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Post by jdredd on Oct 22, 2015 13:11:37 GMT -5
www.bbc.com/news/34607471"US-Iraqi forces have rescued dozens of hostages held by Islamic State (IS) in Iraq after learning of their "imminent execution", the Pentagon has said. But a US soldier wounded in the raid died of his injuries - the first killed in action since US operations against IS began last year. The early morning operation on Thursday took place near the town of Hawija in northern Iraq. Five IS militants were captured and a number killed, the Pentagon said. About 70 hostages were rescued, a statement said, including 20 members of the Iraqi security forces. The Kurdistan region's security council said none of those freed were Kurds, contradicting initial reports." Is 70 hostages worth the life of even one American soldier? Is an American soldier dying to fight the Sunni vs Shia war that's been going on for a thousand years justified? You tell me. I'm just glad I'm not the one going to the door of the mother and father of the dead GI.
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Post by jdredd on Nov 4, 2015 1:35:19 GMT -5
www.nationalreview.com/article/426542/isis-christians-middle-east-holy-war"The American rch — the strongest, wealthiest, most powerful body of Christians in the world — has failed. We’ve not only failed to stop the slow-motion religious cleansing of Christians from the Middle East and other Muslim lands, we’ve often failed even to speak about it. We’ve persisted in the bizarre belief that if we don’t join in a religious war, then a religious war isn’t being fought. And we’ve done worse than forget the martial valor of the medieval and Renaissance rch, we’re actually ashamed of its defensive struggle against Islam — a struggle that saved our civilization." "Yet holy war is upon us, even if we don’t wish to fight, and the rch is terrified of perceiving the truth. When we should learn our own rch’s history — and the wisdom of popes and rch leaders of the past who faced this same relentless hate — we’re instead cowed by political correctness into a bizarre form of not-quite pacifism that accepts the use of force, but only for national, not religious, ends. And so a majority-Christian people marched off to the Middle East, seized a nation in its heart, and then largely stood by as Christians found more safety in Muslim Kurdistan than American-held Baghdad." Ya ready for a Holy War, Millennials? I thought not. It's sad that the Christians in the Middle East have been road kill of the wars we have been throwing gasoline on since at least 1973, but that is one of the unintended consequences. Sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind.
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Post by jdredd on Nov 9, 2015 4:16:20 GMT -5
www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/11/08/mccaul-confident-isis-bomb-downed-russian-airline-compared-tragedy-to-11/"Texas GOP Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Sunday he’s convinced that an Islamic State bomb recently took down a Russian airliner, comparing the incident to the 9/11 terror attacks and calling for tightened U.S. security. “All indicators are pointing to the fact that it was ISIS putting a bomb on an airplane,” McCaul told “Fox News Sunday.” “I have a high degree of confidence. It’s been my gut (feeling) all along. … This is comparable to 9/11 for” Russia. McCaul said he’s basing his conclusion in large part on intelligence reports, ISIS’ declaration of war on Russia and flight data recovered from the plane, which officials say recorded a “loud bang” before the Oct. 31 incident." Well gosh darn, if a Republican Congressman from the great state of Texas says it on Fox, it must be true. And this is comparable to 9/11 for Russia? Does that mean Russia will go berserk and start invading random countries in the Middle East? Will they invade Afghanistan again? Which side would the USA be on this time if they do?
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Post by jdredd on Nov 14, 2015 17:18:09 GMT -5
This seems like a good time to review some of my assumptions, assumptions always being problmatic, of course:
1. I assume the narrative of "poor little France" will be accepted by most Millennials, since I assume most of them know nothing about France's bloody history in the Middle East. I have one word to say: Algeria.
2. I assume the "War on Terrorism" will get a big boost, which is of course money in the bank for the special interests that profit from endless war. Sorry, American taxpayer (not MY problem, of course, since it's all being done on borrowed money I won't have to pay back. Of course, it could affect my Social Security and Medicare, unless we borrow even more).
3. I assume far-right European parties will get a boost from this. So what? Fascism was born in Europe, and if they they want to be Fascist police states, no skin off my nose. I don't plan to go there anyway. I assume anti-Muslim bigotry will get a boost too, since they are not "real" Frenchmen, Germans, whatever.
