President Obama’s plan to send another 1,500 ground troops to Iraq, doubling the number of US troops there, is obviously a huge escalation of the war. It’s more than just numbers too, as the Pentagon openly talks about the new troops being able to “go on the offensive against ISIS.”
Selling it to Congress, along with the $5+ billion request that goes along with it, will be less about convincing the current Congress of the merits of escalation, and more about selling it to those who will move on from the lame duck Congress that it’s escalation enough.
That’s no small task, as particularly in the Senate the incoming leadership is hugely more hawkish than before, and wants a far, far bigger ground war across Iraq and Syria than what these 1,500 additional troops are going to be able to provide.
So in addition to pushback from what antiwar Congressmen there are, the administration could also face resistance from the hawkish end of things, as the Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) led hawks seek to reject anything short of a full-scale war.
Exactly what these 1,500 new troops are going to be doing is not being officially stated, as on the one hand officials present them as trainers and advisers, and on the other hand the Pentagon talks about sending them into combat zones to take the fight to ISIS.
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
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- US-Backed Kurdish Forces Seize ISIS Town in Eastern Syria - December 14th, 2018
- Pompeo Downplays White House Differences With Senate on Saudi Arabia - December 14th, 2018
- US, South Korea Fail to Agree on Cost-Sharing for Military Deployment - December 14th, 2018
- Yemen Clashes Threaten Ceasefire in Hodeidah - December 14th, 2018
In one hand the world entering a new Cold War in the other for NATO and USG is all about either Third World War or war and war again. Obama escalation by sending 1,500 troops to Iraq is just a beginning, you haven't seen nothing yet wait until next elected president show you what this foreign policy of NATO and USG is all about, war and war and more wars until the 3rd one.
McCain is a piece of chickens***. The chicken hawk agenda is to make
Oboomer appear (incompetent) – which isn't difficult, while making a
case to continue pouring US tax dollars and resources into MIC.
The US Senate needs to publicly justify this desire for more war to the American people. And the American people need to demand that the Congress answer the questions that need to be answered instead of throwing out generalities without detail and blowing off the questions they don't want to go on record answering.
Congress cannot be allowed to take the country back down the road to war without having to reveal the details of what they want, how much it's going to cost and for how long. They also need to answer the question of who they want to die for their desire for war…over there while the society crumbles around our ears here.
Empire builders — Hired killers for dictators
Conservatives being those who want none of the wealth to trickle down to the lower half of society, those who want a bigger army to protect the bigger wealth that they intend to plunder at home and abroad, to see the light as to why our voting majority would do such a stupid thing as give conservatives full control of Congress, one needs to grasp the reality that our Empire is in the business of enabling dictators to enslave the laboring-class, the uneducated lower half of society.
To — curmudgeonvt
I see, it ‘s perfectly OK for our Empire to do corruption, so long as they “reveal the details of what they want” destroyed by the corruption.
As always, your comment is pure confusion, your only desire being to burn up our emotional capital be my conclusion.
For you can always tell when a poster is here to generate confusion, by his name being pure confusion.