They're supposed to be at the forefront of the battle against ISIS. But U.S. special operators say the Obama administration's restrictive rules of war are harming their mission.
TAMPA, Florida -- Fighting simmering frustration in their ranks over ISIS advances in Iraq and Syria, top U.S. special operations commanders say they are building forces for a multi-generational fight--not a war that will be won in the next few years.
"We talk about it being a 15-year struggle," Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, who heads the Air Force Special Operations Command, said during a special operations forum in Tampa.
But many special operations officers and troops both in Tampa and Washington don't want to wait that long to take the fight to ISIS. They were eager to talk about their aggravation over fighting by remote in Iraq and Syria: having to advise Iraqis, Kurdish Peshmerga, and rebel Syrian fighters from afar instead of joining them in battle.
"We are doing everything through cellphones... It's hard to do much when you can't go outside the wire," said one special operator, using the military jargon for the perimeter of a base.
They blame the hands-off approach on an Obama administration unwilling to risk even small numbers of American lives in battle, burned by the fallout of the loss of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, and intent on preserving the legacy of President Barack Obama's troop drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"You can't say 'We're with you every step of the way, except when you are going on combat operations,'" said a former senior special operations official briefed on the ISIS campaign.
He and many other officers, current and former, at the conference believe both Mosul and Ramadi could have withstood the assault of the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS, if a small number of U.S. military advisers had been working with Iraqi forces at the front lines.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the debates over war strategy.
"They know as long as there are Americans with them, that if they get in trouble, there is intelligence," and medical evacuation, the former senior official said. "They don't have faith in their own chain of command to do it, so rather than being captured and slaughtered by ISIS, they'll break and run."
Another former senior special operations officer said this is the normal tension that occurs every few years between America's political leadership that weighs the public's reaction to U.S. casualties, and a group of professional risk-takers who want to fight alongside those they've trained to fight.
"It's a generational thing," said the officer, who said U.S. forces were similarly frustrated when training Nicaraguan forces in the 1980s. "Every few years, there is a place where the U.S. administration won't let U.S. forces accompany those they've trained," the officer said. "This younger generation has to get over it."
U.S. Central Command's program to train Syrian rebels--a special operations mission--has been delayed partly by congressional funding delays, and partly because it's been difficult to find trustworthy candidates without being inside Syria, according to current and former U.S. officials involved in the process.
Faced with the necessity of having to fight by remote, the special operations commanders asked industry members present at the National Defense Industry Association conference to find new ways for the Americans to communicate remotely with foreign partners in the field--a necessity in places like Syria, where U.S. troops rely on Kurdish and other foreign partners to relay intelligence and targeting information by cellphones that can be hacked or intercepted.
The head of the Navy SEALs, Rear Adm. Brian Losey, said the nature of the fight is changing who they're recruiting, with SEALs needing to raid one day, and work with dipomats, intelligence officers, and foreign officials the next.
"We've started to put more value on intellect," Losey said, with almost half the incoming enlisted SEALs in the past two years have college degrees.
Frequently working in small, far-flung teams, "they are representing America all by themselves," he said.
While some of the special operations commanders at the conference privately voiced concern over ISIS's recent advances, they all said this will be a decades-long war that requires a lot more than U.S. military firepower to win.
"We're patient," Gen. Joseph Votel, the overall leader of U.S. Special Operations Command, said in remarks to The Daily Beast, adding that he hadn't heard rancor over the pace of the fight from his people. "We're moving forward here. We're pretty confident in things we're doing," he added, both training Syrian rebels and advising Iraqi troops.
"In this struggle, you don't kill your way to victory," added Heithold. "You do have to put pressure on the leadership in order to affect them. But it is not in itself the answer."
"That's why we talk about it being a 15-year struggle," he said.
"We can continue to mow the grass and try to take 'em out, but it's not a winning strategy," added Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland, the head of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. "We're going to have to start thinking of root causes," like instability or economic deprivation--something that the military can only really contribute to by training local forces, leaving the rest to other branches of government.
