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US Pilots Confirm: Obama Admin Blocks 75% of ISIS Strikes

November 20, 2015

U.S. Pilots Confirm: Obama Admin Blocks 75 Percent of Islamic State Strikes ‘We can’t get clearance even when we have a clear target in front of us’

BY:

November 20, 2015 5:00 am

Source: US Pilots Confirm: Obama Admin Blocks 75% of ISIS Strikes

Syria air strike

A target is hit during a Russian air raid in Syria / AP

U.S. military pilots who have returned from the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq are confirming that they were blocked from dropping 75 percent of their ordnance on terror targets because they could not get clearance to launch a strike, according to a leading member of Congress.

Strikes against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) targets are often blocked due to an Obama administration policy to prevent civilian deaths and collateral damage, according to Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The policy is being blamed for allowing Islamic State militants to gain strength across Iraq and continue waging terrorist strikes throughout the region and beyond, according to Royce and former military leaders who spoke Wednesday about flaws in the U.S. campaign to combat the Islamic State.

“You went 12 full months while ISIS was on the march without the U.S. using that air power and now as the pilots come back to talk to us they say three-quarters of our ordnance we can’t drop, we can’t get clearance even when we have a clear target in front of us,” Royce said. “I don’t understand this strategy at all because this is what has allowed ISIS the advantage and ability to recruit.”

When asked to address Royce’s statement, a Pentagon official defended the Obama administration’s policy and said that the military is furiously working to prevent civilian casualties.

“The bottom line is that we will not stoop to the level of our enemy and put civilians more in harm’s way than absolutely necessary,” the official told the Washington Free Beacon, explaining that the military often conducts flights “and don’t strike anything.”

“The fact that aircraft go on missions and don’t strike anything is not out of the norm,” the official said. “Despite U.S. strikes being the most precise in the history of warfare, conducting strike operations in the heavily populated areas where ISIL hides certainly presents challenges. We are fighting an enemy who goes out of their way to put civilians at risk. However, our pilots understand the need for the tactical patience in this environment. This fight against ISIL is not the kind of fight from previous decades.”

Jack Keane, a retired four-star U.S. general, agreed with Royce’s assessment of the administration’s policy and blamed President Barack Obama for issuing orders that severely constrain the U.S. military from combatting terror forces.

“This has been an absurdity from the beginning,” Keane said in response to questions from Royce. “The president personally made a statement that has driven air power from the inception.”

“When we agreed we were going to do airpower and the military said, this is how it would work, he [Obama] said, ‘No, I do not want any civilian casualties,’” Keane explained. “And the response was, ‘But there’s always some civilian casualties. We have the best capability in the world to protect from civilians casualties.’”

However, Obama’s response was, “No, you don’t understand. I want no civilian casualties. Zero,’” Keane continued. “So that has driven our so-called rules of engagement to a degree we have never had in any previous air campaign from desert storm to the present.”

This is likely the reason that U.S. pilots are being told to back down when Islamic State targets are in site, Keane said, citing statistics published earlier this year by U.S. Central Command showing that pilots return from sorties in Iraq with about 75 percent of their ordnance unexpended.

“Believe me,” Keane added, “the French are in there not using the restrictions we have imposed on our pilots.”

And the same goes for Russians, he said, adding, “They don’t care at all about civilians.”

The French have been selecting their own targets since beginning to launch strikes on the Islamic State earlier this week, according to a second Pentagon source who spoke to the Free Beacon earlier this week about the strikes.

France dropped at least 20 bombs on key Islamic State targets within two days after the terror attacks in Paris that killed 129. French strikes have killed at least 33 Islamic State militants in the past several days.

In the case of the initial French strikes, the “targets were nominated by the French whose strikes against them were supported by the coalition” fighting the Islamic State, the official explained.

Any coalition member can nominate a potential target.

“Once a target is validated, great care is taken—from analysis of available intelligence to selection of the appropriate weapon to meet mission requirements—to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to non-combatants,” the official said.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 22,000 munitions were dropped on Islamic State targets during more than 8,000 sorties, according to information provided to the Free Beacon by the Defense Department.

Some experts questioned whether the administration is handing off portions of the battle to other nations.

“The French airstrikes have been billed as a significant uptick in the battle against the Islamic State, Preliminary data indicate that this is not the case,” said Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism expert at the U.S. Treasury Department. “It appears that the U.S. is simply allowing France to strike many of the targets that would usually be reserved for the U.S. and some of its coalition allies. In other words, this appears to be a redistribution of daily targets in the ongoing campaign, and not a significant change.”

