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US Accuses Iraq Army Of Cowardice, Says "More Firepower Support" Needed Against ISIS

Tyler Durden's picture




 

On Saturday, we discussed a possible shift in US policy as it relates to boots on the ground in Iraq. Recapping, ISIS has recently launched what the media is billing as an “offensive”, seizing the Syrian city of Palmyra (an archaeological treasure) and Ramadi in Iraq. The group also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in a Saudi mosque that killed 21 on Friday. 

Against this backdrop the calls for a more aggressive US military response have begun and it now appears that one possibility under consideration is the deployment of so-called “spotters” to help ensure that US airstrikes are maximally effective. Of course, as we noted over the weekend, once the “spotting” starts, mission creep will set in quickly and it won’t be long before the Syrian incursion aimed at ousting Bashar al-Assad is on, with the destruction of ISIS as the excuse. 

Two days and one supposed ISIS nuclear attack plot later and the calls for a change in strategy have gotten a lot louder with Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioning the Iraqi army’s resolve and uber-hawk John McCain calling for the deployment of special forces. WSJ has more:

Defense Secretary Ash Carter held open the possibility of a strategy shift by the White House on Iraq, a few days after recent setbacks in Iraq and Syria revived sharp criticism of the Obama administration’s approach in combating extremist groups there.

 

Islamic State forces last week captured the key Iraqi city of Ramadi and also expanded their reach in Syria. Critics and even allies of the administration took to Sunday television talk shows to call for a strategy change by the administration to stem the advance of Islamic State forces…

 

House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry (R., Texas) said on ABC’s “This Week” that the battle in Ramadi was among the many reasons why he doubted the Obama administration’s claim that U.S. efforts have succeeded in degrading the strength of ISIS.

 

“I don’t see evidence of that,” said Mr. Thornberry. “I see ISIS gaining territory in Iraq and Syria.” What is more, he said, “their ideology, their approach, their brand is growing faster than their territory.”

Mr. Carter offered a withering critique of the will of Iraqi defense forces in the fall of Ramadi to Islamic State.

 

“The Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight,” he said. “They were not outnumbered. In fact they vastly outnumbered the opposing force and yet they failed to fight and withdrew from the site...We can give them training, we can give them equipment. We obviously can’t give them the will to fight.”

 

John McCain, (R., Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, on CBS’s “Face the Nation” called for U.S. special forces in Iraq, in addition to forward air controllers who help direct bombing missions from the air. Right now, he said, the U.S. has “no strategy” for halting the advance of the Islamic State. “Anybody that says there is, I’d like to hear what it is,” Mr. McCain added.

 

Michele Flournoy, who served as undersecretary of defense under Mr. Obama from 2009 to 2012, and was in the running for the top job, said the administration needs to do more to turn the tide in Iraq.


“We have under-resourced the strategy,” she said on CNN. “We need to provide more firepower support.”

For their part, the Iraqis denied Carter’s assessment — which amounted to calling Ramadi’s defenders cowards — blaming poor strategy and, ironically, inadequate air support for the defeat.

Via AP:

A spokesman for the Iraqi government said Monday that Carter's remarks were surprising and that the U.S. defense chief had been given "incorrect information." In a statement, Saad al-Hadithi said the fall of Ramadi was due to mismanagement and poor planning by some senior military commanders in charge of Ramadi.

 

Iraqi lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, the head of the parliamentary defense and security committee, called Carter's comments "unrealistic and baseless," in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press.

 

"The Iraqi army and police did have the will to fight IS group in Ramadi, but these forces lack good equipment, weapons and aerial support," said al-Zamili, a member of the political party headed by radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is stridently anti-American.

 

American officials say they are sending anti-tank weapons to the Iraqi military. But they also noted that Iraqi forces were not routed from Ramadi— they left of their own accord, frightened in part by a powerful wave of Islamic State group suicide truck bombs, some the size of the one that destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City two decades ago, said a senior State Department official who spoke to reporters last week under ground rules he not be named.

