ISIS/ISIL conflict in Syria/Iraq (No OpEd, No Politics)

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

The Iraqi government simply is not capable of sustaining itself without American support. This is the case with all puppet governments, and the current Iraqi government is still very much a puppet government. Given enough time and stability, it might have transitioned into a legitimate government, but they obviously do not have that anymore.

American intervention is only going to band-aid the situation. What is going to prevent ISIS from simply falling back and wait until the Americans leave again? Is the US willing to spend more time and resources to prop up the Iraqi government?

What Iraq really needs is someone who has the power to defeat ISIS by itself, and who is willing to stay in the region long term. After all, you can defeat ISIS only to have another group pop up in its place. You cannot defeat radical islamic ideology with bombs.

A good first step would be to help Assad stamp out the rebellion in Syria. Of course, we all know that would never happen.

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

solarz said:

What Iraq really needs is someone who has the power to defeat ISIS by itself, and who is willing to stay in the region long term. After all, you can defeat ISIS only to have another group pop up in its place. You cannot defeat radical islamic ideology with bombs.

A good first step would be to help Assad stamp out the rebellion in Syria. Of course, we all know that would never happen.

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ISIS has come completely out if the closet and showed itself to be the genocidal tyrants that they are.

Air power can most assuredly be used to destroy their bastions, depots, command and control, and any large groups they gather in. This would require much more than hat the Obama Amin has done to date. But some of what they have one as helped and mor pressure can be exerted to get more air power used.

The Kurds and more and more Iraqis are showing the will to fight them and win.

So, the US, Turkey, and others can assist in stamping this group out by providing the air power, if the people on the ground have the will and leadership to act too.

In order to keep another group from forming, you have to have a national leadership that will employ tactics like I pointed out in recommending the book, "One tribe at a time."

The US successfully employed these strategies before in Iraq, and both Shia and Sunni tribal leaders responded together and drove Al Queda, Iraq, to ground and then out of Iraq into northern Syria. Now it s years later and they reformed and have returned again.

The Iraqi leadership could employ those same tactics again if it was willing. In the end, they are the ones who must do so.

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

At this point, only a brutal dictator like Saddam or Assad's father stand a reasonable chance to defeat ISIS unless boots on the grounds from US. An united Iraqi government can't simply get the job done. It will always fall due to century old sectarian divisions and squabbling between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. The current political transition mess in Baghdad under enemies at the gate condition is a perfect example of this.

If an united government somehow succeeded to push ISIS back, Kurds would definitely demand greater autonomy which would include exporting oil separate from the central Iraqi government. A thorny issue that will no doubt weaken unity and create opportunity for ISIS to exploit after they recovered.

The current limited US air strike is only helping Iraqi Army holding the line, buying them more time. To seriously defeat ISIS, US needs to target their supply bases and training camps in Syria. A strategy that is going to ruffle some feathers in Washington as well as in Saudi Arabia, not to mention some embarrassing questions about supplying weapons to anti-Assad forces. Defeating ISIS in Iraq without going into Syria is meaningless since ISIS would just bid its time and come back. One can't be so naïve to think ISIS would only attack Syria, not Iraq again.

Militarily, the current top priority for Iraqi Army and US air support must be to regain control of Mosul Dam ASAP in order to remove the nuclear option from ISIS. Given what we have seen ISIS is capable of, destroying the dam is definitely something ISIS is considering when the situation turns sour for them.

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

Miragedriver said:

Thank you my friend. You took the words right out of my mouth!


The big questions are:
1) Is there a leader with the testicular fortitude out there to implement this campaign?
2) Why is there such limited coverage of the atrocities in the world media? Who are they trying to not offend?


I will now get back to bottling my Malbec

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1) is an open question.

>>> Removed conspiracy theory <<<

Saudi Arabia has denounced ISIS

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

Jeff Head said:

ISIS has come completely out if the closet and showed itself to be the genocidal tyrants that they are.

Air power can most assuredly be used to destroy their bastions, depots, command and control, and any large groups they gather in. This would require much more than hat the Obama Amin has done to date. But some of what they have one as helped and mor pressure can be exerted to get more air power used.

The Kurds and more and more Iraqis are showing the will to fight them and win.

So, the US, Turkey, and others can assist in stamping this group out by providing the air power, if the people on the ground have the will and leadership to act too.