"We have to try to set the conditions so that 8-year-old today doesn't become the jihadi in 10 years... or even less than that," he said.
#4
In the post-9-11, post-OBL? 21st Century, where the USDOD DID-N-STILL foresees no more major wars thru Year 2050 iff not 2100, the job or mission of the US SPECOPS is to fight GWCC like the US Navy ...
* FREEREPUBLIC > BIDEN TELLS US NAVY: "WE HAVE TO
GET READY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE"!
Looks like my childhood dreams or visions where the US Navy-DOD devs Enviro-correct, special Anti-GWCC/Solar Change Oils + Lubes, etc. for its vessels is well on the way or path to becoming true.
[DallasNews] In the past few years, Americans have witnessed shootings at a movie in Colorado, a 3-year-old shooting and killing his father in Indiana and, most recently, nine people killed in a fight among biker gangs in Waco. All terrible and utterly unpreventable tragedies, ones that bloody tyrants want to use to advance even more bloodshed, but in favor of a hostile and already armed state..
Amazingly, Americans seem to see these regular incidents as normal. It’s a powerful and sad testament to how anesthetized we have become to this ongoing violence. And despite all of this violence and loss of life, many in Texas and elsewhere want to increase gun ownership and allow people to openly carry firearms.
Since 9/11, Americans have been deeply concerned about threats to national security. Our tendency has been to define national security only in terms of external threats. A much better way is to see national security is in terms of the well-being of our population. If we think of it this way, the evidence is clear — an heavily armed population in the U.S. is not secure because our culture does not seem to lend itself well to allowing the proliferation of guns. Which scares you more? Putin's hybrid army, or Obama's? More importantly, which is the more urgent threat?
There are many serfs who do not go out and kill people and who make sure their weapons are useless in an emergency But as a whole, Americans do not seem to be able to handle gun ownership in a way that permits maintenance of a civil society. The reality is that the significant numbers of bad apples have spoiled it for those serfs, and it’s time that gun rights organizations such as the National Rifle Association recognize this and begin working with those who want realistic gun control laws, in part as a way of building trust with those who do not own guns. The NRA and other "gun rights" organizations have long worked with the government to slowly take away 2nd Amendment rights.
It’s the one thing we agree on: a desire for a safe and secure society. Guns are, despite what this moke says, an integral part of a safe and secure society.
Often, those against gun control argue that if you take away the guns from regular people, only the criminals will have guns. Thus, people need to be armed in order to protect themselves. This has not proved true in countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea that have fairly recently enacted strict gun control laws. I argue, on the other hand, that possession of guns in the hands of private individuals is the last line of defense against tyrants large, and in the case of the perfessor, small. If you talk about owning guns as a means of fighting crime, you only play into the hands of fascists who want to take first your substance, then your guns and finally your life, not always in that order.
There is simply no need for a civilized society to tolerate the type of gun-related violence that Americans seem to accept as normal. Other modern industrial countries have realized, in some cases long ago, that it is unnecessary for people in a free society to have easy access to guns. Whenever a fascist says "there's no need", there's very much a crying need. As regards to "modern industrial nations", they are not as free as the US.
The solution to gun-related crime is not further arming the public. It involves enacting comprehensive gun control laws that prohibit many forms of gun ownership, significantly curtailing or eliminating access to and the ability to purchase guns, and implementing programs in which the government confiscates or purchases illegal guns already in circulation among the public. Theft and murder are inherent in his suggestion, all couched nicely and neatly in the rubric of "comprehensive gun control laws". Bastard.
For those firearms that are legal, ownership should be tied not only to background checks, but to extensive and mandatory training in the safe use and storage of weapons. Evidence from other countries shows clearly that these types of measures will significantly reduce gun-related deaths and lead to a safer and more secure society. Security, in my view is not a preferred goal. Freedom, and the responsibility that goes with it, is.