 

A senior defense official said that the troops who fled Ramadi had not been trained by the U.S. or its coalition partners. The official was not authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Apparently, the possible destruction of a UNESCO world heritage site, the seizure of a key Iraqi city, and a suicide bombing in a Saudi mosque weren't deemed effective enough when it comes to rallying supoort for a ground incursion, so we promptly got a US Defense Secretary telling the world that the Iraqi army is not only incapable of heading off the ISIS advance but in fact lacks the will to defend itself and because that still wasn't enough, the group has now promised to turn one lucky US city into a mushroom cloud. 

But all of that is nothing a little stepped up "firepower support" can't remedy which is why we say again that we would not be at all surprised if sometime in the next thirty days President Obama announces the deployment of a 'small' tactical force to 'stabilize' the situation in Iraq, a force which will then grow and cross the border into Syria where ISIS will quickly discover what happens when the CIA decides it's time to issue a burn notice on a former 'asset'. 

 

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Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:04 | 6129663 Hohum
Hohum's picture

American troops to the rescue!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsPa8QgGGkc

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:06 | 6129672 Stackers
Stackers's picture

Lessons learned from the whole Nixon "Vietnamization of the War" debacle ?

Zero

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:18 | 6129716 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

US Offense Secretary Arsch Carter: "We can give them training, we can give them equipment. We obviously can’t give them the will to fight."

So how about you actually getting around to shipping them the armaments that they've already bought and paid for instead of dicking them around for another year? Or have they already been disbursed to the Pravoseki Banderatards and ISIS?

For their part, the Iraqis denied Carter’s assessment — which amounted to calling Ramadi’s defenders cowards — blaming poor strategy and, ironically, inadequate air support for the defeat.

Not surprising about the inadequate air support. In the time that the US has flown dozens of sorties against ISIS, the Syrian Arab Air Force has flown hundreds.

But hey, maybe someday even the Europeans will learn that being a US "ally" only means that you're still standing in the betrayal queue.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:42 | 6129810 SoilMyselfRotten
SoilMyselfRotten's picture

Don't worry, we'll sell you better shit than we sold them

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:45 | 6129818 MonetaryApostate
MonetaryApostate's picture

Playing possum on some gun ho soldiers....  Works like a charm...

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 15:04 | 6130108 eatthebanksters
eatthebanksters's picture

Maintain relationships through humiliation and scolding...yup, that always works.  Why call out the poor Iraqis when we're sitting on our asses watching from a distance.  What a fucking idiot and brown nosing ass kisser our SecDef is...

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:25 | 6130398 Billy the Poet
Billy the Poet's picture

John McCain, (R., Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, on CBS’s “Face the Nation” called for U.S. special forces in Iraq, in addition to forward air controllers who help direct bombing missions from the air. Right now, he said, the U.S. has “no strategy” for halting the advance of the Islamic State. “Anybody that says there is, I’d like to hear what it is,” Mr. McCain added.

 

OK, John, my plan is to arrest any US Senator or other government official who meets with members of ISIS and Al Nusra and promises them money and weapons. How's that sound?

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:00 | 6129865 indygo55
indygo55's picture

 

",,, truck bombs, some the size of the one that destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City two decades ago,,,"

 

Um I thought we all understood that that building was destroyed by bombs planted INSIDE the building. I guess they haven't heard James Corbett's very excellent video on that false flag event. For those who have watched it it is well worth the time:

 

https://youtu.be/Vgfi1QZILxk


Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:53 | 6130070 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

U.S. loses the "hearts and minds" war, again.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:15 | 6129705 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

Not this time. In order for the Pentagon to buy their shiny, multi-billion dollar toys they needed to "re-appropriate" budgets from things like maintenance and training. In normal conditions we would have several division's deployable, but right now we only have one. We can sell them weapons, but we can't send them troops. The mid-east is an ocean of mutual dislike and hate. We really need to walk away from the entire flaming mess, but politics will prevent any outbreak of common sense.....

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:36 | 6129713 two hoots
two hoots's picture

Who spent billions training these Iraqi's Mr. Carter?  Good training teaches will and courage through esprit, confidence in self, unit and equipment.   You are a power point warrior wannabe.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:32 | 6129770 junction
junction's picture

Maybe the U.S. should send in federalized Waco police to the Anbar Province to fight ISIS.  Now, it turns out that the Waco police have placed several officers on administrative leave for their actions at the Twin Peaks restaurant.  The AP video from the restaurant cameras show people fleeing for the lives as police opened up with automatic weapon fire.   

