Since the start of the ISIS war, the mass recruitment from around the world by ISIS has fueled concerns about post-war possibilities, including what happens when the war ends and ISIS recruits start returning home to their countries of origin, with a bunch of new training and ties to international jihad.
According to Defense Secretary James Mattis, that’s not a real concern, as the US policy is one of “annihilation,” with the expressed goal of ensuring that no one survives the war to return home at any rate, and that “we’re going to stop them” in Iraq and Syria.
Mattis was quick to downplay civilian casualties as just a “fact of life,” while repeatedly insisting that the US are “the good guys,” a claim he likely felt needed explicit saying since he’s overtly talking about a war of total extermination.
The downplaying of civilian deaths may need more scrutiny, however, particularly as US strikes have increasingly come against ISIS family members. Mattis’ assurance that no one will be left to return home after the war may well be informing the decision to go after civilians in ISIS territory who are related to the fighters as a way of further reducing post-war returnees by purging widows and orphans.
That’s probably why they call Mattis “Mad Dog”. Wonder why nobody asked about that before they confirmed him.
They should change his nickname from Mad Dog to Dumbass. Because total annihilation of ISIS is such a stupid statement that it begs the question: Can this guy be dumber than Trump? If so, he needs to be removed from office immediately because he is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. And with a mentally unstable Commander-in-Chief, he can go off sooner rather than later. May even start his bombing to distract from the Russia investigation.
Not to mention both he and McMaster have a hardon for Iran which means that if Trump feels the need for a distraction, he can get these two to go along with what ever Trump and the Saudi’s feel like doing.
That is all just rhetoric and the reality is that ISIS is a tool of the U.S., Saudis and Israelis and will not be “annihilated” before they server their purpose of overthrowing Assad and fracturing Syria into warring factions. If they truly wanted to eliminate ISIS they would be cooperating with Russia and Iran but instead the Pentagon bombs Syrian soldiers to stop any peace initiative or to protect the Pentagon’s own chosen terrorists. U.S. foreign policy has been the same for decades regardless of which side of the one-party system is in power and it’s a symbiotic death spiral between the neocons/Zionists, Pentagon/MIC and intelligence mafia.
These warmongers have to know that the USA was mainly instrumental in helping create a force like ISIS. If you REALLY want to stamp out ISIS, you have to indict the people in the USA who expedited its rise and allowed it to grow and attack innocent people like it has. If you want to kill a plant, yank out its roots- just don’t do a cosmetic trimming of the plant for public consumption. “Men” like John McCain should be among the first group of American “leaders” indicted for supporting a group that specializes in terrorizing people!
Suppose that ISIS fighters want to surrender under a white flag. Has Mattis ordered that they be shot on sight? That makes him and by implication the CiC Trump both war criminals. Furthermore, our soldiers are obliged to refuse that order.