These strikes have forced the Islamic State to evacuate at least 20 to 25 percent of the territories it held one year ago in both Iraq and Syria, according to the Pentagon.

Attacks have focused on the Islamic State’s “staging areas, fighting position, and key leaders,” as well as its “oil distribution chain,” according to the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, a poll released Thursday found that at least 70 percent of American support an expanded fight against the Islamic State, including sending U.S. troops to the region.

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Qatar and Saudi Arabia ‘have ignited time bomb by funding global spread of radical Islam

November 19, 2015

Qatar and Saudi Arabia ‘have ignited time bomb by funding global spread of radical Islam’ General Jonathan Shaw, Britain’s former Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, says Qatar and Saudi Arabia responsible for spread of radical Islam

By

10:23PM BST 04 Oct 2014

Source: Qatar and Saudi Arabia ‘have ignited time bomb by funding global spread of radical Islam’ – Telegraph

Read also : Turkey’s Erdoğan urges united Muslim front against terror

https://warsclerotic.wordpress.com/2015/11/19/turkeys-erdogan-urges-united-muslim-front-against-terror/

Gen Jonathan Shaw is a former commander of British forces in Basra

General Shaw told The Telegraph that Qatar and Saudi Arabia were primarily responsible for the rise of Wahhabi Salafism, the extremist Islam that inspires Isil terrorists Photo: EPA

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have ignited a “time bomb” by funding the global spread of radical Islam, according to a former commander of British forces in Iraq.

General Jonathan Shaw, who retired as Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff in 2012, told The Telegraph that Qatar and Saudi Arabia were primarily responsible for the rise of the extremist Islam that inspires Isil terrorists.

The two Gulf states have spent billions of dollars on promoting a militant and proselytising interpretation of their faith derived from Abdul Wahhab, an eighteenth century scholar, and based on the Salaf, or the original followers of the Prophet.

But the rulers of both countries are now more threatened by their creation than Britain or America, argued Gen Shaw. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has vowed to topple the Qatari and Saudi regimes, viewing both as corrupt outposts of decadence and sin.

So Qatar and Saudi Arabia have every reason to lead an ideological struggle against Isil, said Gen Shaw. On its own, he added, the West’s military offensive against the terrorist movement was likely to prove “futile”.

“This is a time bomb that, under the guise of education, Wahhabi Salafism is igniting under the world really. And it is funded by Saudi and Qatari money and that must stop,” said Gen Shaw. “And the question then is ‘does bombing people over there really tackle that?’ I don’t think so. I’d far rather see a much stronger handle on the ideological battle rather than the physical battle.”

Gen Shaw, 57, retired from the Army after a 31-year career that saw him lead a platoon of paratroopers in the Battle of Mount Longdon, the bloodiest clash of the Falklands War, and oversee Britain’s withdrawal from Basra in southern Iraq. As Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff, he specialised in counter-terrorism and security policy.

All this has made him acutely aware of the limitations of what force can achieve. He believes that Isil can only be defeated by political and ideological means. Western air strikes in Iraq and Syria will, in his view, achieve nothing except temporary tactical success.

When it comes to waging that ideological struggle, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are pivotal. “The root problem is that those two countries are the only two countries in the world where Wahhabi Salafism is the state religion – and Isil is a violent expression of Wahabist Salafism,” said Gen Shaw.

“The primary threat of Isil is not to us in the West: it’s to Saudi Arabia and also to the other Gulf states.”

Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia are playing small parts in the air campaign against Isil, contributing two and four jet fighters respectively. But Gen Shaw said they “should be in the forefront” and, above all, leading an ideological counter-revolution against Isil.

The British and American air campaign would not “stop the support of people in Qatar and Saudi Arabia for this kind of activity,” added Gen Shaw. “It’s missing the point. It might, if it works, solve the immediate tactical problem. It’s not addressing the fundamental problem of Wahhabi Salafism as a culture and a creed, which has got out of control and is still the ideological basis of Isil – and which will continue to exist even if we stop their advance in Iraq.”

Gen Shaw said the Government’s approach towards Isil was fundamentally mistaken. “People are still treating this as a military problem, which is in my view to misconceive the problem,” he added. “My systemic worry is that we’re repeating the mistakes that we made in Afghanistan and Iraq: putting the military far too up front and centre in our response to the threat without addressing the fundamental political question and the causes. The danger is that yet again we’re taking a symptomatic treatment not a causal one.”