From a posting at the "Before Its News" website:

"We have been thinking a lot about the whole Waco Biker thing and this is what is fishy to us:

1. Biker guys don’t just go out on a Sunday and start shooting and stabbing each other in a major public place.

2. Biker guys would have noticed the police already set up, and there is no way they would break out in a fight with guns and knifes.

3. This was a meeting that they have had for 18 years where all the groups come together to discuss issues, not biker related ones, but bigger ones. That is why they were there. http://www.agingrebel.com/12873

4. There are no Bandido pictures – just the same images run over and over on CNN and FOX NEWS.

5. I know a lot of bikers and they are so scared. We and a bunch of people went to their clubhouses in New England and they were so worried that no one had weed or any legal gun either. They are very plain, down-to-earth guys. Yes they are in a biker group, but I bet there are more bad guys in the US Congress and Republican or Democratic party vs your local Hell’s Angels or Red Emeralds or Bandidos.

6. Biker guys are so pussywhipped and scared, they will not even wear their rockers bottoms or patches to shows like Sturgis or LaConia or Daytona when they know other rival groups will be there. There is a level of respect for the other groups, territory and respect.

7. I once had my car kicked, a vintage antique car, and the guy that saw it was a Hell’s Angel and reported it to the police and got their plates.

8. We know a lot of the biker guys in Hell’s Angels and they run tshirt shops, they encourage you to keep a good job, work hard, make good and honest money. Yes sure there are bad seeds, but a lot of them just like to ride.

9. All the bikes in the photos are super bright and shiny brand-new. Brand-new souped-up Harleys cost at least 15k to 20k and another 20k to soup up. Harley Davidson ideal customer is 43 year old Accountant, Lawyer, or high-tech worker that wears leather on weekends and thinks he or she is bad. Always wondered if maybe biker gangs don’t even exist that much anymore – just genius marketing from Harley Davidson, Hollywood, and our own CIA/FBI/DHS.

10. CNN and Fox News were all over this. First story coming out said the police were pre-positioned with SWAT teams and lots of cops. CNN and Fox News keep replaying the fact that bikers are scary, bad, armed, all ex-marines and military and hate society. Actually bikers usually want to ride, live off the grid and are the first to come and protect society when things go bad.

11. How convenient that the “fight” started in the bathroom where there are no cameras. Yeah right.

12. Jade Helm, Texas labeled hostile, Pamela Geller, Waco. Hmmm, seems odd all this is suddenly happening in Texas.

13. Biker groups reporting it was a setup – not them.

14. Bikers were all in the same group while cops frisked them and they quietly sit there tweeting and checking their iphones? Usually if cops were there and multiple groups they would split them up separately.

15. All biker pics show bright and shiny patches, jackets look new, nothing looks old or dirty. Seems odd to us.

16. CNN and Fox News showed a snitch informant who supposedly infiltrated biker gangs and he shows his face, has a southern accent, super tan, and doesn’t seem to care who sees him? If I was a snitch I would remain in hiding, disguise my voice and never let people see my face. Unless it wasn’t true.

17. After reading more, we found out that DHS and FBI/CIA have set up entire clubhouses, with fake members up to 7-15 members to trick people into joining, and then busting them. How insane is that? Our taxpayer’s dollars going to work for us. They are not fighting crime they are doing it themselves.

Sam, San Francisco, USA."

May 25, 2015, 8:16 am   3 Reply

BillyP
Mon, 05/25/2015 - 15:17 | 6130156 DaveA
DaveA's picture

Most FBI agents are white guys, so infiltrating the Black Panthers, MS-13, or the Asian Triads is out of the question. How else do you suggest they earn their promotions?

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 20:19 | 6131071 Marco
Marco's picture

Any biker who self identifies as a one percenter is almost certainly criminal scum.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:48 | 6129824 BullyBearish
BullyBearish's picture

Someone tell me again why the IDF is not fighting ISIS?

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:32 | 6129997 Alvin Fernald
Alvin Fernald's picture

Conflict of interest.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:30 | 6129988 doctor10
doctor10's picture

Playing cowboyz and indians is not so much fun anymore bitchez!!

