Archived material Access restricted Article
Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Thu 09/17/2015 View Wed 09/16/2015 View Tue 09/15/2015 View Mon 09/14/2015 View Sun 09/13/2015 View Sat 09/12/2015 View Fri 09/11/2015
1
2015-09-17 Iraq
US troops return to Iraq to battle Islamic State — report
Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.
Posted by trailing wife 2015-09-17 00:00:00|| || Front Page|| [11131 views ]  Top
 File under: Islamic State 

#1 160?
Posted by JohnQC 2015-09-17 07:59||   2015-09-17 07:59|| Front Page Top

#2 I hope this is not true.
Posted by jvalentour 2015-09-17 08:25||   2015-09-17 08:25|| Front Page Top

#3 Task force Obama?
Posted by Shipman 2015-09-17 10:45||   2015-09-17 10:45|| Front Page Top

#4 In slipers or birkenstocks?
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2015-09-17 11:19||   2015-09-17 11:19|| Front Page Top

#5 How many are breast feeding?

I'm in favor of either staying the hell away from the whole area or of kicking any and all ass and going full MacArthur in Japan afterwards.
Posted by AlanC 2015-09-17 11:25||   2015-09-17 11:25|| Front Page Top

#6 g(r)omgoru,
Nice post. Thanks.
Posted by Sven the pelter 2015-09-17 11:27||   2015-09-17 11:27|| Front Page Top

#7 Putin knows that if his forces bring stability to the middle east:

  • The huge refugee crisis will abate in Europe

  • Putin will gain a more favorable standing in Europe than the United States

  • The US world foreign policy failures under the Obama/Kerry cause domestic difficulties within the US banking and credit system when the dollar collapses under the weight of the US's huge international debt obligations and the world bank will see no reason to be cooperative in a US recovery efforts.


Posted by  Ebbomosh Hupemp2664 2015-09-17 12:54||   2015-09-17 12:54|| Front Page Top

#8 These are mere replacements for the current group cycling out. No surprise meter??
Posted by illeagle 2015-09-17 13:11||   2015-09-17 13:11|| Front Page Top

#9 #6 It's TW's post, my comment.
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2015-09-17 13:28||   2015-09-17 13:28|| Front Page Top

#10 If we had simply left a brigade combat team in place, and an additional training brigade, and an air wing, we would be talking about US drawdown from a pacified Iraq instead of this shit.

Put the blame suqarely on Obama and the left for bailing, and on Bush for not getting rid of Maliki's corrupt Shia kelptocrats and Iranian proxies.
Posted by OldSpook 2015-09-17 15:21||   2015-09-17 15:21|| Front Page Top

#11 I blame not wanting to face historical facts. You can't make a democracy out of any country. If you lack any tradition, a viable middle class, and secured borders, it's not going to evolve on its own. Obama and Bush (and the Beltway - and throw in academia) all operated on fantasies.
Posted by Procopius2k 2015-09-17 15:35||   2015-09-17 15:35|| Front Page Top

#12 Actually, Iraq did have a middle class and reasonably secure borders.
Posted by Pappy 2015-09-17 16:13||   2015-09-17 16:13|| Front Page Top

#13 Not large enough, and when you directly border Iran, Syria, and Saudi, you're not going to have 'secure' borders, unless you're the biggest SOB on the block (which they were to the extent the Americans provided the SOB function).
Posted by Procopius2k 2015-09-17 17:18||   2015-09-17 17:18|| Front Page Top

#14 Iraq had things that most other middle east countries didn't: a middle class, far more secular society that produced decent engineers and doctors (female ones too), etc. Its more of the British legacy, like in Jordan, excepting when the Baath party took over. But the basis was there if we had gone in heavy back in 91 - or simply put the surge in and maintained it this past time. I did work, and a republic was being shaped before we abandoned it to devolve into a "democracy". So I disagree Proc - there was a distinct possibility that the society there could have been reshaped with sufficient time and force, and we did have that in place prior to the precipitous dump-n-run we did. (Think more of the Swiss federation toward its early years, much like the US was These United States instead of The United States)

Now though? Too late. Its already fractured, and its best to jsut tear it into 3 parts, and go ahead and establish Kurdistan, Shia-stan around Baghdad and let the Saudis pay their Wahabbists to control Sunni-stan.
Posted by OldSpook 2015-09-17 19:24||   2015-09-17 19:24|| Front Page Top

#15 Was it a middle class that saw itself as Iraqi rather than Shiite or Sunni, as Iraqi more than tribe? That's part of my definition of 'middle class', not just economic. So, who did they vote for and why to lead the country? Not enough to overcome tribe/sect loyalties among the whole population. [and, yes that's evolving here as well].
Posted by Procopius2k 2015-09-17 19:34||   2015-09-17 19:34|| Front Page Top

#16 Pretty much Iraqi, though they certainly didn't forget what tribe they belonged to.
Posted by Pappy 2015-09-17 23:28||   2015-09-17 23:28|| Front Page Top

23:28 Pappy
23:06 Sven the pelter
22:28 JosephMendiola
22:26 Rambler in Virginia
21:35 gorb
21:33 Nero
21:32 Frank G
21:09 Frank G
19:34 Procopius2k
19:24 OldSpook
18:46 anon1
18:45 swksvolFF
18:42 anon1
18:32 anon1
18:30 anon1
18:20 anon1
18:20 JHH
18:16 JHH
18:15 anon1
18:14 Mike Kozlowski
18:03 anon1
17:55 anon1
17:35 trailing wife
17:19 SteveS









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com