So, How Are Things In Iraq Going These Days?
Not so good, apparently. In fact, it looks like those 1,600 or so “advisors” we already have there are about to have some company. Because – in time-honored “bury news we don’t want anyone to notice by announcing it no a Friday afternoon” tradition, yesterday we had this little announcement:
Obama authorizes 1,500 more troops for Iraq
This won’t be free, of course. So the Administration is asking for an additional $5+ billion to pay for their deployment. And a significant change to previous policy, our troops will now be allowed to operate at installations outside of Baghdad and Erbil, too.
But don’t worry that we’re about to get involved in another war in Iraq – oh, no. These new troops will be “advisers, trainers and security personnel“. But according to the White House, they “won’t serve in a combat role“.
Yeah, right. Does anyone really believe that last load of bullsh!t? Our “advisers” in Vietnam prior to July 1965 supposedly weren’t “serving in a combat role”, either.
Ya know, sometimes it seems to me like we should have negotiated an agreement to leave a few units in-place in Iraq in 2011 rather than pulling everything out helter-skelter. But I guess that just wasn’t possible. And besides, no one believed we ever might need to have forces on the ground there after the end of 2011 to guard against the possibility of future troubles – well, except for the SECDEF at the time and a former Ambassador to Iraq.
Are your pants legs wet yet? Better check. And, for the record: it was pretty clear here yesterday. So if you’re leg’s wet, I don’t think that was rain – even if some folks keep telling you its been raining.
From Jonn; I wrote a post on the same subject before I saw Hondo’s post so I added it below rather than make two posts;
What? No, that can’t be right. Reuters is reporting that the Obama Administration has announced that they’re sending 1500 more troops to Iraq. It was announced a few days after the election, but I’m sure that has nothing to do with it. So what’s that? About 3,000 US troops there now?
[Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John] Kirby told a Pentagon news briefing that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was urging Congress to approve the funding as soon as possible. It is part of a larger $5.6 billion supplemental spending request.
Alarmed by the advance of Islamic State militants across Iraq, Obama began sending non-combatant troops back to Iraq in the summer for the first time since he withdrew U.S. forces from the country in 2011.
Officials denied the troop buildup amounted to “mission creep” and said it was justified partly because of Iraqi Shi’ite efforts to reach out to Sunni tribesmen after the election of Shi’ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Yeah, it is not mission creep. It started with 200 troops and now it has increased to 15 times that number. And they still insist that they’re not there to engage in combat operations. Put enough of them on the ground and they will be engaged whether you want them to be or not.
Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Military issues, Terror War
“No boots on the ground.” Remember that?
He is sending them in flip flops.
This is all so incremental so it must be sneakers.
What is more amazing than the fact that this was obviously held until after the election (along with immigration, new AG and Ferguson) is the fact that the news organizations failed to call the President out on his politicking and cynicism. For NO ONE to point out that he had withheld all the ‘bad’ news until after the election is sad. Seven years ago there would have been a call to impeachment for behavior this crass.
Is there a pattern here?
Nixon promised to get us out of Vietnam (Johnson’s war) and did, and the US did not stick to its agreement with the south. Basically, the US went back on its word. Then Nixon got fired, and you know the rest.
bodaprezonhiswayout did the same thing and said ‘no more war, no more troops, no more combat’ and got elected and is going back on his word.
I may be a bit cynical, but I see a pattern of sorts here. Is this what goes around, comes around, or something like that?
“Chuck Hagel was urging Congress to approve the funding as soon as possible.”
Don’t think about it! Don’t take time for debate and discussion! Don’t ask questions! This is imperative! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Gee I’m ‘shocked.’
Not.
I predicted from day one this would happen.
What do they call it, situation creep, or SNAFU?
What a joke.
Forget SNAFU, I think this shit passed the TARFU mark long ago, and it’s headed for FUBAR at full throttle!
3100 troops huh. Well, considering how many Iraqi Army troops are willing to actually fight…that should be about one on one training there.
So, Øbola is demonstrating, once again, that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Advisors, because you stopped the war, right Barry?
Maybe there is another Quote from Santayana that he should have learned, “Only the dead have seen the end of war.” Or, perhaps he could call up Gen. Mattis and have him explain what he meant when he said “No war is over until the enemy says it’s over”.
UpNorth, to this jerk,,,,
War is what HE says it is.
But what does he care? He wont really be affected by it.
funny thing, He seems even more arrogant now that the GOP is about to take over than he was with his own party in control. He is the most extreme narcissist I have ever seen. “to all of those who didn’t vote, I hear you”. What a colossal a$$.
I’m waiting for the “I will not send American boys to fight a war in Asia” speech.
And the slow buildup method continues…
This all reminds me of August 2010, while sitting in the DFAC on COB Basrah, watching CNN announce that the last combat soldiers had “left Iraq”. We all had confused looks on our faces with the common phrase “then what the hell are we?” being asked at every table.
In 1962, Jack Kennedy increased the troop level in Vietnam to 5,000. In July 1964, LBJ increased the troop level to 21,000. By 1966, the US had 385,000 people in South Vietnam.
Boy am I glad that combat operations ended in Iraq and we brought our troops home in 2011. Just think, if we hadn’t left we could still be there. Oh wait …