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| Iraq |
| Anbar province calls for U.S. "Boots" to stop ISIS |
| 2014-10-13 |
| ISIS fighters stood Saturday on the verge of taking not just a key Syrian town along the Turkish border, but also an entire province on Baghdad's doorstep -- spurring leaders of that province to urgently plead for U.S. ground troops to halt the Islamist extremist group's rapid, relentless assault. Should all of Anbar fall, the Sunni extremists would rule from the perimeter of Iraq's capital to Raqqa in Syria (at least), according to the provincial council's deputy head, Falleh al-Issawi. To stave off Anbar's collapse, provincial leaders have asked Iraq's central government to intervene immediately and for U.S. ground forces to be deployed there, said al-Issawi. The Iraqi government said it has not received any official request from Anbar province for U.S. military intervention and ground forces to help in the fight against ISIS, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's media office said Saturday. The Iraqi government has been adamant that it does not want U.S. forces on the ground, and President Barack Obama has not shown any intent to deploy any. A U.S. defense official said Saturday that Iraq's government hasn't asked for any more American troops beyond those already in Iraq.And if they did, the official added, "The U.S. will not deploy combat ground forces to Iraq. And we remain focused on enabling the (Iraqi military) in the fight against ISIL through our advise/assist efforts and the air campaign." In Iraq, ISIS appears to be targeting cities along the Euphrates River. Al-Karhout said his provincial council has intelligence that ISIS has dispatched as many as 10,000 fighters to Anbar from Syria and Mosul in northern Iraq. The Iraqis' ultimate goal is to take back some of the vast areas, in both Iraq and Syria, that ISIS controls. But right now, Iraqi forces appear to be mostly trying to survive, taking defensive positions and using Apache helicopters again, even after two were shot down in the area this week, according to the U.S. official. Iraqi army forces and Anbar tribesmen fighting alongside them have threatened to abandon their weapons if the U.S. military does not intervene to help them. Some 1,800 tribesmen in the province have been killed or injured in the struggle. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #11 The Iraqi Army retreats again ... * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAQI CITY FALLS TO ISIL AS ARMY WITHDRAWS - AL JAZEERA. * SAME, TOPIX > [Various] ISIS TAKES OVER MAJOR IRAQI MILITARY TRAINING CAMP, at Hit. * IIRC SAME, TOPIX > BBC NEWS - UP TO 180,000 [180.0 - 188.0K] IRAQIS FLEE ISIS ADVANCE IN ANBAR. VERSUS * TOPIX > [Fox News] ODIERNO: ISIS, RUSSIAN THREATS MAY SCUTTLE PLANS TO SHRINK ARMY. * BHARAT RAKSHAK > IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER SAYS US, BRITAIN CREATED ISLAMIC STATE TERRORIST GROUP. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-10-13 23:43 |
| #10 The U.S. has great war fighters still. They are as good or better than ever. However, they are in it to win the conflict. They don't want to be shackled with chicken$hit PC and ROEs. The troops spirit to overcome and win should not be p!ssed away. The quality of our troops is not the problem, the problem is that we have no leadership or will in Washington. Leadership seldom emerges from the gray mass of Communists and bureaucratic fawning sycophants found in government today. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-10-13 17:21 |
| #9 What? #HASHTAGs aren't enough? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2014-10-13 16:45 |
| #8 That was played as a war, and the kids could build more than facebook pages. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2014-10-13 15:35 |
| #7 Ok, Ok, but I just couldn't resist. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-10-13 12:48 |
| #6 WTF is the problem now? No more USA? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-10-13 12:48 |
| #5 I seem to remember from my high school history class and other sources that when the US joined a large skirmish in 1941 the Germans, Italians, Japanese and assorted hangers on were defeated in little more than 3 1/2 years. WTF is the problem now? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-10-13 12:45 |
| #4 Rice came out yesterday with another statement about "how long" the conflict with ISIS will take to resolve. Her's was yet another in a string of regime talking points which indicated Champ is leaving this exudating boil for the next administration. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-10-13 12:13 |
| #3 Maliki needed US troops out of the way so he could loot the country, and screw everyone who isn't a Shia. He didn't have room while we were there. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2014-10-13 12:05 |
| #2 Nothing like having to deal with a $hit sandwich. Obama was keen on high-tailing it out of Iraq--the Kumbaya, choom-gang, fund-raiser-in-chief, golf addict Pres. He can't even vote "present." Maliki didn't want our troops there either. Obama didn't lean on Maliki hard enough for a SOFA agreement. Now when Iraq's Anbar Province is in danger of falling, they want us to save their bacon (just a U.S. figure of speech). We spilled a lot of blood and spent a lot of treasure in Iraq. What did we get out of the deal--nada, zip? Forgive us, if we don't show a great deal of enthusiasm for your current plight. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-10-13 09:48 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 2014-10-13 05:04 |