends…and themselves most likely. They are afraid for their personal well being but really don't care about the rest of the country they all claim to love…but not enough to put their livelihood and social standing in jeopardy. Cowards. You hear that, Bob Graham? Coward.
If those Congressional COWARDS were AMERICANS they would release those 28 pages and "secrecy oath's" be DAMNED. Their loyalty is supposed to be to the PEOPLE.
There are only 30,000 ISIS with no air force and no navy. These WAR PROFITEERS are squeezing every penny and every bit of YOUR RIGHTS they can. If these PUNKS cannot take ISIS out in a week, PUTIN must be ROTFLHAO and the Chinese Tiger is warming up It's fire-breath.
Filthy incompetent LOOTERS stealing every last cent from America. Where is that $2.3TRILLION the Pentagon lost (google Rumsfeld 9/10/2001)
You know when you take your car to the garage to get fixed… lot's of drawing of breath, eyes start rolling, and then after a few moment "well, you see, you know the thingymyjig that connects the doodah to the ol' widgetty thing? Well, it's broke and we got to order it in (from China), it's gonna take a lot of time and labour too, I reckon your looking at 6…7….8….9 (he keeps going until you baulk) hundred bucks"
Well it's just the same when a politician breaks a foreign country and then has to go to the Pentagon to get it fixed.