4. Heard of the "Cycle of Life"? How about the "Cycle of Death"? Just like the fat ass "Greatest Generation" unjustifiably sent the Boomers to die in the jungles of Southeast Asia, the fat ass Boomers are now sending the Millennials to uselessly die in the desert hellholes of the Middle East. And you can assume Gen X (Marco Rubio) will send next generation after the Millennials too.
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Post by jdredd on Nov 22, 2015 4:46:07 GMT -5
www.wsj.com/articles/the-crisis-of-world-order-1448052095?mod=trending_now_4"The multisided war in the Middle East has now ceased to be a strictly Middle Eastern problem. It has become a European problem as well. The flood of refugees from the violence in Syria and the repression of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime have rocked the continent and overwhelmed its institutions. The horrific attacks in Paris, likely organized and directed by Islamic State from its base in Syria, and the prospect of more such attacks, threaten the cohesion of Europe, and with it the cohesion of the trans-Atlantic community, or what used to be known as the West. The crisis on the periphery, in short, has now spilled over into the core." So goes a tiresome WSJ article by neocon Robert Kagan. What is his eventual conclusion? US soldiers fighting and dying in Syria, of course. Is that really the sane response to a terrorist attack on Paris by less then a dozen gunmen that killed less than 150 Frenchmen? Is the West really that easily manipulated by a small number of young thugs? I guess we are. The way I see it, there are three ways this can come out: First, we can spend a trillion dollars and successfully destroy ISIS. Second, we can spend a trillion dollars and unsuccessfully destroy ISIS. Third, we can save our money and let the chips fall where they may in Syria. Personally, I hate the idea of squandering still another trillion bucks in the Middle East with no guarantee of success, but I'm probably out of step with the American people. As usual.
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Post by jdredd on Mar 22, 2016 15:43:27 GMT -5
www.politico.com/story/2016/03/michael-morell-terrorists-brussels-221079"While the U.S. is having success diminishing the Islamic State’s caliphate in Syria, Morell said, the terror group is “growing rapidly in the rest of the world.” The Islamic State likely has “more territory today around the world than they did at any time, and they’ve conducted now attacks in Paris, San Bernardino and now in Brussels,” he told “CBS This Morning.” “So I would say they’re winning, right? They’re winning, and we’re going to have to find additional approaches to try to undermine them.” "Winning", huh? Winning what? I don't know. Sadly, if American Millennials are going to get out of this trap of endless war, they are going to have to think out of the tooth-for-a-tooth box they are in. I'm not sure that is even possible, considering the forces pushing for increased Western involvement. Perhaps we need to choose the lesser of two evils and back Iranian control of Syria and Iraq. Too bad the Turks weren't willing to take out Assad and then ISIS. They care more about fighting the Kurds. Why are we in this mess? Oh yeah, Israel and oil.
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Post by jdredd on Jun 13, 2016 3:17:09 GMT -5
Now is the fun part "After Orlando": I can't wait to see how many "libs" now sign up for the Holy War, as a key constituent of the Democrats had 50 of their own gunned down. What's Hillary going to do? Get even more gung-ho than Obama in fighting ISIS? She can't out-Trump Trump, who will now double down on his war fantasies and his anti-Muslim bigotry. More gas on the fire.
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Post by jdredd on Jul 4, 2016 14:02:25 GMT -5
www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2015/11/islamic-state-isil-taliban-afghanistan-151101074041755.html"Raising its black flag over the rugged mountainous regions of Afghanistan, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has emerged as a new threat to the war-ravaged country as it battles the Taliban for supremacy. The Taliban are worried about the influx of foreign fighters who are believed to make up as many as half of ISIL's fighters [Al Jazeera] Employing violence and brutality to impose its will , Wilayat Khorasan, (the ancient name ISIL has chosen for the region made up of Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of neighbouring countries), has emerged in seven different areas and vowed to step up operations, where the veteran fighters - the Taliban - once held sway. Fighting to reconstitute the historical Khorasan into the so-called "caliphate" of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group says it has grand plans for the region, starting with uprooting the Taliban and the government of President Ashraf Ghani." This is what cracks me up about our pathetic (and incredibly expensive) "War on Terrorism", we are now fighting against both sides in the battle for control of Afghanistan. Of course, our war is not about winning and losing. Like the "War on Drugs", it's about money. Heck, we'd still be in the Cold War if the defense industry had it's way, but those damn Russkies threw in the towel.
