U.S. to Boost Operations in Iraq, Syria to Fight ISIS

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: Wall Street Journal

More special operations forces to be deployed

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the U.S. is boosting its military campaigns in Iraq and Syria by deploying additional special operations forces and opening a new front against the Islamic State extremist group.

In Iraq, the U.S. is assembling a specialized “expeditionary” force to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces as well as to conduct raids, gather intelligence, rescue hostages and go after Islamic State leaders, Mr. Carter told lawmakers Tuesday at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. A senior defense official said up to 40 special operations force members would be backed by more than 150 support personnel.

Mr. Carter also described plans to open a southern front in Syria against Islamic State extremists that Pentagon officials said would rely on local rebels who went through a U.S. “train and equip” program that is known for having provided few fighters to the current fight. The new front comes after the U.S. announced plans last month to send 50 special operations force members to Syria for various training operations.

“We are at war,” Mr. Carter said. “We are gathering momentum on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq.”



Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-boost-operations-in-iraq-syria-1449021287

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“We are at war,” - War without any congressional authorization, public debate or UN mandate.

[Doctor_J]

1. This shit literally is never going to end

We are going to be "at war" constantly, forever.

[SamKnause]

2. Those who profit from the wars will see to it.

A country that refuses to hold it's government accountable will continue

to make disastrous mistakes.

The Bush administration should be prison.

The Wall Street thieves should be in prison.

The elites and powerful people of the world are destroying it !!!!

They either have zero common sense or everything they do is intentional.

I tend to believe it is intentional.

You would think in the 21st century war would be a thing of the past.

It is truly gut wrenching.

I look forward to my departure from this planet.

How many millions have been slaughtered because of the U.S. military ???

[Doctor_J]

3. I had the good fortune to live most of my life while this was the shining light on the hill

to the world. So glad I won't be around for the end of the US. I'll tell my grandkids that I tried, but the forces of malevolence were too much.

[SamKnause]

5. But we have never been the shining light on the hill.

The U.S. has invaded 70, yes 70 countries since 1776.

They have invaded 50 since 1945.

This country was founded on the genocide of Native American Indians

and built with slave labor.

We could have been a force for good, but our leaders chose a different path.

They continue on this path today.

Just my 2 cents.

[Javaman]

9. I like to keep this link handy for reference...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_the_United_States

[SamKnause]

18. Thank you for the link.

[Javaman]

10. that "shining light" was a marketing gimmick.

you give me an era where we were the "shining light" and I'll give you a list of things that will show we were far from that.

it's all in what you perceive.

[Doctor_J]

17. I dunno. the 20th Century in the US was pretty good to my family

On one side grandpa started as a day laborer. He joined a plumbers' union as an apprentice, worked his way up at his trade and in the union, eventually had his own business, was part of the union mgmt, and raised a family of 4 kids on one paycheck. His brothers joined the CCC, and the trees they planted can still be viewed on the drive south on the interstate through Alabama. He begat 2 school teachers, an engineer with 2 dozen patents, and a white collar production manager at a small mfg company. Combined, they all raised eventual college graduates including 2 doctors.

On the other side, grandpa was a European immigrant. He dropped out of HS to work but then joined the WPA for a living wage, eventually became skilled factory worker with a house, vacation, and a pension. His brother was a soldier in WWII and got a good job upon returning home in 46 and stayed there until he retired with a pension.

the whole lot of them voted for JFK, LBJ, and were RFK and HHH supporters

that sort of progress is why other countries tried to emulate us and why the party was so strong for so long. Now we're bankrupt of money, ideas, and morals.

[Javaman]

22. racism, sexism, shall I go on?

while we were all singing the advantages of a white society high on winning this or that, a huge segment of our society still lived in a apartheid America.

the "greatest generation" gave birth to nuclear weapons.

we had some of the worst greedy bastards that ever existed in the greedy '80's. along with Reagan and Nixon who both committed acts of treason.

while we love to look at the shiny past of the 20th century, we had one war after another.

sure, mindless American who happily motored through society believing everything the government told them, until we all finally realized it was nothing but well marketed bullshit, were doing just fine! as long as you kept you mouth closed, eyes straight and did what you were told.

the part of society then that did anything of worth were those who fought and died to give us union rights. but no one remembers them because they didn't fight Nazi's or commies.

war is a racket and everything that goes along with it.

[Jesus Malverde]

4. Iraqi Shi'ite militias pledge to fight U.S. forces if deployed

Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim armed groups on Tuesday pledged to fight any U.S. forces deployed in the country after the United States said it was sending an elite special unit to help combat Islamic State.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter offered few details on the new "expeditionary" group, but said it would be larger than the roughly 50 U.S. special operations troops being sent to Syria to fight the ultra-hardline Sunni militants there.

A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new force will be based in Iraq.

"We will chase and fight any American force deployed in Iraq," said Jafaar Hussaini, a spokesman for one of the Shi'ite armed groups, Kata'ib Hezbollah. "Any such American force will become a primary target for our group. We fought them before and we are ready to resume fighting."

Spokesmen for the Iranian-backed Badr Organisation and Asaib Ahl al-Haq made similar statements to Reuters, expressing their distrust of American forces since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and the subsequent occupation.

The militias, grouped with volunteer fighters under a government-run umbrella, are seen as a bulwark in Iraq's battle against Islamic State, the biggest security threat to the oil-exporting country since Saddam's fall.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/12/01/us-mideast-crisis-usa-iraq-idUSKBN0TK5KQ20151201

What a cluster mess.

[Javaman]

11. the new war is much like the old war...

only this war hasn't stopped, it just took a pause.

[KG]

6. fucking waste of time and money..

[restorefreedom]

7. tbtb do not want to defeat isis

they just want to dent them enough to claim "progress" to justify even more $ the mic, but not such a dent that they are defeated and cease to provide a reason for us to be at war.

more war, more money.....and the beat goes on

[Javaman]

13. we are a war economy now.

50%+ of our budget goes to the war machine.

we are the military industrial complex.

it's the snake eating it's tail.

[restorefreedom]

15. like one of those larvae that eats its victim to grow

except that the mic is consuming the country and its resources, i.e., all of us and the resources we need. but then we are just useless eaters anyway, right?

[Javaman]

20. the MIC has consumed the country.

the "process of consuming" is over.

we live now in perpetual war.

we all exist, function and live to support the military economy, regardless of what each of us independently think.

we all "fight the system" but anytime we pay our taxes, we support that very system. the snake eats its tail

[restorefreedom]

21. i have to say this way too many times lately....

i am glad i am not young. what a world we are leaving the millenials and the children......

[Javaman]

23. the perpetual war and the money made from it, is a testimate to the failure

of out of control capitalism.

we all have been feeding at the table of greed for too long and not realizing that the world burns around us.

in the end our own belief of self entitlement will be our ultimate undoing: climate change.

[restorefreedom]

24. sadly, yes. and it may end us all. nt

[Javaman]

25. whatever we evolve into, we will be the lizards of the future...

Living under some other dominate race.

[restorefreedom]

26. yup. just like the menagerie

[betterdemsonly]

8. Neoconservatism is bipartisan stupidity until we stop electing bipartisan dems to lead our party n/t

[truebrit71]

12. So glad to see that Obama ended that war...

...oh wait...

[Javaman]

14. well, he hit the pause button...

[Doctor_J]

16. Yeah. The List (tm) should probably be amended

[karynnj]

19. The UN actually did approve an effort against ISIS, though I doubt the resolution was as clear cut

as it would have to be to satisfy you.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/24/obama-led-un-security-council-unanimously-passes-anti-isis-resolution

This was in 2014 -