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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Islamic State Isn't Winning |
| 2014-10-14 |
| A Bloomberg Op-Ed: As so often when it comes to the use of U.S. military power, Senator John McCain has clarified one side of the argument: "They're winning and we're not," he said over the weekend of Islamic State's effort to build a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. It certainly looks that way at the moment. In Iraq, Islamic State has taken over 80 percent of Anbar province and is closing on Baghdad. The situation is grave enough that Anbar's provincial council appealed for direct U.S. intervention on the ground. In Syria, Islamic State fighters have moved into the city of Kobani, where the vastly outgunned and outnumbered Kurdish defenders appear doomed. Yet two months into a campaign that was always going to take one or more years, it is too soon to declare failure. Even if President Barack Obama's strategy is achieving less than anyone would hope, honest debate over its success needs to take into account what might have happened -- or might still happen -- without the coalition airstrikes: The answer is genocide, further sexual slavery, long-term regional instability, and a free zone for the training and organization of jihadi terrorists. True, the Iraqi army has been even more disappointing as a fighting force than expected. And Turkey's reluctance to join the coalition against Islamic State has proved a significant obstacle. Even so, airstrikes have prevented the worst from happening, as efforts are made to improve the support on the ground. Indeed, the true lesson of Kobani is that Islamic State is hardly a superhuman army, as it is sometimes portrayed. Outnumbered, using Kalashnikovs against tanks and cut off from resupply, the Kurdish defenders of the city have held on for weeks -- aided, of course, by belated airstrikes. If Turkey would open its border to supplies and reinforcement, the Kurds could push Islamic State back, as they did earlier this year when the attackers hadn't yet acquired U.S. armor from Iraq. Similarly, in northern Iraq, the Kurdish Peshmerga have held their own and even taken some ground, here again without tanks or heavy artillery. Coalition pledges of arms have so far been only weakly followed through. Over the weekend, Turkey finally agreed to do more to help the coalition in Iraq, although just how much remains unclear. The U.S. strategy could be better handled. The coalition should certainly be more flexible and responsive than it has been: The recent use of Apache helicopters to drive Islamic State away from Baghdad's airport is an example of the higher-risk deployments U.S. commanders have to be able to make. More should have been done by now, too, to arm and aid the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, who are by far the most effective and determined fighters on the ground. The U.S. will need to take a greater risk, as McCain suggests, in inserting special forces spotters and trainers into hot spots such as Kobani. Even then, this will be a long fight, which Islamic State will no doubt at times seem to dominate. And in a situation this complex, it will always be easy to play armchair general. But the underlying U.S. strategy -- to help the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds of Iraq, Syria and the wider Middle East unite in their fight against Islamic State -- remains the best available option and should be given time to make progress. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #16 The big zero wanted to be the anti-Bush and he is succeeding beyond all expectations. Vote for change; yeah, change for the worse. |
| Posted by: Whereter Ebbenter4423 2014-10-14 16:30 |
| #15 re: #1 #1 Lemme see if I have this straight: * The Islamic State is not a state, is not Islamic and is not winning ... a not war with non coalition forces |
| Posted by: Alpha2c 2014-10-14 16:21 |
| #14 From the Rooters story: "Secrecy is the most important element of White Shroud's work," said Abu Aboud. The group comprises four-man "cells" that work independently of each other, Abu Aboud said. Has an SAS ring to it....Rooters link. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-10-14 15:06 |
| #13 White |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-10-14 14:56 |
| #12 Protect the Kurds. Protect Israel. Play defense and let Isis grow. Let them act as a roach motel for all the crazy wanna-be psycho Islamists in the world. Embed forward air observers with Kurds and others, then whack them and whack them very, very, very hard. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2014-10-14 14:55 |
| #11 The Daily Mail reports that the group, known as 'White Shroud', is formed from the remnants of an anti-Assad group that was crushed by ISIS and claims to have killed more than 100 ISIS fighters. Its name refers to a death shroud it says awaits the ISIS fighters who have wrought havoc on the Syrian people. Mr Aboud added that secrecy was paramount to White Shroud's operations, and that the group works in four-man 'cells' who operate independently of one another for safety reasons. So far, the group has been operating in the area around the town of Al Bukamal, near the Iraqi border, picking off ISIS fighters when it has the opportunity. |
| Posted by: Ebbomosh Hupemp2664 2014-10-14 14:50 |
| #10 ISIS is certainly winning defectors from Al Q, Nusra and others. ISIS is also winning defectors from civil society, or what passes for it, in the dozens from some countries, the hundreds from others and the thousands from others. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2014-10-14 14:08 |
| #9 They may not be "Winning", but they sure as hell ain't losing. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2014-10-14 11:09 |
| #8 Over at PJM, Richard Fernandez has a good article about the psychosis of the Left and its inability or unwillingness to embrace reality. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-10-14 10:37 |
| #7 Breief summary ofb the article: Our beloved Littme Father of the People, Obama (awed silence) is right and your lying eyes are wrong. |
| Posted by: JFM 2014-10-14 09:33 |
| #6 Whose fault is this? A's obviously. he got us into Iraq in the first place. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2014-10-14 09:32 |
| #5 Have I missed anything? You missed whose fault all this is. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-10-14 09:04 |
| #4 He who is on the defensive is not winning. Who's on the defensive? |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-10-14 08:49 |
| #3 If they're smart, and they are, they'll not go into Baghdad until the southern LOCS are secured and closed to thru traffic. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-10-14 06:07 |
| #2 Or it will be a short fight. IS shootdown a civilian plane out of Baghdad Airport, panicked evacuation of westerners by road, along with a million odd shiia. Chaos from Baghdad to Basra. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2014-10-14 06:04 |
| #1 Lemme see if I have this straight: * The Islamic State is not a state, is not Islamic and is not winning. * Turkey is going to help although they have not actually agreed to do anything. * The U.S. strategy is to help the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds of Iraq, Syria and the wider Middle East unite in their fight against Islamic State, all of whom basically hate each other and the aforementioned Turks. Have I missed anything? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-10-14 05:39 |