NBC's Richard Engel says boots are already on the ground, embedded with local fighters in Iraq

[amandabeech]

8. This article's characterization of Richard Engel's reporting from Iraq is accurate.

I don't know if Engel's statements after Obama's speech are available online somewhere, but for those who didn't see him last night, it would be worthwhile to search them out.

Engel characterized our activities in Yemen and Somalia as sporadic. We do some surveillance, and when we find what we think is a terrorist operation, we act. In the case of Yemen, we report to the Yemeni government, and Yemeni troops will go in or the Yemeni government will ask us to go in.

In Iraq, we will be involved in these operations constantly and simultaneously.

Engel also stated that the Iraqi Army simply would not be able to do the job that our President outlined. Engel said essentially that the Iraqi Army is a Shiite army led by Iranian Army personnel. The Iraqis living under ISIL rule or in danger of being taken over by ISIL are Sunnis who have had terrible experiences with Iraqi Shiites and who absolutely hate Iran. Engel said that they will not let Iranian led Iraqi Shiites into their villages.

ISIL armies are led in part by Sunni leaders of Sadam Hussein's Baathist army and by Sunnis that the US trained. No matter how evil ISIL is, to Iraqi Sunnis, armies led by Iraqi Sunnis will be more welcome than an Iranian led Iraqi Shiite army.

Engel was so upset by the President's characterization of the situation on the ground that he looked like he was actually shaking with emotion.

If Engel is right, and it seems that he most often is, it would appear that our President has not been hearing anything like what Engel is saying. That's very much like the "stove-piping" of information to the Shrub before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It's hard to believe that the President would let that happen, but I am concerned.