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 15:55 | 6130278 sun tzu
sun tzu's picture

Maybe if the US would stop arming and training ISIS then it might help

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 18:14 | 6130731 rodocostarica
rodocostarica's picture

So I am an Iraqi soldier stationed in Ramadi and ISIS attacks. We run out of ammo (although it appears there is plenty across town) and I see the ISIS guys coming across the river to my position.

i figure we are covered from behind but then realize sleeper cells of ISIS are now on our backs.

Our leadership starts to panic and I say to myself What the fuck. These ISIS fucks are going to overun us and then take my head off with a machete or sword.

i say fuck this and change into civilian clothes and beat the hell out of there.

What is wrong with this scenario? Are these guys scared or are they smart.

I Say get the hell out in this situation and get to Baghdad.

Just my opinion trying to figure out what to do in the case.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:04 | 6129665 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Send the pentagon and Washington to Somalia so they can say stupid things from there. Go on get em outta here.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:07 | 6129671 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

i'm sitting here wondering if i were an iraqi would i want to fight for the usa banker maggots> not just no, hell no.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:17 | 6129710 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Seems like the Iraqis are a little brighter than the exceptional sheeple.

Darwinism in practice.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:23 | 6129960 mtl4
mtl4's picture

US must be behind on their monthly payments.......pay up or we won't look like we are fighting ISIS anymore.

 

This stuff is total sideshow Bob, the real juicy news will be when the EU goes down the toilet along with the Euro.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:09 | 6129680 tony wilson and...
tony wilson and saturn zion devils's picture

usa usa keeps droppin bombs on iraqs soldiers
resupplying the isis actors of tel aviv.
the cia keeps paying iraqs generals to stand down from towns.
the kosher nostra media keep freaking out isis are coming isis are here.

all frank kitson david sterling british military strategy tweaked by the kleinfelts of tel aviv.
tavistock psychological operations with low level localized operations.
goes nuclear by the time it gets to fox news rabbi
rupert murdoch

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:11 | 6129685 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

yeah, we arm both sides yet somehow one side doesn't want to fight. those ungrateful bastards! moar depleted uranium and white phosphorus can totally fix this. /s

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:11 | 6129689 davidalan1
davidalan1's picture

Mission Accomplished....

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:13 | 6129698 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Why are we propping up the Shia regime in Baghdad .... let the Iranians do it .... this is the moral equivalent of giving fuel rods to the Norks .... giving satellite orbiting technology to the Rinks (Red Chinks) .... ala Madeleine Albright and Bill Clinton .... oh, I get it .... John Kerry and Hillary Clinton are the new .... Madeleine Albrights .... of the State Dept galaxy of leftist stars ! LOL

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:24 | 6129738 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

Long you out of the madhouse released?

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:25 | 6129742 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Troll work release.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:56 | 6130077 Bay of Pigs
Bay of Pigs's picture

As carl greenskeeper pointed out correctly awhile back,

"we (ZH) deserve better trolls"...

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:15 | 6129702 Dr. Gonzo
Dr. Gonzo's picture

Kind of makes our victory of them 10 years ago after we surround them for several months and then carpet bombed them not so great.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:28 | 6129751 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

Slava Pindostan!

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:15 | 6129706 CoonT
CoonT's picture

All the men with the will to fight, are in jail or dead!

 

Funny how that works

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:16 | 6129708 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Iraqi Shia incompetence bodes well .... for the Qatartus pipeline .... get those ditch witches going, boys !

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:18 | 6129717 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Obama didn't follow my advice .... to bomb the Mosul refineries .... and deny fuel to the highly mobile ISIS hordes .... now, ISIS took my advice for themselves .... and burnt the Ramadi refinery .... to deny fuel to the Shia Pets !

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:24 | 6129736 OutaTime43
OutaTime43's picture

No, you need to give arms and support to the Shia militias. Stop telling Iraq to exclude them.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:29 | 6129753 cherry picker
cherry picker's picture

All those calling the Iraq military cowards, why don't you go in there and show them how it is done? Or would you prefer the military do it for you?