Gen Shaw said that Isil’s main focus was on toppling the established regimes of the Middle East, not striking Western targets. He questioned whether Isil’s murder of two British and two American hostages was sufficient justification for the campaign.

“Isil made their big incursion into Iraq in June. The West did nothing, despite thousands of people being killed,” said Gen Shaw. “What’s changed in the last month? Beheadings on TV of Westerners. And that has led us to suddenly change our policy and suddenly launch air attacks.”

He believes that Isil might have murdered the hostages in order to provoke a military response from America and Britain which could then be portrayed as a Christian assault on Islam. “What possible advantage is there to Isil of bringing us into this campaign?” asked Gen Shaw. “Answer: to unite the Muslim world against the Christian world. We played into their hands. We’ve done what they wanted us to do.”

However, Gen Shaw’s analysis is open to question. Even if they had the will, the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar may be incapable of leading an ideological struggle against Isil. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is 91 and only sporadically active. His chosen successor, Crown Prince Salman, is 78 and already believed to be declining into senility. The kingdom’s ossified leadership is likely to be paralysed for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile in Qatar, the new Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, is only 34 in a region that respects age. Whether this Harrow and Sandhurst-educated ruler has the personal authority to lead an ideological counter-revolution within Islam is doubtful.

Given that Saudi Arabia and Qatar almost certainly cannot do what Gen Shaw believes to be necessary, the West may have no option except to take military action against Isil with the aim of reducing, if not eliminating, the terrorist threat.

“I just have a horrible feeling that we’re making things worse. We’re entering into this in a way we just don’t understand,” said Gen Shaw. “I’m against the principle of us attacking without a clear political plan.”

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Turkey’s Erdoğan urges united Muslim front against terror

November 19, 2015

Turkey’s Erdoğan urges united Muslim front against terror

ISTANBUL – Agence France-Presse

Source: Turkey’s Erdoğan urges united Muslim front against terror – POLITICS

He still dreams of a new ottoman empire !

DHA photo

DHA photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Nov. 19 called for a united front by Muslim leaders to fight extremism after the Paris attacks, warning that otherwise jihadists will commit further atrocities.

Erdoğan warned that “calamities will happen again” if the rise of radical Islam is not halted in Europe, after the Paris attacks on Nov. 13 claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group which killed 129 people and suicide bombings in Ankara that left 103 dead in Oct. 10.

“We are at a crossroads in the fight against terrorism after the Paris attacks,” Erdoğan told a meeting of the Atlantic Council think-tank in Istanbul.

“I strongly condemn the terrorists, who believe in the same religion as me, and I am calling on all leaders of Muslim countries to put up a united front,” he said.

“If not, those who knocked on our door in Ankara, will knock on your door elsewhere, as they did in Paris.”
Erdoğan, a pious Muslim whose Justice and Development Party (AKP) spearheaded the rise of political Islam in Turkey, has long angrily dismissed suggestions that Ankara colluded with ISIL in the Syrian civil war.

Turkey has supported rebel groups throughout the over four years of conflict in Syria in the hope they can help oust President Bashar al-Assad from power.

But Erdoğan lashed out at any notion “that all Muslims are terrorists,” saying: “Bad people can be Muslims as well as Christians and Jews.”

“Those who demonise Islam by  looking at Daesh are making a big mistake,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.

“Daesh has nothing to do with Islam.”

With momentum building after the Paris attacks in the long-stalled bid of the world powers to find a solution for Syria, Erdoğan made clear Turkey would not budge from its insistence that Assad must leave power.

He accused Assad of supporting ISIL — which is ostensibly fighting the Damascus regime — and buying oil from the group.

“You would be blind not see it.”

“The chief reason for the humanitarian crisis and the rise of terrorism in the region today is Assad… Assad is waging state terrorism,” said Erdoğan.

International efforts to find common ground on Syria have so far been thwarted by disputes with Russia, which has long insisted the Syrian people alone should decide the fate of Assad, a Kremlin ally.

Turkey, however, has argued there can be no solution in Syria unless Assad leaves power.

