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| Iraq |
| U.S. Says 'Combat Advisers' May Battle IS in Iraq, Strikes to Target 'Safe Havens' in Syria |
| 2014-09-17 |
| [AnNahar] The United States plans to strike the Islamic State group in its Syrian strongholds and could send military advisers into combat alongside Iraqi troops, American commanders said Tuesday. Military leaders warned of a further escalation in their battle against the jihadists just as two branches of the rival Al-Qaeda group called for a united front against the war coalition Washington is building. U.S. warplanes have been targeting IS jihadists in northern Iraq since August 8, and in recent days hit the gunnies southwest of Baghdad for the first time, in a significant expansion of the campaign. Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start on his third quart... Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told US politicians that plans are being laid to hit targets in Syria, where the IS group is holding hostages and has a stronghold in the city of Raqa. "This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria, including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure," Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee. But the U.S. military's top-ranking officer, General Martin Dempsey, told the same hearing the bombing would not match the huge raids that accompanied the start of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. "This will not look like 'shock and awe' because that is not how ISIL is organized, but it will be persistent and sustainable," Dempsey said, using the term Washington used for its 2003 bombardment. Dempsey also went further that any U.S. official has gone before in admitting that the military advisers that President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek... has dispatched to bolster Iraqi forces could get involved in combat. Obama's administration has insisted that his action against the IS hard boyz is not the start of another U.S. ground war in the Middle East, and that there will be no large-scale American invasion. But nearly 300 U.S. military advisers are already working with Iraqi government forces, 300 more are on their way and Dempsey refused to rule out their providing "close combat advising." "To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president," Dempsey said. Dempsey said the advisers are "very much in a combat advisory role" and that there is "no intention" at the moment for them to engage in combat: "I don't see it to be necessary right now." But he said if there were an "extraordinarily complex" operation planned by Iraqi forces -- such as a bid to recapture the rebel-held city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... -- then advisers could head to the front. Dempsey said any use of U.S. troops in the field would be approved by Obama, explaining: "He told me to come back to him on a case-by-case basis." Obama has vowed to expand American efforts and U.S. diplomats are scrambling to put together an international coalition for a "relentless" campaign against the jihadists. The slow coming together of this alliance drew a fierce reaction from Al-Qaeda's branches in Yemen and in North Africa, who said jihadist forces must also unite against the common threat. In a joint statement, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) urged their "brothers" in Iraq and Syria to "stop killing each other and unite against the American campaign and its evil coalition that threatens us all." The Islamic State group began as a successor to Al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch, but has beat feet from the group's shadow and clashed with its surrogates in Syria, while claiming leadership of global jihad. The U.S. strikes against IS fighters in the Sadr al-Yusufiyah area, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Baghdad, was the first in support of Iraqi forces near the capital. They bring the number of U.S. air strikes across Iraq to 162. The CIA estimates that the Islamic State organization may be able to field as many as 31,500 fighters -- many of them foreign volunteers. Iraqi security front man Lieutenant General Qassem Atta welcomed the expanded American action, saying the U.S. "carried out an important strike against an enemy target in Sadr al-Yusufiyah." Sadr al-Yusufiyah lies in the Euphrates Valley, between the bad boy stronghold of Fallujah and the key battleground of Jurf al-Sakhr, further south. It is one of the closest front lines to Baghdad. Western nations and 10 Arab countries, including regional powerhouses Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and Egypt, have agreed to back the U.S.-led campaign, but not all will engage in military action. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #9 "SOG" > sniff, sniff. OTOH, as per CNN AM looks like theres a possible disturbance in the Force between POTUS Bammer + JSoC Chair Gen. Martin Dempsey, USA as the Bammer made it absolutely positively categorically undeniably .... clear that the US will N-O-T be waging ground war in Iraq andor Syria - PERIOD! AKA "BY ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT ...". More from GEN. DEMPSEY via the Net ... ... * TOPIX > [WaPo] DEMPSEY: ONE-HALF OF IRAQI ARMY NOT OK AS US PARTNERS. Wid the remaining one-half in need of re-org, retraining, + reequipping to be of value to the US or the new Anti-ISIS Coalition. Dempsey's statement is roughly consistent wid those in Congress whom argue that the US needs to dev a "ENTIRELY NEW ARMY/FIGHTING FORCE" to either rid of Baby Assad, OR to defeat the ISIS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-09-17 23:16 |
| #8 I suspect Boots on the Ground will occur the second Wednesday in November. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2014-09-17 23:15 |
| #7 So if we won't have 'boots on the ground' fighting, then our combat 'advisors' will be wearing sneakers or sandals? golf shoes |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-09-17 15:57 |
| #6 CIA should also let slip (by way of Snowden if possible) that there was an ISIS/Muslim brotherhood/Iran plan to spread Ebola at Mecca that was stopped by Israel. That would make some brains pop. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2014-09-17 14:43 |
| #5 US should say we are sending a ton of unarmed advisors and otherwise easily killable Americans to the city of Fallujia and then bomb the Holy crap out of the place when the mob of Jihadi' show up. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2014-09-17 14:41 |
| #4 So if we won't have 'boots on the ground' fighting, then our combat 'advisors' will be wearing sneakers or sandals? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-09-17 10:21 |
| #3 MACV-SOG rerun anyone? Posted by: OldSpook 'Rurun' possibly, but I suspect the ISIS cash bounties for captured American servicemen are much higher than what the Vietcong or NVA might have offered. I hope and pray we don't one day soon, find out. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-09-17 09:41 |
| #2 MACV-SOG rerun anyone? |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-09-17 08:38 |
| #1 The lead units will have a campaign patch that says "Nobel Peace Prize Representative". You may already be a winner! |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2014-09-17 07:50 |