The official announcement isn’t expected for some time, but State Department officials are confirming that retired Gen. John Allen, who has held the position of ISIS War Czar for the last year, will resign in November because of his growing frustration with the White House’s policies.
Officials said that Gen. Allen had been pushing the White House to escalate the war on numerous levels, in particularly on the Turkish call to establish a “safe zone” out of northern Syria and the deployment of more ground troops to pick targets for airstrikes.
Allen had only been intended to hold the position for six months at any rate, and had agreed to stay on because the war wasn’t going very well. When the formal announcement does come, it is likely to emphasize this, and present the departure as less about policy than about timing.
During the early weeks of the war, Allen’s responsibility was to serve as sort of a roving ambassador from the war to other countries, trying to court more nations into joining the conflict. After that initial phase, however, he chiefly was used as a public mouthpiece by the White House to reassure media outlets that the war was going, if not ideally, well enough. It appears that was a lie that simply couldn’t be maintained indefinitely.
Can anyone tell me which was the last time that an American war actually went even remotely as well as it was supposed to?
Depends on whether you define the "first Gulf War" as a discrete war or as merely part of the larger Iraq war. If the former, it went better than expected as far as it went. If the latter, it was just the fairly good-looking first part of a really ugly continuum.
Other than that, I'd say the last time a US war went reasonably well overall would be Panama (1989) or Grenada (1983).
If one could consider them to be wars at all ! Skirmish maybe, but the last war that the US won was WWII and the reality there is even there it was only with the help of Dozens of Nations and after it had been in some places happening for nearly ten years before they got involved others nearly five! We should realise that NOW America doesn't win wars it makes them last and last because that provides the Military Industrial Complex with money! The last time the US had anti profiteering laws was WWII coincidentally it was the last war they actually tried to win! Just joshing it was not a Coincidence!
Wars never go as planned. Essentially, the winner of a war is the one that makes the least mistakes. War against an insurgency is almost impossible to win unless you are prepared to go the lengths of brutality that Putin used in Chechnya and even there, all he did was put the Chechen independence movement on hold for a while. Thus, the US, Putin and Assad are all more or less condemned to lose the fight against ISIS. Interesting new world.
No, we've not been doing wars particularly well lately.
US wars are not intended to be successful, as that would violate institutional imperatives that require chaos ever increasing funding. Those institutional imperatives are:
1) profits for arms manufacturers and other military contractors, 2) career enhancement for military brass, civilian employees of the CIA, Pentagon, State Department, and militarist thinktanks, 3) blockbuster movies and sensational headlines to sell media (and also contribute to the necessary fear and jingoism), 4) pork for politicians and 5) attendant high paying jobs guaranteed by ITAR (International Traffick in Arms Regulations) for “US persons” that keep those employees loyal to the system.
The alleged goals of American “exceptionalism,” stability, protection of human rights and the establishment of democracy, are never achieved. Nor are the less advertised but sometimes avowed goals to protect access to resources or global hegemony, as oil exports always decline in countries at war and the US does not enjoy hegemony (control) in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, Libya, Syria or Ukraine. Our leaders are sane, so they do not take the same actions over and over again expecting different results. Our avowed goals are not achieved, but our policies are wildly successful when measured against these institutional imperatives of the MIC.
Our policies will continue until the Sheeple wake up. Promote petitions against this depravity: http://diy.rootsaction.org/petitions/oppose-milit…
Perhaps Putin can be the new Czar!
Just another goofball with chest full of medals.
"the position of ISIS War Czar"
I wonder what Russians think of the fact that Uncle Sam has more Czars than they do…
Russia had the best idea relating to Czars, they got rid of them totally!
Back in 2007 Cheney-Bush wanted to appoint a "war czar" for their Quagmiristan misadventure. Several generals declined the offer, knowing the actual position was "war scapegoat." Allen should have known better,
At any rate, Article II of the Constitution already specifies that the POTUS is the true "war czar." Truman wasn't the brightest star in the constellation, but at least he knew the buck stopped at his desk.
Truman was a weak simpering effeminate whimp that wanted to be a tough guy.
Far over shadowed by damned near every professional political figure and as his only attribute was to smile when Rooseveldt told him too the party kept him on.
The phrase the buck stops here is about like pu**y Bush talking about saddeling up and strapping on a gun. Little boys playing cowboys and Infians.
How tern “Buck Stops Here” came about was from gambling parlors, saloon card games and rooms, places where strangers of all sorts met.
Card gamblers always had to watch put for cardbsharks and crooked dealers, so a method was chosen to see who would deal and act as overseer of game.
Some places used chips andbhad a house banker but not an in house dealer.
Taking a loaded pistol and placing it in middle of the table where gamblers sat , it was spun and whoever it ended pointing at got to be dealer chose the special rules if any type of game, and set the anti-up amount.
The pistol did not always end up reholstered and was kept open as a reminder to
cheaters.
Hense the term “The Buck stops Here” was from a time of men on the rough and ready macho when macho was the norm but Truman was not even originator but his Secretary of State whispered the sweet nothings in his ears.
Doubt this site can syand real history as it becomes more and more MSM cencor nound.