November/19/2015

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President Erdoğan still pursuing no-fly zone in northern Syria

November 19, 2015

President Erdoğan still pursuing no-fly zone in northern Syria

ANKARA

Source: President Erdoğan still pursuing no-fly zone in northern Syria – MIDEAST

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing lands at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, November 12, 2015. REUTERS Photo

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing lands at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, November 12, 2015. REUTERS Photo

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has again voiced his desire to create a no-fly zone and establish a train-and-equip program for Syrian rebels while floating the idea of building settlements for Syrian refugees in line with their “national architectural style.”

“A no-fly zone, terror-free zone and train-and-equip [program] – steps are needed on these issues. Now our relevant departments are carrying out work. Timing is another issue, but the process is under control. This step will be taken, some areas have especially been earmarked,” Erdoğan said in an interview aired on ATV and A Haber channels late on Nov. 18.

New housing that is in harmony with local architecture should be built in the area where Syrian refugees are located, the president said.

A no-fly zone will protect them, while Syrian opposition forces will have the power to conduct a ground operation in the prospective area, he said.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) poses a threat to Turkey, Erdoğan also said in reply to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who suggested an operation with Turkey against the jihadist group.

“We’ll take a step with coalition forces,” he said.

Turkey has long pushed for a safe zone to protect civilians from Syrian airstrikes, but the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has repeatedly rejected the idea as too difficult to implement.

November/19/2015

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Hollande to tell Obama Europe can’t wait for US war of attrition with ISIS to succeed

November 19, 2015

Hollande to tell Obama Europe can’t wait for US war of attrition with ISIS to succeed

report Published time: 19 Nov, 2015 10:36

Source: Hollande to tell Obama Europe can’t wait for US war of attrition with ISIS to succeed – report — RT News

French President François Hollande is to call for the US to review its strategy in fighting terrorist group Islamic State, arguing that Europe cannot wait for America’s long war of attrition with the jihadists to work, the Guardian reports.
Trends France terror attacks, Russian anti-terror op in Syria

Hollande is to meet US President Barack Obama on Tuesday next week before going to Russia for a visit. The French leader intends to make Obama aware of the extent of damage done to Europe by the developing refugee crisis and the rising threat of terrorist attacks, a European diplomat told the British newspaper.

“The message that we want to send to the Americans is simply that the crisis is destabilizing Europe,”said the diplomat, who did not wish to be named. “The problem is that the attacks in Paris and the refugee crisis show that we don’t have time. There is an emergency.”

The source said that’s the reason why the French president will visit Washington on Tuesday before flying to Moscow.

According to the diplomat, Paris’ position is that the Europeans cannot afford to wait for years for the war of attrition that the US-led coalition is waging on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, to take effect. There is an impression in Europe that the US doesn’t fully comprehend the urgency of the issue because it doesn’t have to take the bulk of the refugees fleeting Middle East and pouring into Europe in the biggest movement of people since World War II.

Hollande earlier called on the US and Russia, both of which lead a separate effort to eradicate IS, to join forces. Moscow said a broad coalition was needed to defeat the terrorists, but Washington said it would only agree if Russia shared its goals in Syria.

READ MORE: Russian warplanes disrupt ISIS oil sales channels; destroy 500 terrorist oil trucks in Syria

The White House insists that the Syrian conflict can only be resolved if President Bashar Assad steps down.

“Bottom line is, I do not foresee a situation in which we can end the civil war in Syria while Assad remains in power,” Barack Obama told reporters in Manila on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

The Kremlin sees the Syrian government as the most viable force in the country that can provide ground troops to battle terrorist groups. Russia says Assad’s political future should be decided by the Syrian people, but the US insists he should not be part of a political settlement.

The Pentagon on its part wants to rely on “moderate rebel forces” and Kurdish militias to attack terrorists on the ground in Syria. So far the strategy wasn’t effective. Kurds fought IS militants when they attacked Kurd-controlled territories, but are reluctant to go on offensive. The empowerment of Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria also puts the US-led coalition at odds with NATO member Turkey, which has been fighting Kurdish insurgency for decades.

As for the program to train and arm moderate rebels, it proved to be a failure with the Pentagon reporting in September just a handful of US-prepared soldiers actually fighting IS.

IS strategy has become one of the major campaign issues for the upcoming presidential election in the US. Republican candidates like Jeb Bush and Donald Trump have been criticizing the Obama administration for being too soft on terrorists.

Voices calling for the Obama administration to reconsider its ‘Assad must go’ mantra are coming from intelligence professionals as well.

