Carter: Mosul plan was a mistaken disclosure of “military secrets”
The new Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, told the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday that the press briefing last month which released plans to the world about the intention that the city of Mosul, Iraq would be the focus of an Iraqi attack in mid-Spring was a mistake.
The briefer, whose presentation for reporters at the Pentagon on Feb. 19 was authorized by U.S. Central Command, said the U.S. wanted the Iraqis to launch the offensive in Mosul in April or May, although he also said it might go later.
“That clearly was neither accurate information nor, had it been accurate, would have been information that should be blurted out to the press,” Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee. “So it’s wrong on both scores.”
It now appears likely that the offensive will not begin this spring, with Iraq’s security forces requiring more time for U.S.-organized training. It has been widely known for months that the offensive is in the planning stages and that it would likely mark a decisive moment in the campaign to dislodge the Islamic State from Iraq.
Well, I guess ISIS is thoroughly confused now, because I am confused. Which is as it should be.
Category: Terror War
To think of all the hours I was forced to sit through mandatory OPSEC/SAEDA briefings since the 80s – seems like the folks at the Pentagon payed even less attention than I did.
It further proves that rules. Laws, and regulations are just for us lower-caste peasants, not the self-coronated royalty in the District of Crooks!
Duh!
Private Carter leads the way!
Maybe he should bring in Geraldo.
No kidding! Gerald can do a live cam-blog thing, maybe even GPS enable it, so everyone can follow along. Maybe fly a giant gay pride flag from the vehicle he’s in, just in case anyone misses out on where he is.
Heck, someone could even issue Gerry a sidearm so he can just randomly shoot stuff along the way.
…come to think of it, they should send him in first, by himself, to get the hard hitting questions answered, like, “What’s in Saddam’s Vault?”, or, “Does the name Jerry Rivers mean anything to you?”
The Red Sox are up 3-2 over the Yankees, bottom of the ninth – men on 2nd and 3rd – 1 out – Derek Jeter is up.
Derek yells out to the Reb Sox pitcher, “hey! I’m going to lay down a bunt down the first base line just in case you were wondering!”
I’m sure you all get the analogy.
Obama and his minions of amateurs are scaring the hell out of me.
I am surprised the media is not already there.
They can get raped, tortured and tossed off of buildings while the US military prepares for the invasion.
Its a win-win.
They can get first hand coverage and experience while all the while blaming the military for inaction.
And maybe Pelosi can hang out with the head of ISIS while all this is going down.
Obummer and his amateurs are right.
Some of the recent comments from old Ash are surprizing. I dont agree with some of his stances but at leat he is blowing smoke up everyones ass all the time.
Isnt blowing smoke all the time…..damn smart phone isnt always so smart
It would be better if the information had never been released. But give the man some credit for admitting the error vice trying to bluff his way through via defending same.
Anything else we need to know or don’t need to know?
Known unknowns, or unknown unknowns?
ISIS confused is good.
Ten Bears is not confused. Fake smoke signals are all part of the plan.
Here are some wacky ideas:
– have an adult without turrets give the briefing so nothing gets blurted out.
– putting the info in his/her binder with “don’t tell anyone the above” is bad form
– how about you just leave it out of the binder…
Ted Striker: My orders came through. My squadron ships out tomorrow. We’re bombing the storage depots at Daiquiri at 1800 hours. We’re coming in from the north, below their radar.
Elaine Dickinson: When will you be back?
Ted Striker: I can’t tell you that. It’s classified.
I think you meant ‘Tourettes.’
Do we have Private SNAFU film or PowerPoint on “keep your lips zipped”?
Found it! Snafu -Spies
Ya mean THIS? *SHHHHH!*
Or this one? People like Mel Blanc and Theodore Geisel Seuss (Dr. Seuss) took part in making the “Private Snafu” series as well as others.
So, ISIS has yet more time to fortify their position in Mosul.
“with Iraq’s security forces requiring more time for U.S.-organized training”. SHIT! How much more training do these turds need? I mean when we left in the night, did they just go demented and forget everything they were taught or watched us do for them? You can’t train a coward to fight. You can’t train courage into people who don’t want to fight for a better life. As long as we are there to save them it’s good with them. But left to themselves, they digress back into Shia and Sunni and would rather kill one another over who prays to whom and how than build a free nation for all to worship as they choose. Screw them.
I was an advisor for an Shia Iraqi Army unit during Charge of the Knights (aka the Battle of Basra). The reluctance to fight for Mosul actually makes sense if you look at it from an Iraqi perspective.
Iraq and its Army are predominantly Shia. Mosul is a traditionally Sunni town, one that figured prominently in the oppression of Shias during the Hussein regime. No Shia feels compelled to die to save Sunnis from other Sunnis, especially ISIS. They probably see this as a fitting punishment. Remover that ISIS is in many ways the evolution of Al Qaeda in Iraq (remember Zarqawi?), who teamed up with former Baathist in Mosul to oppress, intimidate, and kill Shias (and Chaldeans, Yazidis, etc). This is poetic justice.
Now, if ISIS tries to move into traditionally Shia areas there will be trouble.
the key to understanding Iraq and the Middle East in general (if that is possible) is the understanding that it is a tribal society. The old saying of ‘my brother before my cousin, my cousin before my neighbor’ is very close to true. The Shia-Sunni sectarian lines are really family lines. Add a touch of good old fashioned bigotry and ignorance and an acceptance and even expectation of government corruption and you have a volatile mix.
I always thought true Muslim believers believed that it was a boy before a goat, and a goat before a wife… Ohhh that’s right… that’s only when it comes to sex not mass murder.
The old “Confuse ’em” tactic I see, works like a charm.
The layers of stupid are endless, aren’t they.