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Post by jdredd on Jul 15, 2016 15:43:07 GMT -5
Well, more blood has been shed in France's 200-year-old War with Islam. Should we care? Of course, The Donald has a plan to "destroy" ISIS. Should involve lots of expensive military equipment being used up, I assume. Are you Millennials ready to empty your pockets for it? I won't be around to have to pay back all the money borrowed to fight the Holy War.
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Post by jdredd on Aug 16, 2016 13:26:06 GMT -5
www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-anti-terror-strategy-1471304211Unfortunately Murdoch's WSJ does not let me post passages from this column, but I will make do. The most amusing part of it to me was where they praised Trump saying he will conduct "ideological warfare" against ISIS, and comparing that to Reagan's calling the Soviet Union an "Evil Empire" and thus magically bringing down the Iron Curtain. The right certainly harps on Obama not calling Islamists "Islamic extremists" or whatever they claim it should be called. I'm sure if he did, the Islamic State would collapse immediately. But as far as I can see, there is no real difference between Hillary's and Donald's anti-terrorist strategery.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 16, 2016 21:22:24 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/opinion/the-coming-battle-for-mosul.html?ref=opinion"The Americans have already negotiated an elaborate battlefield plan with the Iraqis that is designed in part to avoid more sectarian conflict. The best American-trained Iraqi counterterrorism forces, backed by some army units, federal police and American air power, will make the assault on Mosul. Iranian-backed Shiite militias, accused of human rights abuses after earlier battles, and Kurdish forces will be kept on the outskirts of the city. Post-battle security is being assigned to thousands of local police officers and tribal fighters. There is a lot riding on a victory against ISIS — for the civilians suffering under the terrorists’ rule; for Mr. Abadi, Iraq’s embattled leader; and for Mr. Obama, whose regional credibility has been damaged by his decision not to intervene directly in Syria. But retaking Mosul may be the easier part of an operation whose ultimate success will depend on putting in place effective long-term plans for maintaining stability and rebuilding a shattered city." Here's the "liberal" New York Times cheerleading for the Holy War against ISIS.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 18, 2016 13:27:52 GMT -5
Headlines in the papers today are about the Big Push against the bad guys in Mosul, involving Iraqi government troops along with Kurdish fighters backed by always incredibly expensive US airpower. No doubt all paid for by borrowed money that those poor Millennial saps will have to pay back. They can thank us Boomers later. Do you think the oblivious Millennials will ever say they've had enough? Doubtful.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 19, 2016 0:37:26 GMT -5
Day two of the Big Push. And now Edrogan has chimed in claiming that he's going to help "liberate" Mosul, whether he's wanted or not. Also, I have to laugh at the hubris of ISIS, who thought they could take on the world.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 19, 2016 23:59:05 GMT -5
www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/mosul-iraqi-general-calls-isil-fighters-surrender-161019145151832.html"Three days into the assault on Mosul, Iraqi and Kurdish forces are steadily recovering outlying territory before the big push into the city itself, expected to be the biggest battle since the 2003 US-led invasion. Units from Iraq's elite counter-terrorism service, which has done the heavy lifting in most recent operations against ISIL, were poised to flush its fighters out of the town of Hamdaniya, officers said on Wednesday. "We are surrounding Hamdaniya now," Lieutenant-General Riyadh Tawfiq, commander of Iraq's ground forces, told AFP news agency. "There are some pockets [of resistance], some clashes. They send car bombs - but it will not help them." I guess the "big push" is yet to come.
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Post by jdredd on Oct 20, 2016 16:23:16 GMT -5
Day four of The Big Push. Iraqi forces have not even reached Mosul yet, they are still piddling around in outlying towns. The byline in the MSJ is "Iraqis Pause Mosul Campaign to Regroup", whatever that means. Meanwhile, most of the lamestream media is concentrating on the Kurdish attack from the north, who are "consolidating their gains", whatever THAT means.
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