Next time you see an ad for American or Canadian military recruitment and if it mentions fighting for our freedoms, you know it was one of those 'brave' schills in DC which put the ad together and if you die over there and wonder why I am not thanking you for protecting me, it is because somebody over there may be benefitiing, we just don't know who, but it aint me.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:31 | 6129765 Monetas
Monetas's picture

The Jewish Defense League .... has quietly asked me to please not advocate .... for the Jewish state .... as my well intentioned support .... may be counter-productive .... due to likeability issues ! LOL

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:33 | 6129774 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Nobody likes you so its too late.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:33 | 6129777 lolmao500
lolmao500's picture

Inadequate air support. LOL. ISIS got no air support, fools!

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:58 | 6129860 Monetas
Monetas's picture

Obomba didn't really go after ISIS .... that was lack of "air support" ... for the Iraqis !

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:45 | 6129815 moneybots
moneybots's picture

 

“The Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight,” he said. “They were not outnumbered. In fact they vastly outnumbered the opposing force and yet they failed to fight and withdrew from the site...We can give them training, we can give them equipment. We obviously can’t give them the will to fight.”

 

Maybe they are smarter than they are given credit for being.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 13:47 | 6129823 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

"Fight Langley and Glilot Junction (The Junction) more fiercely. It's embarrassing."

Liberty is a demand. Tyranny is submission.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:05 | 6129889 Mountainview
Mountainview's picture

After all those years the Pentagon still (seems) not to understand Iraqi reality. The Shia government and army opposed to Sunnis. Instead of offering the Sunnis an alternative to ISIS, Carter wants to send tougher Shia soldiers. When will they learn?

Tue, 05/26/2015 - 00:52 | 6131724 TheCentralScrut...
TheCentralScrutinizer's picture

What possible alternative can the US "offer" to the Sunnis of Anbar province without dividing up Iraq into Sunni and Shi'a and Kurd?

We have no legal authority to offer the Sunnis anything..   Iraq's Shi'a gov't has pretty condemned Iraq to a religious Civil War and the Sunnis have no where to turn, except Saudi Arabia, or Jordan, neither of which seem interested in annexing Anbar province and those dysfunctional tribes.

Legally, are arms are tied, except to act through the "legitimate" Iraqi gov't.

And ISIS wants nothing more than to have US "boots on the ground" in a major way in order to boost their "street cred" among Sunni Arabs who see the US defending Shi'a against Sunnis.   It won't be the US against Arab Salafist/Sunni insurgents now..  It will be the US against a restored Islamic Caliphate.. the Islamic State.

We know it's coming, but the pretext to bring about massive US involvement against ISIS is one that will embroil us in a sectarian struggle between Iran and ISIS, and possibly even Turkey.

We'd better lay back and play this smart, from a political standpoint.  It will involve the Shi'a Iraqis making a distinct choice between Western assistance, or Iranian domination.

But they need to find themselves in such a position where they literally BEG the US and other western countries to intervene under the auspices of the UNSC.

Scrutinizer 

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:11 | 6129912 andrewp111
andrewp111's picture

The Shiite militias have the will to fight. They need to be armed and set loose upon the Sunnis if you want to wipe out ISIS. Of course, to wipe out ISIS, the Sunni population needs to be wiped out as well. You can't wipe out ISIS without wiping out their support base.

Tue, 05/26/2015 - 00:41 | 6131708 TheCentralScrut...
TheCentralScrutinizer's picture

No they don't.  Iran is arming them more than sufficiently..   Read up on those militias a bit. 

What happened in Ramadi is definitely due, in part, to Shi'a reluctance to defend Sunni dominated areas.

But I'm wondering how they will fight when ISIS attacks Karbala and Najaf?    That is the heart of Shi'ism..  

Those cities are the "Mecca and Medina" of Shi'ism, along with Samarra.

Scrutinizer

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:13 | 6129920 roadhazard
roadhazard's picture

The Iraqi Army does suck. They are the F Troop of the Mid East only not funny.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:14 | 6129925 Binko
Binko's picture

The existing Iraqi army is just a fantasy creation of US political delusion.

Hey, they thought, every place should be like America, so lets make an army where all the tribes and factions and sects are represented and can all cooperate and fight together for a greater Iraq, cause that's how it works in the good ol' U S of A.

One big problem, people don't think like that in the middle east. Those guys joined the army for the pay and the food and have no intention of dying or even fighting. 