“I think it’s now crystal clear to us that our strategy, our policy vis-à-vis ISIS is not working and it’s time to look at something else,” former CIA deputy director Michael Morell told CBS. “The question of whether President Assad needs to go or whether he is part of the solution – we must look at it again. Clearly he is part of the problem but he may also be part of the solution. An agreement, where he stays for a while and the Syrian army supported by the coalition takes on ISIS may be give us the best result.”

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Satire | US Not Sure Who It’s Fighting In Middle East, Bombs Israel ‘Just To Be Sure’

November 19, 2015

US Not Sure Who It’s Fighting In Middle East, Bombs Israel ‘Just To Be Sure’ Duffel Blog, November 19, 2015

US bombs IsraelUS officials are confident they understand the situation on the ground in Syria. (Duffel Blog photo.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pentagon spokesperson Col. Steve Warren announced US aircraft participating in Operation Inherent Resolve, the code name for the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), struck targets in Tel Aviv today.

When asked why US warplanes would attack a long-standing ally, Warren explained, “Look, guys, this all makes perfect sense,” pointing to a nebulous PowerPoint slide.

“This was all supposed to be a campaign to topple Bashar al-Asad in Syria, starting with the Arab Spring in 2011. Which, in turn, allowed us to get back at Iran and Russia, both of whom support Syria,” said Warren. “So the CIA considered arming the rebels in Syria, which kind of backfired, and now we have ISIS, a group we thought we had already defeated back when they were al-Qaeda in Iraq.”

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter further explained, “Sure, we were a little worried when ISIS started running around the Middle East, chopping everyone’s heads off. But fortunately, Iran came to our rescue. Well, in Iraq, that is. We’re still fighting Iran in Yemen.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joe Dunford stressed the contributions of America’s coalition partners.

Dunford explained how the US tried to empower allies among the Gulf States to take on ISIS, “which in turn sort of helps us get back at Iran.”

“Unfortunately, most of those states also covertly support ISIS, even though they’re nominally our long-standing allies. Whoops,” said Dunford.

“That’s not to say we don’t have some powerful allies in the region, though,” Dunford explained. “The Kurds have proven to be our greatest allies there, and the Turks are one of our longest-standing NATO allies. Unfortunately, they spend more time fighting each other than ISIS. That old saying, ‘nothing brings people together like a common enemy’ is completely useless here.”

Dunford concluded, “So, you see, ISIS is supported by Arabs, who are opposed by Iranians, who are both opposed and allied with the US, who is sort of allied with Turkey and the Kurds, who are opposed to each other. Since the enemy of my friend is now my enemy, it made sense for the US to bomb Israel, Iran’s bitter adversary.”

Events grew even more complicated in the wake of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday. The attacks were reportedly the work of ISIS, who also claimed credit for the bombing of a Russian airliner earlier this month.

“France and Russia have formed an alliance, though in doing so, they automatically caused Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire to declare war in return,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook. “And, let’s face it, this whole thing really is the fault of the Ottomans when you think about it.”

The briefing then shifted to issues surrounding Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“There, the situation is much more simple,” Cook continued.  “The US is fighting the Taliban by providing billions of dollars in military aid to Pakistan, which is supporting the Taliban. Basically, it’s like that scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Luke Skywalker thinks he’s fighting Darth Vader, only to find his own face in Darth Vader’s helmet. That’s pretty much what we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

 

Categories: Foreign policy, Funding terrorism, Iran, Islamic nations, Islamic State, Israel, Obama - Middle East, Russia, Satire, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taliban, Tel Aviv
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Obama Wants to Defeat America, Not ISIS

November 18, 2015

Obama Wants to Defeat America, Not ISIS His real enemy isn’t the Caliph of ISIS, but the ordinary American.

November 18, 2015

Daniel Greenfield

Source: Obama Wants to Defeat America, Not ISIS | Frontpage Mag

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam.

Last year at a NATO summit, Obama explicitly disavowed the idea of containing ISIS. “You can’t contain an organization that is running roughshod through that much territory, causing that much havoc, displacing that many people, killing that many innocents, enslaving that many women,” he said.

Instead he argued, “The goal has to be to dismantle them.”

Just before the Paris massacre, Obama shifted back to containment. “From the start, our goal has been first to contain them, and we have contained them,” he said.

Pay no attention to what he said last year. There’s a new message now. Last year Obama was vowing to destroy ISIS. Now he had settled for containing them. And he couldn’t even manage that.

