Iraq is a failed state.
http://www.havokjournal.com/world/isis-takes-ramadi-dam-did-we-lose-the-war/
http://www.havokjournal.com/world/isis-takes-ramadi-dam-did-we-lose-the-war/
RIP....I have a feeling he won't be the last.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/is...ld-killed-fighting-against-isis-syria-n373066
It won't.
The only reason I found this significant is because he is the first to die as a fighter and not a journalist. And no it won't cause the USA to do anything. I think it's telling that you don't see this on the front of news like you saw Sotloff or Foley......nobody really cares.Agreed. The media/public think a single life is important. It is not in the grant scheme of things.
In the end, our policy of training Iraqi forces is deeply flawed and will ultimately fail because of the simple fact that you can’t train into people what many of my SOF brethren have called “the give-a-shit factor.”
Yep...you can train them in the best way you know how. You can supply them with the best equipment and technology that you possess.
But, you can't put into them a "fight" that doesn't exist whether out of "fear" or simply "I don't want to."
Two of the worst qualities in a "fighter"...unhealthy fear and laziness.
The Generals are still claiming the Iraqi's are capable and willing if they have good trainers.
Funny, the captains (now Maj/LTC) doing the training were candid in their assessment that the Iraqis would run at first fight (or was it light)
We don't want to mindlessly throw ourselves into the gauntlet, but at some point you have to look at all the death and destruction that could happen while you are "deciding to go the political route." Jihadi Jafar and his RPG don't care what kind of "political reforms" you are working on. On a side note isn't it counter-productive to throw the weight on the Iraqis(who have proven that they can't and won't shoulder said weight) and not explain what you could do to assist the process of government reform?Sure about that, Odierno just said the exact opposite... http://news.yahoo.com/us-army-chief-futile-send-150-000-soldiers-180626655.html
Ha! I'd say this has been a cluster for some time now...THE problem is the Commander in Chief has not issued an overall strategy so the combatant commander has ZERO direction other than apparently maintain "our" man in Baghdad. Obama's legacy is on the line.
This is turning into a cluster.
@poison , I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on whether Israelis would support intervention to assist/save the Druze in Syria.
http://www.i24news.tv/en/opinion/74...he-druze-in-syria-create-an-independent-state