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:14 | 6129929 Infinite QE
Infinite QE's picture

Here's an idea. Drag the IDF punks out of the brothels and put them to work in Iraq. Let them deal with the mess their leaders created.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:32 | 6129998 Mini-Me
Mini-Me's picture

I suggest Sec. Carter lead the way.  Show those cowards how to do battle against the heathens.

And if Carter is really committed to the cause, he should be sending his family over there too.  Otherwise this putz ought to do us all a favor and close his pie hole.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:40 | 6130014 Billy Bob101
Billy Bob101's picture

Lets send John McCain to show them how! It would be a real sacrifice for us, but I think it would be worth it.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:48 | 6130056 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Air drop him the Depends.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 14:36 | 6130018 anachronism
anachronism's picture

First rule of guerilla warfare: "He, who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."

Leadership is a problem for Iraq's military. But the failure of leadership is broader than the scope within which the field commanders are responsible.

Ash Carter knows absolutely nothing about small unit/close quarters combat. But worse, it seems that those who briefed him don't know anymore either.

In close quarters combat, you never want to be outflanked. The next step to being outflanked is to become encircled: game over!

When you are burning up your ammunition load and can't get resupplied at your current location, you move your troops back to where they can get resupplied.

Some historical points of history to consider:

  • 1776 - Washington's Army disintegrated at the battle of Brooklyn Heights. 7/8 of his army was killed captured or just ran away. Washington's generalship was miserable that day; but his leadership ability was exceptionally good, as he got almost all of his army off the battlefield during the night.
  • 1863 - The Confederates at Vicksburg were being systematically outflanked and eventually encircled. But the Confederate general accepted encirclement rather than pull his troops out of the city to fight in the field.
  • 1941 - Panzer General Guderian ignored Hitler's order to hold positions at all costs. Faced with the onslaught of the Siberian Army, he withdrew his Panzer Group. They resumed the offensive the following May.
  • 1942 - General von Paulus obeyed Hirler's order to hold his positions at Stalingrad, rather than maneuver to escape the Soviet pincers. The consequences were just as terrible for the Germans then and there, as it was for the Confederates at Vicksburg.

 

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 15:10 | 6130131 roadhazard
roadhazard's picture

None of those people held the numerical advantage by a wide margin unlike the Iraqi's.. Just say'n

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:34 | 6130424 Monty Burns
Monty Burns's picture

"Ash Carter knows absolutely nothing about small unit/close quarters combat. But worse, it seems that those who briefed him don't know anymore either."

That's because the people ordering the killing have never been in the field themselves.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 17:24 | 6130599 yellowsub
yellowsub's picture

What do you expect, all the "good" leaders went to the ISIS!

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 15:42 | 6130187 Prober
Prober's picture

USA should, I would:

launch biggest force in history, air, land & sea

thousands of Paladins on line, 5 deep, provide continuous rolling artillery barrage, combined with B52 carpet bombing, herd them ALL into concentrations

then finish them ALL off with nerve gas

then no more islamic cult worshipers in the entire region

claim and repopulate entire middle east land with civilized humans, use sale of oil & gas to pay for the campaign

 

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:08 | 6130341 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

What kind of mayonnaise do you instead of your mind, tell me?

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:19 | 6130375 Prober
Prober's picture

the arab islamic cult-worshiping stooge has returned with more of his word farts

yes, you too would be recycled, because you are a worthless lump of biomass

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 17:48 | 6130664 TheFourthStooge-ing
TheFourthStooge-ing's picture

Well, not everyone can hum dripping drool as you.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:56 | 6130509 Main_Sequence
Main_Sequence's picture

As ridiculous as this sounds, and I do mean ridiculous beyond logic or reason, and ridiculous even for someone that has chain smoked 14 spliffs in rapid succession, this sounds like a more sound strategy than what US-NATO-ZION is reporting on the current sideshow campaign against ISIS via their global media "truth networks."

P.S. lay off the airplane glue, online MMORPG's, and mainstream media Prober.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 15:32 | 6130200 Joe A
Joe A's picture

I read somewhere as an explanation that the Iraqi Shia soldiers did not want to fight a Sunni force in a Sunni area.

