Speaking today at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Joe Dunford confirmed that US troops in Iraq are “fighting and dying” in combat operations, confirming that the October 22 death of a Army sergeant was in combat.
That admission is a big one, as US officials have danced around the question of “combat troops” by presenting the troops being deployed to Iraq, and elsewhere in the region, as “trainers” or “advisers” in official comments.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – AK) pushed particularly hard on the matter, saying he believes the attempt to present Iraq as “non-combat” diminishes the sacrifices of the soldiers slain in the country, and that it iss important to “level with the American people.”
The White House didn’t appear to take Gen. Dunford’s comments favorably, insisting again today that US troops in Iraq are “not in a combat role,” and are merely in the country to “offer advice and assistance” to the Iraqi military.
Anyone with any cognitive skills and who has been paying attention to the stuff the TPTB don’t say knows that the troops in Iraq (and Syria) are in combat operations. That said, the dysfunction between Obama’s White House and the Pentagon is monumental. After the WH insisted over and over and over that they weren’t in combat ops – despite the truth of the matter – to have the General come out and directly contradict is insubordination, every time. But nothing will come of it because Obama is afraid of the generals. Why? Don’t know and don’t really care anymore. The Grand Experiment is in a downward spiral and the only real solution is to start over again, with a critical eye on what worked (some) and what didn’t (much, much more). We are supposed to be a country based on the rule of law but it seems that there are some who are exempt – and that is the central problem. Fix that and we, as a nation, might just survive. OK, rant over…where’s that damned coffee.
When you say that Obama is afraid of the Generals you’re saying that there’s a rift between the two. That’s a good thing and it appears that the rift has been caused by Obama’s cooperation with Putin and their joint efforts to defang the Generals and make it practically impossible for the next president and congress to fabricate the justification for the PNAC planned all-out wars with both Syria and Iran.
Add to that the fact that both Russia and China are now strategically placed in positions in whiche they will both be in legitimate positions to defend their interests in those two countries, and it’s likely the Generals and the politico hawks are raging mad with Obama
When it’s said that Obama has done great harm to America’s foreign relations, strength, and standing in the world, this is what they are talking about. And especially what Trump is talking about because he’s not smart enough to hide it. Nor does he want to hide it because it’s an immensely popular campaign tool.
He’ll make America great again in foreign policy too. What can that mean but continuing the fight and walking over the rest of the ME as planned? That’s what makes it so scary to see a corporate psychopath as the next president. Neither the Generals or the president will demonstrate any restraint. And it’s becoming more and more likely that Russia is not going to back down this time.
This is not an argument for Clinton in which the situation will likely be just as bad. Only the fact that she is not a corporate psychopath is a positive for her. Negated by the fact that she’s one of the most vicious hawks in the country. Either choice is scary and can be contrasted with the current president who gave the world the greatest hope it’s seen since the US march to world domination which began with the fall of the Soviet Union.
luv and best wishes from Canada.
I dunno fucking why there in but they should get and could get out right now.
Despite this admission it is my view that there will still be pedantry over the terminology used to refer to footwear and any possible contact such apparel would make with the ground.
Right and Obama wasn’t responsible for destabilizing Ukraine and funding and arming Sunni Jihadists in Syria either. The guy is a freakin liar.