In order to keep another group from forming, you have to have a national leadership that will employ tactics like I pointed out in recommending the book, "One tribe at a time."

The US successfully employed these strategies before in Iraq, and both Shia and Sunni tribal leaders responded together and drove Al Queda, Iraq, to ground and then out of Iraq into northern Syria. Now it s years later and they reformed and have returned again.

The Iraqi leadership could employ those same tactics again if it was willing. In the end, they are the ones who must do so.

Click to expand...

While this would be a great temporary solution to this specific crisis it does not address the long term and underlying Sponsors of these groups should be identified and hit with targeted sanctions and legal charges if not physically attacked outright.

>>> Removed conspiracy theory <<<

Saudi Arabia has denounced ISIS

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

texx1 said:

At this point, only a brutal dictator like Saddam or Assad's father stand a reasonable chance to defeat ISIS unless boots on the grounds from US. An united Iraqi government can't simply get the job done. It will always fall due to century old sectarian divisions and squabbling between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. The current political transition mess in Baghdad under enemies at the gate condition is a perfect example of this.

Click to expand...

Not so. Effective, successful strategies have shown how it is done.

The Kurds and Iraqis already have far more than enough boots on the ground.

Get and read the books I pointed out.

With US, or other air power, and using those tactics, the Iraqi government can and should employ them.

Will they?

Who knows. I pray they will.

But it is a fallacy to say it cannot be done.

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

Jeff Head said:

Not so. Effective, successful strategies have shown how it is done.

The Kurds and Iraqis already have far more than enough boots on the ground.

Get and read the books I pointed out.

With US, or other air power, and using those tactics, the Iraqi government can and should employ them.

Will they?

Who knows. I pray they will.

But it is a fallacy to say it cannot be done.

Click to expand...

The current Iraqi government is no more capable of competent leadership than an American president would be capable of becoming a dictator. It's not a matter of willingness, the social mechanisms are simply not there.

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

Politics in the Middle East are to change next month when Iran, together with India, Pakistan and Mongolia, is invited to become a member of SCO. This will strengthen the hand of Tehran and might invite Erdogan to change his allegiance from Saudi Arabia. Iraq will surely win when it is helped by Turkey and Iran together. That would mean more than the current symbolic bombing by F-18's. Iran will of course insist that Turkey will end its support for the terrorists in Syria but Erdogan must see that rebuilding that country is better for Turkey than continuing to destroy it.

BTW The targets are in North Iraq but are attacked from a flattop in the Persian Gulf which must be farther away than the US bases in Turkey. Why are no aircraft from those bases used? Does Turkey objects? Does Saudi Arabia objects?

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos

Jeff Head said:

Obama could have and should ave used massive US air power back when they were staging to go in against Mosul

He did not.

He should use much more air power now.

He is not...but perhaps he will be forced to because of public and international pressure.

Obama, in helping support these people in Syria has painted himself into an ugly corner. My own opinion is that Benghazi was all wrapped up in running weapons to these same people. In reality, ISIS is a reincarnation of Al Queda Iraq, but now even more radical and bloodthirsty. They must be defeated in either case.

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I agree. The Iraq war costed US a legacy and it took a while for US to pull itself out and Obama doesn't want to reenter, but but this time the US should. IS is a threat to humanity and civilization and basically all of what western values of human rights stand for, and technically the entire world is at risk. IS represents all the blood hatred accumulated from over 30 years of turmoil in the Middle East due to proxy games of major powers putting their hands in Middle East, and now they have an official entity. If the world ignores any further like we do with global warming and thinks this is just another human security crisis, we are gonna be very scared and sorry very soon. Seriously, someone must wipe them all out. I literally wanna see army units of P5+ Israel+ turkey enter Iraq and turn them all to mincemeat.

Re: 2014 ISIS attack in Iraq: News, Views, Photos, Videos


Guys this is not an anti-US thread. It s not a Saudi-US-Oil conspiracy thread. DO NOT TRY and make it such.

Saudi Arabia has officially denounced ISIS. The entire Arab League has

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There is a clear Shia (Iran) Sunni (Saudi) issue...but it has limits and we are not going to delve into conspiracy theories. They cut both ways and generate nothing but animus.

Stay on topic.

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