In an era of extreme concern about national security, Americans need to recognize that one of the greatest threats to national security is their own heavily armed population. We need to enact legislation that will greatly reduce gun-related crimes and protect people from the dangers associated with widespread gun access and ownership. Unfortunately, our proven inability to handle widespread gun ownership suggests strongly that the way to do this is to deeply restrict access to and ownership of most types of guns. The only "heavily armed population" is the government. Regardless of what this fascist says, government's role in a free society is custodial, not preventative. When a preventative role is assumed, you have a loss of freedom, personal liberty, and the security that is part of freedom and responsibility.
Americans should ask themselves whether they want to live in a society that is secure because everyone is ready to shoot one another or one that is secure because people have peace of mind and experience freedom from violence and the freedom to pursue their lives in safety and happiness rather than fear. I'd rather live in a society where a politician, eager to secure for his government your possession, thinks twice before enacting laws. It makes everyone, even the fascist perfessor safer, and more importantly, freer.
#4
Give us real justice and security and most people will give up their guns or tuck them away for future archeological discovery. However, you know you can't do that, so you whine away about the 'evils' of people who actually practice self defense. People who you would just as easily sacrifice to your false utopian god for your own self centered edification.
#6
I'm more concerned about the insidious proliferation of heavily weaponized drivel. On almost every street corner, you can encounter some purveyor of incredibly badly thought out opinions, and most of them expect to be paid for it.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/22/2015 9:22 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Wife had a conversation with a customer from (scandanavia). Customer said family does not feel safe because the cops are disarmed. Cop has to assess the situation, and then if needs a firearm, has to go back to the vehicle and special unlock a box to brandish a firearm.
#9
I'm sure the thugs of the world (bikers and gangbangers) get all their weapons legally.
I'm also sure they'd happily give up their weapons because then physical strength and willingness to do damage becomes the deciding factor in every confrontation and that tilts the scales massively in their favor.
#11
I've looked over my collection and from careful and thoughtful examination realized. "I'm not heavily armed enough." So I definitely need to spend more money on ammunition and new guns. Wife needs an AR, I probably want a shotgun of some sort, and I don't have a flamethrower.
[DAWN] THE New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... exposé that has rocked the IT and media industries in Pakistain and sent ripples across the political landscape is a story of two halves.
First, there is the central allegation itself: that Axact, an IT company that has spawned many rumours amidst the self-created hype, is effectively a massive fraud, a fake-degree mill on a scale that the country, and the world, has not seen before.
Second, there is the media angle: Bol network, owned by Axact, is set to launch soon, but now stands potentially fatally compromised because of the allegations against its parent organization.
Start with the allegations against Axact. There have long been rumours in IT and business circles about Axact's business model and quite how it was able to generate the massive amounts of cash that the company appeared to be making. No plausible explanations were offered by the company and it routinely dismissed the allegations as nothing more than rivals' jealousies. Clearly, that status quo is no longer tenable.
Fake degrees set-ups are hardly a novelty in Pakistain, but then nothing has been seen before on the scale of the global fraud that Axact is alleged to be conducting. Nothing less than a thorough investigation by the state -- already promised by the federal government -- will be able to conclusively resolve the issue and put to rest once and for all the speculation surrounding Axact. Hopefully, that investigation will be conducted quickly and transparently.
Second, the situation regarding Bol TV network. The media wars that convulsed the industry last year have reappeared with a vengeance. Incredible, often tawdry, allegations are being bandied about by all sides, further tarnishing the industry as a whole and damaging the credibility of all concerned. To be sure, some of Bol's rivals have ecstatically jumped on the allegations made in The New York Times and appear to be doing their best to ensure a potential rival never makes it on air -- or leave it terminally damaged if Bol TV does make it on air.
