Iraq and ISIS Discussion

Iraqi forces have no will to fight.


Obviously this has been said within the forum on more than one occasion, but to see an active member of the current administration be so frontal, I have to admit surprise. I'm to the point where I don't know who or what to believe anymore, so al-Zamili's claim that the U.S. bailed on promised support does not offend me, but it does explain why the Secretary of Defense would say what he said (covering of ass). In the end, I believe that the Iraq's pussied out, and SecDef is fed up. At the same time, it makes sense that the Iraq's have no will to fight without direct American support, regardless of the odds, and would rather run and blend into the hills rather than defend their homeland.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...ays-iraq-will-to-fight-at-issue-after-ramadi/

The Iraqi forces defeated by Islamic State fighters in their takeover of Ramadi were not outnumbered and in fact showed “no will to fight,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Sunday, an indication that even a top-ranking administration official thinks President Obama’s plan to defeat the extremist group appears in trouble.

The Iraqi forces outnumbered their opposition in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, in the battle last weekend, Carter said on CNN's "State of the Union.”

“What apparently happened is the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight,” he said. “They were not outnumbered. In fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force. That says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves."

Hakim al-Zamili, the head of Iraq’s parliamentary defense and security committee, immediately responded to Carter’s comments, saying U.S. military commanders are pointing fingers for their own failure to properly support the Iraqi military in the fight against the Islamic State.

He also said Carter's comments were "unrealistic and baseless" and that the U.S. military is trying to "throw the blame on somebody else."

The fall of Ramadi, in central Iraq and about 70 miles west of the capital city of Baghdad, has sparked more questions about the effectiveness of the administration's approach in Iraq -- a blend of retraining and rebuilding the Iraqi Army, prodding Baghdad to reconcile with the nation's Sunnis and bombing Islamic State group targets from the air without committing American ground combat troops.
 
I haven't seen this much candor and honesty since Secretary of Defense Gates held the post. Good on the SECDEF for telling it like it is. It'll upset the Iraqi's but at this point our rhetoric can't be all roses and rainbows.
 
Iraqi forces have no will to fight.
The Iraqi forces defeated by Islamic State fighters in their takeover of Ramadi were not outnumbered and in fact showed “no will to fight,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Sunday, an indication that even a top-ranking administration official thinks President Obama’s plan to defeat the extremist group appears in trouble.
Even this is a political kowtow IMHO. Defeat them? Plan? I don't think he wants to defeat them. He sure isn't acting like it or talking like it.
 
Hakim al-Zamili, the head of Iraq’s parliamentary defense and security committee, immediately responded to Carter’s comments, saying U.S. military commanders are pointing fingers for their own failure to properly support the Iraqi military in the fight against the Islamic State.

He also said Carter's comments were "unrealistic and baseless" and that the U.S. military is trying to "throw the blame on somebody else."

Go fuck yourself, stop playing the victim game.


On a separate note, is isis really heading for Jordan right now? I'd love to see Jordan unleash like we know they can, and have. Better yet, with Israeli support, in tandem.
 
Ordinarily a news release isn't a big deal, but I thought this was interesting for a few reasons:

1) The 332nd was the largest Wing in Iraq "back in the day."
2) You don't need a Wing unless you're dropping a number of flying squadrons under said Wing.
3)
“We are standing up a new wing, a traditional Air Expeditionary Wing,” said Kocheski. “It’s large and expanding in the terms of mission sets.”
The wing will eventually incorporate a rescue group to support Operation Inherent Resolve within the wing’s area of operation. Then the wing will also look to add an air advisory group to assist the Iraqi air force, Iraqi army and aviation air defense grow and evolve.

Iraq Surge 2.0 in....3...2....

http://www.afcent.af.mil/News/Artic...32nd-air-expeditionary-wing-reactivation.aspx
 
Feel free to pm me for contact info on highside if you have it. I can give you some basic updates on what's going on there.
 
Feel free to pm me for contact info on highside if you have it. I can give you some basic updates on what's going on there.
Uh, classified information is distribution on a need to know basis. I don't think curiosity brought on by an Internet thread translates to a need to know.
 
Uh, classified information is distribution on a need to know basis. I don't think curiosity brought on by an Internet thread translates to a need to know.

I think you might be misunderstanding what basic updates are, or have zero experience working on highside. Appreciate the reminder for everyone though.
 
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