That raid on Abu Sayyaf
You may never see this again, I know I’m shocked that it even happened. I’ve known Jim Hanson for nearly a decade and I’ve never seen him awake at 6:30 in the morning;
He does make some good points, though, despite the early hour. While we’re all glad that Abu Sayyaf has been properly ventilated, that all of the raiders came back unharmed, what is the deeper meaning of this whole thing, in regards to the overarching strategy? By the way, what is the overarching strategy? The news of this success is overshadowed by the news that Ramadi fell to ISIS this weekend in Iraq.
The contested city of Ramadi fell to the Islamic State group on Sunday, as Iraqi forces abandoned their weapons and armored vehicles to flee the provincial capital in a major loss despite intensified U.S.-led airstrikes.
While this raid was a tactical success, the strategy seems to be failing – the Iraqis, who US troops are there to train and make confident threw down their weapons an ran away. Our air forces being the Iraqi air force isn’t helping, apparently.
Sunday’s retreat recalled the collapse of Iraqi security forces last summer in the face of the Islamic State group’s blitz into Iraq that saw it capture a third of the country, where it has declared a caliphate, or Islamic State. It also calls into question the Obama administration’s hopes of relying solely on airstrikes to support the Iraqi forces in expelling the extremists.
Yeah, well, this administration, a few months ago, was telling us how well the counter-insurgency in Yemen was working – whoops. It’s almost as if this administration has the reverse Midas touch.
BBC reports that 3,000 Iran-backed Shia troops are moving towards Ramadi to liberate the city. John Kerry has confidence in them, so they have that going for them;
The US has said it is confident the capture of Ramadi can be reversed.
Speaking in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry said: “I am convinced that as the forces are redeployed and as the days flow in the weeks ahead, that’s going to change.”
The reverse-Midas touch.
Category: Terror War
No book deals or movie rights yet good work Range 19.
P.S Question for Uncle Jimbo are dead Tangos room temperature or cave temperature?
There is no coherent strategy. There is an assumed end state along the lines of “ISIS is unable to conduct significant military operations abroad or in its area of operation” but I haven’t seen that articulated anywhere. If the ways and means tied to this assumed end state is the use of SOCCOM forces to kill leadership, it will fail. The leaders are not the center of gravity of the organization. Abu Sayyaf will be replaced by another zealot. The new guy might not be as competent as Sayyaf, or he might be more competent. POTUS needs to stop with the nickel and dime ops that make good headlines and destroy the real centers of gravity.
What the raid hopefully accomplished was the planting of the seed that we CAN, given the proper support and intel, show up in your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, wherever, and put holes in you. Planting the seed of paranoia, however small, eventually pays huge dividends.
I think we’ve made that point over and over again in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and various other garden spots in that God-forsaken part of the world. They know we CAN strike anywhere, any time but they also know we WON’T commit to getting the job done once and for all. Until the adults take charge, nothing is going to change so we’re better off encouraging them to kill each other as much as possible and stay out of it.
Note to Jonn and the admins: I hit report comment by accident. My apologies to you and nbcguy!
It’s called the Σκατά αφής, or Skata Touch, Jonn. That’s when everything an individual touches turns to sh!t.
If “King Midas” turns all to gold with a touch, is the opposite “King Merdes”?
Somebody explain to me why we are still concerning ourselves with this part of the world? We’ve been training them to defend themselves for how long? They’ve run away how many times?
This is beyond pathetic, and the fact that we are continuing to not only prop up this dead mule, but continuing to attempt to plow with it, is worse.
Exactly my feelings. They don’t want to stand and fight to defend their own soil, why should we?
At a wild guess, because allowing rogue operators a safe haven from which to plan & execute terror operations isn’t a good idea?
See also: Afghanistan & 9/11. Didn’t end well.
I for one feel better knowing John Kerry is on top of this.
“It’s almost as if this administration has the reverse Midas touch.”
Barack Obama. Building his legacy one fuck up at a time.
The problem with the Iraqi military is quite simple. We don’t shoot them when they run away. Saddam kept them more afraid of him than the enemy they faced. We treat them as if they had something in common with us, he treated them like the spineless cannon fodder they are. There is a reason there are so many dictatorships in that region, it is the only system that works.
Um, no. They never fought very well for Hussein, no matter how many people he executed.
