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Home Front: WoT
U.S. Says Syrian Rebel Force of 12,000-15,000 Needed to Roll Back IS Group
2014-09-27
[AnNahar] A Syrian rebel force of 12,000 to 15,000 will be needed to push back Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
 bandidos turbans in the country's east, three times the number of fighters due to be trained by the United States, the top U.S. military officer said Friday.

In offering the estimate, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said building up a viable rebel force on the ground would be vital to rolling back the gains of the IS group in Syria -- but warned it would take time and patience.
Posted by:trailing wife

#6  Matt has studied the writings of Wun Sun Blam.
Posted by: Shipman   2014-09-27 17:07  

#5  Looks like Dempsey is going to dare 0 to pull a Truman instead of resigning.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2014-09-27 12:40  

#4   5,000 recruits
Another inept fantasy of 'surgical strikes' and 1:10 kill ratios.
Posted by: Skidmark   2014-09-27 12:21  

#3  15,000 Syrian rebels, or one SSBN.
Posted by: Matt   2014-09-27 10:50  

#2  What are the ROEs going to be? Gloves off or PC emasculating BS? Armored vehicles and tanks? Close-air suport? Ground intelligence?
Posted by: JohnQC   2014-09-27 10:30  

#1  These numbers are just to achieve rough parity - would still need 2-3X more to defeat the ISIS.

Bear in mind that suppos deadly ISIS rival + fellow AQ-affiliate Al-NUSRA has now repor merged or joined wid the ISIS in alliance - other non-Qaeda Militias in both Syria + Iraq, etc. will likely become inspired to do the same.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2014-09-27 00:16  

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