US and Air Assault in Syria
The New York Times reports that the US airlifted at least 500 Syrians and Kurds into the fight at Raqqa, Syria under the cover of US artillery and US airpower;
It was the first time that the United States had carried out an air assault with Syrian fighters in its campaign against the Islamic State, and the mission, which began Tuesday, reflected the leeway the Trump administration has given its commanders to carry out operations without prolonged review in Washington.
In a significant commitment of American forces, American helicopters ferried fighters across enemy lines while Marine Corps howitzers, Army Apache attack helicopters and American warplanes provided firepower for the operation. Army surface-to-surface Himars rockets, which are based in northern Syria, are also part of the mission. American Special Operations forces were advising the Syrian fighters on the ground, although a military spokesman said they were not involved in direct, front-line combat.
The mission represented a new stage in the broader offensive to cut off and seize Raqqa. Its objective was to take control of the Tabqa Dam on the Euphrates River near Lake Assad, the nearby town of Tabqa and a local airfield.
The Trump Administration has taken a hands-off approach to the war against ISIS, allowing the commanders on the ground to make decisions;
But the Trump White House has dispensed with the detailed and often prolonged review of operations and tactics that were conducted under the Obama administration. The change has allowed American commanders to step up the pace of their operations.
Pentagon officials said that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was informed of the Tabqa operation, as was the White House, but the assault was being carried out within the authority that has been delegated to American military commanders.
More flexibility for American commanders appears to be coming.
You know, the way wars are supposed to be fought, if you are to believe Sun Tzu or Clausewitz. But, what do those guys know?
Category: Terror War
Good. The guys on the ground get to have a say in how they fight.
How….. novel.
Holy shit, imagine that. Commander’s intent instead of micro managing by politicians and lawyers. We might actually accomplish things now.
One of my sons deployed….not sure where. Knowing him….like his old man….he’ll kick some ass!
What? The Trump White House isn’t continuing with the extreme micro-management of the operations and tactics of our deployed forces?
But, but, how will we ever win on the battlefield without the 26-year-old Ivy League-educated kids with PhDs in Micro-Aggression Studies on the White House staff constantly second-guessing and meddling in the planning and execution of the combat operations of our military commanders in the field?
Not involved in the combat? I have my doubts.
Are we in it to win it?
We had better be this time. I want to do the Happy Dance and pop some popcorn.
You said “popcorn.” ex-OS2 in 5, 4, 3…
*grin*
Where IS he? I hope he’s OK.
Popcorn? Where at? What kind? How much?
White hullless, lots of real butter, fresh and hot, a dishpan full of it, like we used to have when we were kids. Apples and oranges on the side, and favorite beverages at the ready.
So now we’re assisting the Syrians? I thought Bashar al-Assad had a red line drawn on him or something, by the SCoaMF, and was A Bad Person for sliming his own people. Has the White House decided a secular strong man in Damascus is preferable to an Islamic Caliphate?
About fookin’ time.
“The Trump Administration has taken a hands-off approach to the war against ISIS, allowing the commanders on the ground to make decisions;”
Perhaps now, shit can get accomplished.
This news is two weeks old, but it is relevant. Russia will be expanding its naval base in the spring, per this USNI article.
https://news.usni.org/2017/03/13/russia-reported-start-syrian-naval-base-expansion-spring
I would like to know how this is going to affect what we’re over there, as well as what kind of head butts we’ll be getting from Vlad Putin.
Assad, is, well Assad…helping him and the Russkies to end ISIS might indeed stabilize the nation of Syria.
In the end if we have no plan for occupation as I’ve said countless times in the past, stability is better than a power vacuum filled with a dozen different unknowns. You can do business with stability typically…not so much with unknowns.
While I agree in principle, the words “North Korea” come to mind. Sometimes even stability can be a problem. (And yes, I did note your use of the qualifier “typically.”
I am just still trying to figure out which dog we have in this fight. I suspect the only one is “kill off as many assholes as possible here so they don’t pop up there later.”)
Part of me likes this. Then I remember a couple of words from the past, and what happened afterwards.
The words are “Ap Bac.”
Hopefully we’ll not make the same mistakes again.
I was still in high school and it was still being referred to as French Indochina. Vietnam was off in the distance some place.
We are supplying transport helicopters, gunships, training, weapons, and other support. This, too, sounds familiar. Next we will need to provide security for our support people, then we will need….
I, for one, am a little tired of open ended commitments. Perhaps it is too much glare from seeing all those “lights at the end of the tunnel”.
AN update: The ISIS-controlled dam at Tabqa is failing. Movement by coalition forces is slow because the area is heavily mined. The dam is, in fact, in danger of collapsing.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-dam-idUSKBN16X0IR
In addition, 61 bodies were pulled from a collapsed building Mosul. There was no sign that it was the result of an airstrike, and it had, in fact, been boobytrapped. A large vehicle bomb was found nearby.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-mosul-idUSKBN16X09Y