Voltairenet has an interesting explanantion on the fall of Palmyra. It cuts the Silk Road via Iran to the Med.

http://www.voltairenet.org/article187700.html

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 15:36 | 6130202 rejected
rejected's picture

Maybe Carter and McCain can go show them how it's done. Both of these chickenshits along with the rest of the cowards in District of Chickenshits have no qualms sending others to fight unnecessary battles to enforce their schemes and dictates. They started this crap, and now they want more to die for nothing. Insanity

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:30 | 6130414 Monty Burns
Monty Burns's picture

I don't get it.  ISIS moved on Ramadi in the form of two huge columns of tanks, armored cars, troop carriers etc. Sitting ducks for air and/or drone strikes.  Yet nothing happened.  Stinks.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:37 | 6130436 Main_Sequence
Main_Sequence's picture

Why the fuck did the Iraqi army flee from ISIS and their ironclad Toyota pickups, mashed together with "captured" weaponry akin to something that the A-Team would put together?  Even if for some unbelievable reason that you had to flee, why not flee in the vehicles that they rode in on?  

 

Apparently running back home through the hot desert seemed like a much more appealing notion.  How do you argue with that logic?  Truth be told, there is no logical reason that these military vehicles would be abandoned unless they were deliberately abandoned.  

 

This sounds like a convenient cover story to justify arming ISIS with bigger and better hardware, and just in case anyone asks "Why the hell does ISIS have a battalion of state-of-the-art American M1A1 tanks?"   Oh, the Iraqi army abandoned them and ran back home on foot.  Right.

 

From Political Fuel

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 16:44 | 6130458 Duude
Duude's picture

Most of those in the Iraq army are only their to pick up a paycheck. They have no love of country. Ironically, the only Iraqis (the Kurds) who fight like their existence depended upon it, aren't getting US arms.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 17:10 | 6130562 Counterpunch
Counterpunch's picture

as a former one of those 'air controllers' I have an idea as to how the US can defeat ISIS:

Stop letting CIA and the Israelis and Saudis support them. How about that.

These fucking idiot armchair generals.

They have been wrong about absolutely everything for years - the crime is McCain isn't in a prison cell.

If I saw him I'd break his fucking jaw for even making this suggestion.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 19:22 | 6130940 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

There is sort of a point here, we have armed the "Iraqi Army" to about a level five, where ISIS was originally equiped only to about a level three.  But ISIS has managed to steal enough equipment that they are probably now about equal to the Iraqis in munitions - and vastly superior in motivation.  There is also the "problem" that US troops are armed to about level nine in that theater, so why should the Iraqis want to work so hard when the Americans wouldn't have to? 

Just because it's their home?  But for the overwhelmingly Shia troops, Sunni territory is not even their home, and they have to wonder if even the Sunni civilians support them there.

I want to call a pox on them all, just carpet bomb everything and let Allah sort them out, but apparently that's just too easy or something.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 19:23 | 6130948 Miketheterrible
Miketheterrible's picture

Apparently an Iraqi paper mentioned that the PM's visit to Russia was not talks specifically for equipment, but to build a facility to produce weapons in Iraq, so that they don't have to rely to the last bullet from the USA.  I think this is a smart move.  The other one is that it is the areas that are predominantly none Sunni, are the ones holding well.

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 19:27 | 6130963 prmths2
prmths2's picture

It could be worse, they could serve with "honor and distinction."

Mon, 05/25/2015 - 20:03 | 6131054 f16hoser
f16hoser's picture

Ash Carter is a Lying Sack of SHIT! Carter, Kill yourself. Please! ISIS is a CIA owned and operated organization. Stop assuming we don't know this. We are smarter than you.

Tue, 05/26/2015 - 00:04 | 6131645 dogismycopilot
dogismycopilot's picture

Iraq has 10% of the world’s known oil reserves and probably a lot more (2/3 of the seismic surveys are from mid 1970s). If ISIS were to take Iraq it would be biblical in the sense that you would have a country of terrorists bigger and richer than Saudi Arabia. So Iraq must stay Iraq. If Russia and China were smart, they would step in and start helping Iraq out. Google: Lukoil and Iraq. Google PetroChina and Iraq.

Now, back to Asshole Carter; 

Point 1

The first step would be for the US government to STOP ARMING ISIS in Syria as those ‘moderates’ are just shipping the weapons down south through the caliphate into Iraq (there is no longer a border between Iraq and Syria in ISIS controlled area). There are no moderates. They all cave in the face of ISIS.