Yet, what of the manner in which Axact and Bol have responded to the allegations? The pugnacious manner in which Axact executives and some of Bol's frontline stars have reacted to the very serious allegations has been cringe-worthy. Surely, instead of attacking perceived media rivals -- it should be noted that the Axact empire is still fundamentally rooted in IT -- the company ought to explain its business and financial roots.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2015 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Does all this mean my degree in Neurosurgery is invalid ?
Posted by: Victor Frankenstein1818 ||
05/22/2015 0:27 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The REAL scandal is all the people getting fake degrees from actual colleges.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/22/2015 7:38 Comments ||
Top||
[DAWN] A WEEK after the brutal slaying of around 50 Shia Ismaili Moslems in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , there seems to be some forward movement in the case. On Wednesday, Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan told the media that the criminal mastermind as well as the operatives involved in the bus attack were in jug. It was also claimed that the suspects were involved in a large number of crimes, including the murder of activist Sabeen Mahmud, the attempt on American academic Debra Lobo's life as well as various other acts of terrorism in Karachi. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah held a similarly themed briefing, in which he gave greater details about the men in jug, as well as the crimes they have allegedly committed. While the men have not been linked to any group, one suspect is said to have been in contact with slain Al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... , as well as his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... . Much of the information has apparently been obtained through confessions, hence it will be up to the joint interrogation team to dig deeper and come up with solid evidence that can be used to prosecute these individuals. What is of particular concern, however, is that most of the suspects were "well-educated", reportedly having studied disciplines as diverse as business administration, engineering and Islamic studies from reputable public and private universities in Karachi. While this is not for the first time that claims have emerged of 'educated' murderous Moslems carrying out acts of terrorism, it certainly raises a red flag that the state and academic institutions in Pakistain cannot afford to ignore.
While the generally accepted stereotype of the Islamist bully boy in Pakistain is that of the madressah-going talib usually from an economically disadvantaged background, the recent revelations -- as well as past incidents -- point to another kind of hard boy fighter: the university-educated, tech-savvy jihadi. Students linked to hard boy outfits have in the past been picked up from varsities in Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... while more recently, a public university in Islamabad was accused of promoting a sectarian doctrine on campus. Also, many of the Western jihadi fighters currently involved in conflicts in the Middle East come from educated backgrounds. While it would be premature to label Pakistain's university campuses as hotbeds of extremism, there is certainly a problem with educated young individuals willing to take up the gun in the name of faith. The general rightward shift of society over the last few decades, as well as the establishment's overt and covert policy of supporting so-called jihad, is partly to blame. These individuals may also be adopting the path of militancy in reaction to perceived injustices against Moslems in different parts of the world. Whatever the cause, the state -- with the help of academia -- needs to address the issue of extremism on the campus before more space is lost to fanatical, murderous ideologies.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2015 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I thought it was about the BDS/anti-man/anti-all movement on Amerikan campuses
[DAWN] THE tragedy that has been unfolding in the Andaman Sea has only been turned into a spectacle of even more distressing proportions given that it is occurring just out of sight of some of the world's finest beach resorts: boats carrying thousands upon thousands of Rohingya Moslem migrants, mostly from Myanmar but also from Bangladesh, have been subjected to a deadly match between Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Floundering on the high seas and in many cases abandoned by their crew of human traffickers, these vessels carry people that are sick, hungry and urgently in need of rescue -- but the three countries mentioned above, that are in a position to provide immediate succour, have been towing the boats out of their own territorial waters to effectively make them somebody else's problem. On board the boats, meanwhile, desperate conditions prevail, with deaths when vessels capsize, people thrown overboard in fights over dwindling food and water supplies, and sickness and starvation. Thankfully, on Wednesday, Malaysia and Indonesia finally capitulated and offered shelter to 7,000 of these people; yet both countries made clear that the assistance was temporary and that they would take no more. Thailand remains flint-hearted, but it has said that it will not, at least, force boats back out to sea.
