ISIS in Retreat in Iraq, Maybe, May Be Moving to Unite With Al Qaeda Components in Syria
Last week President Obama said he wanted an authorization for the use of military force against ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, after all. Up to then the White House argued the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in Iraq and in Syria fell under the authorization for the use of military force against Al Qaeda and its affiliates passed in September, 2001. The president continues to maintain he doesn't need explicit authorization from Congress for the war against ISIS but since the elections are over he thought it was a good time to ask for it anyway.
While the U.S.-led coalition is seeing some successes—the Iraqi army claims to have critically injured Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, and to have driven ISIS out of Beiji, a major oil refinery town—it has also galvanized support for ISIS among the region's population. More fighters than ever before are reportedly going to join ISIS since U.S. airstrikes started. And now, The Daily Beast reports, representatives from Al Nusra, the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, ISIS, and the Khorasan group, another Al Qaeda offshoot few people heard of before it was targeted during U.S. airstrikes in Syria, are meeting to discuss re-uniting with the aim of driving more "moderate" U.S.-backed rebels out of Syria, groups whose members nevertheless condemned U.S. airstrikes in Syria, and not just because of the claim that civilians were killed.
After the "thumping" in the 2006 elections, President George W. Bush announced a surge in Iraq, one that ended up being used in part to negotiate the eventual end of the Iraq war. After the 2014 elections, President Obama insisted he heard the American people, following it up a few days later by sending 1,500 more troops to Iraq, who he claims won't be in combat roles.
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Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Caliph. A man barely alive.
Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the money from Mosul’s bank.
We have the capacity to make the world’s first bionic jihadist.
Al-Baghdadi will be that man.
Better than he was before.
Better…stronger…faster.
ISIS in Retreat in Iraq, Maybe, May Be Moving to Unite With Al Qaeda Components in Syria
So our 13 years of war and bombing and death and spying has yielded what, exactly? Made the world safer? Can we try something different now?
Don’t be silly. We will never stop until we are completely safe. Perfect security must be obtained at all costs.
“So our 13 years of war and bombing and death and spying has yielded what, exactly?”
ISIS, right?
If we hadn’t invaded Iraq in 2003, there wouldn’t be any ISIS there today.
And the idea that if only we try the same thing but…harder, faster, stronger this time? is the definition of insanity.
I don’t know. Maybe this time it will be different. Or maybe the third time’s a charm! Maybe you have to bomb, invade, and occupy a foreign country three times before the people there stop resisting–and start wanting us to turn their country into something just like Texas.
If we hadn’t invaded Iraq in 2003, there wouldn’t be any ISIS there today.
We don’t know that. Sadaam could have funded the Syrian insurgency to create something worse.
And the idea that if only we try the same thing but…harder, faster, stronger this time? is the definition of insanity.
The idea that what we’re doing is exactly the same as nation-building is the definition of…not insane…what is it…oh yeah: retarded.
“The idea that what we’re doing is exactly the same as nation-building is the definition of…not insane…what is it…oh yeah: retarded.”
Nation building?
You think Iraq was a success except for the national building?!
Stupid assholes thought the Iraqis wanted us to bomb, invade, and occupy their country!!!
You don’t think we’re barking up the same tree now–’cause we’re not nation building?!
Nation building! LOL
How ’bout putting down the insurgency first?
We left Iraq because there is no amount of occupying that will ever make the people of Iraq want to be occupied. Nobody wants to be occupied–certainly not just because you have a patriotic hard on. …why do you think they want to be occupied now? Do you imagine that people want to be occupied–because America is so fucking awesome and free?
I’d really be interested to get to the bottom of your delusion. Didn’t you have to read “Heart of Darkness” in college? Do you know what the British did in Africa in the name of abolitionism? Didn’t you ever have to read “Shooting an Elephant”?
What makes you think that the Sunnis of Iraq want to be occupied by the United States? Can you rationally answer that question at all, or is it just something you feel in your bones? If you think the people of Iraq want us to drop bombs on them, can you explain why? Can you put it into words?
“After the 2014 elections, President Obama insisted he heard the American people, following it up a few days later by sending 1,500 more troops to Iraq, who he claims won’t be in combat roles.”
It should be noted that before the 2014 elections, President Obama insisted that he wouldn’t send any ground troops to fight ISIS.
Here’s the right-wing New York Times from…mere weeks ago:
Obama Promises Again Not to Send Ground Troops to Fight Militants
TAMPA, Fla. ? President Obama promised a military audience here on Wednesday that he would not send troops into combat in the campaign against Islamic militants in Iraq.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09……html?_r=0
Whatever else you want to say about Barack Obama, it should also be said that he’s a lying sack of shit.
The establishment Republicans aren’t making much noise about this, but then why would they? McCain will be the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. If the establishment Republicans criticize Barack Obama on Iraq, it will only be because he isn’t going far enough.
Incidentally, Ron Paul saw this coming from a mile away:
http://tinyurl.com/oz5ksm5
Hope he’s got some prescient advice for Rand. I’d hate to see Rand Paul have to appease the establishment Republicans to win the nomination only to see Hillary Clinton outmaneuver him as the anti-war candidate in the general election.
She could do that convincingly, too, if the warhawk Republicans provide Rand Paul with so much background noise that the voters come to associate Republicans with warhawks, generally.
And that would be sad–because Hillary Clinton is a real, live warhawk.
Uh oh! Reason’s ISIS anti-intervention narrative is under attack from reality!
Reality?
What reality?
Why should anyone think we’ll fare any better against ISIS this time than we did against the insurgency last time?
That’s reality.
America destroyed the insurgency last time.
You’re delusional!
ISIS was the insurgency.
“Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, AQI took part in the Iraqi insurgency against coalition forces and Iraqi security forces. In 2006, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, which consolidated further into the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) shortly afterwards.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I…..the_Levant
If we destroyed the insurgency, then why does ISIS still exist?
I’ll just leave this here:
Baseless standard peacenazi boilerplate. Is there any reason to believe foreigners wouldn’t flock to ISIS anyway? Why is it a bad thing that the worst people in the world are all heading to Syria/Iraq to die?
“The president continues to maintain he doesn’t need explicit authorization from Congress for the war against ISIS but since the elections are over now he can saddle Republicans with the responsibility he thought it was a good time to ask for it anyway.”
FTFY