Point 2

Iraq has a massive corruption problem. Until that is solved, most Iraqis will be reluctant to die for their country. It’s the same in the US – who wants to die for Goldman Sachs or GE? Iraq can’t raise a large enough army.

Point 3

As for the will to fight, the funny thing is this – the fucking Canadians and Americans are teaching the Iraqi Army right now TRADITIONAL MECHANIZED INFANTRY TACTICS THAT REQUIRE ADVANCED ARTILLERY AND AIR SUPPORT CAPABILITIES TO BE EFFECTIVE, neither of which the fucking Iraqi army has or ever will. Also, the US tactics require a mass of force beyond the number of troops the Iraqis can raise. Yes, they may ‘outnumber’ ISIS, but the tactics they know require more troops than they can muster and as we know, the training is not only shit, but too fast, too harried and just the wrong type (infantry vs Guerilla). However, the US Must teach these Mech Infantry tactics SO THEY CAN SELL THE WEAPONS SYSTEMS THAT GO ALONG WITH THEM SUCH AS THE STRYKER, M1, MRAPS, AND OTHER USELESS SHIT THAT ISIS ENDS UP WITH.

Point 4

The Iranian Militias are the only thing that can save Iraq at this point. The US has been successful in telling the Iraqis to keep the Iranian Militias out. Iraq has made the mistake of listening to the US. Obama and Kerry hate that word “militia”. The word militia is dirty. But let’s look at it. Militia: a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency "creating a militia was no answer to the army's manpower problem". A military force that engages in rebel or terrorist activities in opposition to a regular army. (in the US) all able-bodied civilians eligible by law for military service. Obama and Co despise ‘militias’, foreign and domestic.

 

The Iraqis NEED TO WAKE UP to the fact Obama, Kerry and the others are lying to them. There will be no Calvary. There will be no ground troops. In fact, Obama, Kerry and their handlers WANT IRAQ to be a cluster fuck because it keeps Iran busy! Seriously, the entire Middle East is on fire and the Iranians are running ragged trying to put out the fires….and Iran has its own problems at home which suits Obama & Company just fine.

 

Only the Russians, Chinese, and Iranians can save Iraq from ISIS at this point.  

Tue, 05/26/2015 - 00:34 | 6131693 TheCentralScrut...
TheCentralScrutinizer's picture

All very excellent points.

Another problem we face is that we lack any clear Authorization to use force (AUMF) against ISIS.

The previous AUMF that permitted US forces to take down Saddam Hussein has lapsed as of 2013.   So technically, our SpecOps missions are not authorized under any War Powers resolution that requires the President to re-authorize within 90 days.   So we're in a "grey zone" right now.. 

We want to support the Iraqi gov't, but we're legally limited to a training and support mission only.

We also don't want to support the Iranian controlled/influenced Shi'a militias in Iraq, like Muqtada Al Sadr.  But they seem to be the only formations that are willing to do the "Dirty Work".. 

I don't believe for a moment that the Shi'a Iraqis, or Iran, are going to permit the oil fields of S. Iraq fall into the hands of ISIS. Were they to be threatened, or the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, I would have to believe that would provide Iran the pretext to directly intervene.   And once Iranians are in Iraq in force, it will be hell to get them back out.

So Iraqis have a major problem they are facing right now.  They either band together, as Shi'a and Sunni Arabs, to fight ISIS, or they face domination by Persian Iranians.

And let me add this.. Iran WANTS Iraq to be a "clusterfuck" as well.   They WANT to control that oil, as well as the holy cities in Iraq.  But they lack sufficient pretext at this time to directly intervene, let alone convince their own people of the threat that ISIS poses to those holy cities.

But I have little doubt that the Iranian people will rally to protect Karbala and Najaf.

So now we wait to see if ISIS goes for Baghdad, or for Karbala and Najaf..

Oh.. and btw, that mosque in Saudi Arabia was a Shi'ite Mosque..   ISIS wants to stir up trouble for the Saudis by creating a similar sectarian conflict in Saudi Arabia.

Who's interest does this serve?  Saudi Arabia's rulers?   Or Iran?

Something to think about when asserting that ISIS is backed by the Saudi Gov't.

Scrutinizer 

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