President Obama’s goals in Iraq continue to grow every time he gives a speech, and the shifting sands are giving hawks more ammo in their constant push to escalate the new US war as much and as quickly as possible.
Obama’s goals have gone from protecting Irbil to protecting Irbil and Baghdad, and now to prevent the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Iraqi territory, as well as keeping all “strategic” sites in the nation from ISIS control. That’s a big shift, in only about 72 hours since he announced the war.
Retired Gen. Carter Ham today insisted that the latest US goals are going to be “very difficult” to pull off with only the 108 warplanes involved in the air campaign, and will likely require troops on the ground.
President Obama has insisted that ground troops aren’t being considered, but the credibility of that claim is very much in doubt, given the 2,000 US Marines already stationed just offshore, and the Air Force analysts saying 15,000 ground troops will be needed just the support the current air war, which the administration insists will be a “long campaign.”
Congressional hawks were on board with the new war, of course, but are already chomping at the bit for dramatic escalations, insisting that the current goals are likewise insufficient and that an enormous war against ISIS should be undertaken.
Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) and others were also pushing to expand the war immediately into neighboring Syria to attack ISIS targets there. Given the US support for rebel factions in Syria, attacking the largest such rebel faction, ISIS, inside Syria would be a major mixed message, but one McCain and many others in Congress seem comfortable with so long as escalation is the result.
The administration laid the groundwork for this precipitous escalation months ago, when it started sending military assets into the region in anticipation of “evacuating the embassy.” Now, despite all protestation to the contrary, fear of mission creep seems very well founded, and the mission is not just creeping into a bigger one, it is exploding at an alarming rate.
George H.W. Bush couldn't tame the Iraqi beast. Bubba Clinton couldn't sanction the Iraqi beast. G.W. Bush couldn't tame the Iraqi beast and G.W. had Dark Cheney and Dr. Death Rummy giving him directions. So President Slick is to tame the Iraqi beast? That's funny. Darkly funny. Deadly funny. Given the fact that the US has been quagmired in Afghanistan for about (almost?) 13 years, the ISIL/ISIS jihadi terroristas must be shaking in their boots. Or whatever it is ISIL/ISIS jihadi types wear on their feet while playing pop goes the jihadi in Syria or Iraq or wherever.
Finally and after four years of Syrian/Iraqi people suffering Barack Hussein Obama admits that a "moderate Syrian opposition is a fantasy" according to politico.
Barack Hussein Obama he is living the office in just year and half, during his last six and half years he and Hillary Clinton have managed to destroy the Syrian unity and infrastructure, the have managed to destroy the Libyan nation unity and its infrastructure, they have managed to create ISIS, a barbaric regime both in Syria and Iraq and another Israeli war where 2000 people are killed intentionally and few hundred thousands of Syrian and Iraqi people are displaced.
In Ukraine Victoria Nuland and Barack Hussein Obama have managed to establish a Neo fascist regime doing everything in their economic and political power to make sure that NATO is placed on the Russian border, killing over a thousand and displacing over a hundred thousand of Russian speaking Ukrainians.
Thus far only thing that USG is gained is for Joe Biden son to be named as one of the directors of Ukrainian gas company which clearly indicates the nature of USA democracy, the nature of us Democratic Party, that's the nature of far right us Democratic Party hanging the democracy as we speak and the nature if vulture capitalism no matter the name or the color of those working for the system.
I'm so burnt out,
I haven't flown my American Flag since the day George Bush went into Iraq. It got so much dust on it now, I'm not sure if I can wash it clean. I ought to probably just throw it out.
The problem with the "long war" scenario, where there is little to no evidence that we are winning or that the goal, if there is one, is winnable is that the next generation of recruitable cannon fodder is aware that they are, in fact, cannon fodder. They've seen how the previous troops have been treated, or in the current case, not treated and left to fend for themselves, their survivor families left to fight their own battle against the government for the rights and benefits promised.
Everyone should know by now that these adventures in the ME are unwinable, primarily because our government and the warmongers don't want them to be won – they need them to continue for a generation…or two. Another reason they are unwinable is because they are religious wars which is why they were stoked by the warmongers to the point where the beliefs of both sides were irreconcilable with the other sides beliefs – doesn't the current Sunni/Shiite conflict go back 1300 years?
So, the perfect storm: a religious war and warmongers who want it to continue until…when…what? Things get so completely out of control that one side – or multiple sides/players start throwing tactical nukes around and screws the pooch for the rest of the world?
Nobody wins…and while there is still something worth not destroying, the world citizens need to put an end to this madness. The place to start is to silence the warmongers – remove them from places of power and then muzzle them and then ignore them. No air time on the networks as "expert analysts" or "expert advisors" – they're nothing but warmongers and they want your children to go fight their wars for them, forever. And then silence the warmongers in the media who enable them.
So, watch the recruiting numbers, if they release them.
Mission Creep to MISSION LEAP in only three days- that must be some sort of record in Presidential war escalation.
I'm thinking the troops need to exercise a little self-preservation in the face of this- maybe a "Battleship Potemkin" moment is in order. If our 'leaders' (and I use that in the most loose sense of the word) can't be trusted to use our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines wisely maybe they shouldn't be the ones calling the shots. If I were still a young man in uniform, I'd probably be in the role of Vakulincuk (although I'm far from heroic) and up on charges for speaking the truth.
So is going to war in Iraq with the people Hillary intends to arm in Syria. Damn US foreign policy is complicated./S