If this is a humanitarian catastrophe for which the behaviour of the three Southeast Asian neighbours has drawn censure, what can be said of the irresponsible stance taken by Myanmar? It has denied any role in the crisis and did not join a meeting of regional foreign ministers on Wednesday where the deal to provide temporary shelter was struck. Yet the reality is that the Rohingya community has for generations been persecuted here, denied recognition, land rights, and subjected to forced labour. While these people feel they have no option but to flee by whatever dangerous means are available to them, the situation is a blot on the world's conscience. Ways need to be found to convince Myanmar to recognise and address the problem.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/22/2015 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
It's now indisputably clear that Obama is no more than a paper tiger. His threats against the Syrian dictatorship meant nothing but vanished into thin air, replaced by squirming and prattle. Not only is this response important in itself, but it has implications for other hostile states, notably Russia, China, and especially Iran. If Obama dares not handle the weakling in Damascus, how might he venture to do so with the more formidable foes in Moscow, Peking, and Tehran? For this reason, the issue of Assad's chemical weapons is crucial to American foreign policy. Like many observers, I count the months (still another 20 of them) until this president is gone and the United States of America has an opportunity for a fresh start to stand by its word, live up to its historic reputation, and protect itself.
I don't think anyone who's read Rantburg for more than five minutes has any illusion that B.O. is anything more than an empty suit. As a "community organizer" he's top notch. As a sleazy politician he can't be beat. He's a lot better golfer than he is a leader or a statesman. Pipes could have written the same piece five years ago and hardly changed a word.
Opposite color than a white flag, but just the same effect, surrenders to the opposition with out a real fight, but with a black flag he seems, with his rhetoric, to really be fighting the good fight. "Rah, Rah, look at me , I'm a fighter" then he drops the flag and runs.
[TakisMagazine] Bill Nye the Science Guy gave a commencement speech at Rutgers on Sunday. Reading the speech left me thinking that if this is America's designated Science Guy, I can be the nation's designated swimsuit model.
...What did the Science Guy have to say to the Rutgers graduates? Well, he warned them of the horrors of climate change, which he linked to global inequality.
#2
Important to note that Nye has no scientific credentials.
But he does hold a patent for creating a magnifying slash out of a container of water. So every tine you pour a glass of water into a clear glass and look thru the glass, you may be infringing on his patent.
#3
Once you've heard a girl person with a degree in Biochemistry, orating on the advantages of "natural" foods---nothing else can ever surprise you, CF.
#6
William Sanford "Bill" Nye[1] (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, writer, scientist, and former mechanical engineer, best known as the host of the Disney/PBS children's science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993–98) and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator.
PLUS -Nye holds several United States patents, including one for ballet pointe shoes and another for an educational magnifying glass created by filling a clear plastic bag with water.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/22/2015 13:41 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I think he was one of a comedy troupe up in Seattle and his Bill Nye the science guy bit took off and became more serious and less comedy when he got his own show.
#10
Fakers, quakers, don't pass by --
Step right up to see Bill Nye!
You'll laugh and learn -- I wouldn't lie --
But do haul ass -- the end is nigh!
Is he god, or just vaudevillian?
See for yourself -- one thin quadrillion!
Okay, folks, you've seen the show.
Please keep moving, left you go.
Leave your children at the door --
Two fun years with Algore Corps!
Earthlings! Please do not defy
Bill "Shill" Nye, Compliance Guy.
[ArutzSheva] This is the tenth piece I've written about The New York Times and the place is still standing, so I must be doing something wrong.
Yes, I want the Times out of business, just as the Times wants Israel out of business. Fair is fair. G*d, we're so tired of being the Worlds' canaries in a cola mine.
#1
Freedom of the Press was about the technology that allowed the free flow of information. It was not about a social institution that engages in lies, distortions and the obstruction of that flow of information.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[DAWN] THE 
[DAWN] A WEEK after the brutal slaying of around 50 Shia Ismaili 
Zawahiri
While the generally accepted stereotype of the Islamist
on Sunday. Reading the speech left me thinking that if this is America's designated Science Guy, I can be the nation's designated swimsuit model.
