Speaking today from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter departed from the usual script of praising the 65 nation anti-ISIS coalition to condemn many of the nations for “not doing enough” and several for doing “nothing at all.”
Though Carter avoided naming names, he later appeared on Bloomberg TV and faulted Sunni Arab nations in the coalition, saying they need to “carry their weight,” and saying nations will no longer be allowed to be “free riders.”
Recent reports have suggested that the US has been courting a number of nations to send more troops, including ground combat forces, into Iraq and Syria, and have been rebuffed publicly by some of those nations. The lack of acceptance for the planned escalations appears to be increasing Pentagon frustrations at the coalition.
Indeed, Carter revealed on Wednesday that intentions are for hundreds more trainers to be sent to Iraq to provide new types of training to the military there, and in those comments too, he appeared annoyed when he expressed an expectation that “some” of the trainers would be provided by other coalition nations, without providing any names.
The Pentagon has been steadily escalating the ISIS war since it began, but seem to be running into war weariness already among coalition nations who don’t see adding more troops as an end unto itself, and are running low on partners willing to join in every new deployment.
Carter’s comments weren’t really directed at the 65 nation anti-ISIS coalition countries, they’re intended to remind the American people that there are other countries involved in defeating ISIS. The problem comes when the American people realize that the US is basically alone and that there isn’t really a “coalition” despite what the USG says. The American people who support the adventurism (interference) in the ME are content as long as they believe that there is financial and materiel support from others also. When that charade fails and the American people realize that our government is writing that “blank check” that our children and children’s children will be paying off for a very, very long time then the free ride for the warmongers will come to an abrupt end.
When the American people realize that when the government is unable to print those Social Security checks but are quick to send Israel $$$B for the joy of being an “ally” then perhaps they’ll come to their senses and pull the rug out from under the Emperor.
But that’s just this Old Curmudgeon’s opinion…
I agree with all that you say, except for this little thing called motive.
For you see our voting majority as a caring cross section of society, basically honest but somewhat ignorant. On the other hand, I see the 51% most wealthy voters hoarding all the wealth and enriching themselves upon the misery of the impoverished laboring-class, the lower-half of society.
The problem is that the US funds Terrorists, Al Nusra Front was just 5 years ago known as Al Qaeda in Iraq, you know the ones that US troops were fighting because they were the evil Al Qaeda, and where did ISIS come from, they are an offshoot of Al Nusra Front, there are others in Syria that have identical pedigrees, all Terrorists all funded by the US and Gulf States, remember where the First Al Qaeda came from and who funded it, It came from Charlie Wilsons war, funded and trained by the CIA, do you not see the pattern here! The US is the problem here not the answer!
War for oil — Best money maker known to man
I see, Empire USA needs to make body parts out of babies so that we gain submission for our wars of expansion, all of the vengeance needed for a blowback called vengeance driven terrorism due to our aggression, yet our victimized nations must bear the cost, the blame and the shame?
Such is the fine art of trading war materials for Middle-East oil.