I agree with the commentator. We should never have known the raid even happened until well after ALL intel captured had been analyzed and if more targets were identified, not even then. But Obama can’t keep his fucking mouth shut trying to look for the glory. After all, the raid was, “at the direction of the President”, per news outlets. From the article on Ramadi I gleaned this. “The contested city of Ramadi fell to the Islamic State group on Sunday, as Iraqi forces abandoned their weapons and armored vehicles to flee the provincial capital in a major loss despite intensified U.S.-led airstrikes.” You can’t keep a coward in a foxhole no matter how much you train them. “Online video showed Humvees, trucks and other equipment speeding out of Ramadi, with soldiers gripping onto their sides.” Again, fuck your poor unarmed civilian brothers, sisters and little children. Why not pack them on trucks to let them have a chance at safety like a true man and soldier would do. No the troops are hanging off the side of the rigs and no doubt, kicking civilians who try to get on in the teeth. Cowards. “Earlier Sunday, (Prime Minister) al-Abadi ordered Shiite militias to prepare to go into the Sunni-dominated province, ignoring U.S. concerns their presence could spark sectarian bloodshed.” U.S. concerns over sparking sectarian bloodshed? Really? I mean fucking REALLY!!! What does the U.S. (read that Obama and Kerry) think all that is happening in Iraq and Syria has always been about? It’s about sectarian bullshit going back CENTURIES! If it weren’t for sectarian differences these fuckers could probably have a peaceful nation or Caliphate and not cut each others throats. But as long as each reads their beloved Koran either, left to right or right to left, all they have ever done and will do is slaughter one another. Fuck them and the Koran the rode in on! “Ramadi mayor Dalaf al-Kubaisi said that more than 250 civilians and security forces were killed over the past two days, including dozens of police and other government supporters shot dead in… Read more »
How in the actual fuck is the loss of a city with half a million people less than 100 miles from a nation’s capital “fleeting?”
Long rants are often a necessity my friend…pretending there is anything we can do in the nation of Iraq that doesn’t involve decades of occupation is not helping any one there or any one here understand the reality of life on the ground in post-Saddam Iraq.
Obama and Kerry took a plan that had been adapted into something that was sort of working and abandoned it in an effort to prove that he could end the war. The result if plain for all to see, and it sucks as you so eloquently point out.
Yeah, McCain had my vote when he talked about 100 years…so sad he didn’t win and make it so…I love some of those Iraqis who are now on the run from the Daesh bastards – would have been SO EASY to keep some-odd thousand motherfuckers in Kurdistan, ready to target bad guys when they mustered to attack Mosul…so incredibly tragic and sad…
Damn good post, Sparks. As for favorite lines, I’ll take one each of these:
“Different ROE for ISIS I guess.”
“Yep, all the training in the world is useless when you’re basically training cowards more concerned with praying five times a day than fighting for the freedom to pray as they choose.”
A – There is no strategy.
B – Bodaprez doesn’t give a shit.
C – The only thing sKerry is on top of is his next botox appointment.
D – Those twinkies in the Middle East expect us to come back and do everything for them so that they have something to complain about.
All you will ever hear, until this lack of administration is gone for good, is platitudes, platitudes, platitudes.
Sounds like Nixon…OOPS I mean Obama and Kissinger…OOPS I mean Kerry, have forgotten that airpower doesn’t win wars by itself.
Here’s a little article about Ramadi falling to ISIS, from Reuters, via MSN.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-claims-that-ramadi-is-a-mere-setback-are-delusional-experts-say/ar-BBjVRVh
You really do have to read the entire article becuase it pulls no punches in pointing out the current lack of administration’s connection to reality. In fact, the CLOA is still referring to ISIS as ISIL. (Even I haven’t done that for some months now.)
And read this part closely: Khedery, the former U.S. official, said it was time for a strategy makeover.
Obama should replace top Iraq policymakers with “a new set of egos that aren’t tied to policies that are failing.” (See the article.)
Am I the only person who wonders if the people who ran off with air conditioners from Saddam’s palace when Baghdad was invaded, still have them?
If those reports from Mosul in November last year were accurate, and the infrastructure is completely breaking down, the only thing that will stop this will be disease and lack of resources. Unless someone actually decides to cut off the Iraqis so that OUR stuff doesn’t fall into the hands of ISIS, it seems unlikely that this will stop. I do not think the Iraqis actually have the willpower to stop ISIS, period.
Thanks, bodaprez!! This is YOUR legacy, you asshole.
Bush was right.