ISIS has expanded into Libya and Yemen. It struck deep into the heart of Europe as one of its refugee suicide bombers appeared to have targeted the President of France and the Foreign Minister of Germany. That’s the opposite of a terrorist organization that had been successfully contained.

Obama has been playing tactical word games over ISIS all along. He would “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS. Or perhaps dismantle the Islamic State. Or maybe just contain it.

Containment is closest to the truth. Obama has no plan for defeating ISIS. Nor is he planning to get one any time soon. There will be talk of multilateral coalitions. Drone strikes will take out key figures. And then when this impressive war theater has died down, ISIS will suddenly pull off another attack.

And everyone will be baffled at how the “defeated” terrorist group is still on the march.

The White House version of reality says that ISIS attacked Paris because it’s losing. Obama also claimed that Putin’s growing strength in Syria is a sign of weakness. Never mind that Putin has all but succeeded in getting countries that were determined to overthrow Assad to agree to let him stay.

Weakness is strength. Strength is weakness.

Obama’s failed wars occupy a space of unreality that most Americans associate with Baghdad Bob bellowing that there are no American soldiers in Iraq. (There are, according to the White House, still no American ground forces in Iraq. Only American forces in firefights on the ground in Iraq.)

There’s nothing new about any of this. Obama doesn’t win wars. He lies about them.

The botched campaign against ISIS is a replay of the disaster in Afghanistan complete with ridiculous rules of engagement, blatant administration lies and no plan for victory. But there can’t be a plan for victory because when Obama gets past the buzzwords, he begins talking about addressing root causes.

And you don’t win wars by addressing root causes. That’s just a euphemism for appeasement.

Addressing root causes means blaming Islamic terrorism on everything from colonialism to global warming. It doesn’t mean defeating it, but finding new ways to blame it on the West.

Obama and his political allies believe that crime can’t be fought with cops and wars can’t be won with soldiers. The only answer lies in addressing the root causes which, after all the prattling about climate change and colonialism, really come down to the Marxist explanation of inequality.

When reporters ask Obama how he plans to win the war, he smirks tiredly at them and launches into another condescending explanation about how the situation is far too complicated for anything as simple as bombs to work. Underneath that explanation is the belief that wars are unwinnable.

Obama knows that Americans won’t accept “war just doesn’t work” as an answer to Islamic terrorism. So he demonstrates to them that wars don’t work by fighting wars that are meant to fail.

In Afghanistan, he bled American soldiers as hard as possible with vicious rules of engagement that favored the Taliban to destroy support for a war that most of the country had formerly backed. By blowing the war, Obama was not only sabotaging the specific implementation of a policy he opposed, but the general idea behind it. His failed wars are meant to teach Americans that war doesn’t work.

The unspoken idea that informs his strategy is that American power is the root cause of the problems in the region. Destroying ISIS would solve nothing. Containing American power is the real answer.

Obama does not have a strategy for defeating ISIS. He has a strategy for defeating America.

Whatever rhetoric he tosses out, his actual strategy is to respond to public pressure by doing the least he can possibly do. He will carry out drone strikes, not because they’re effective, but because they inflict the fewest casualties on the enemy.

He may try to contain the enemy, not because he cares about ISIS, but because he wants to prevent Americans from “overreacting” and demanding harsher measures against the Islamic State. Instead of fighting to win wars, he seeks to deescalate them. If public pressure forces him to go beyond drones, he will authorize the fewest air strikes possible. If he is forced to send in ground troops, he will see to it that they have the least protection and the greatest vulnerability to ISIS attacks.

Just like in Afghanistan.

Obama would like ISIS to go away. Not because they engage in the ethnic cleansing, mass murder and mass rape of non-Muslims, but because they wake the sleeping giant of the United States.

And so his idea of war is fighting an informational conflict against Americans. When Muslim terrorists commit an atrocity to horrifying that public pressure forces him to respond, he lies to Americans. Each time his Baghdad Bob act is shattered by another Islamic terrorist attack, he piles on even more lies.

Any strategy that Obama offers against ISIS will consist of more of the same lies and word games. His apologists will now debate the meaning of “containment” and whether he succeeded in defining it so narrowly on his own terms that he can claim to have accomplished it. But it really doesn’t matter what his meaning of “containment” or “is” is. Failure by any other name smells just as terrible.

Obama responded to ISIS by denying it’s a threat. Once that stopped being a viable strategy, he began to stall for time. And he’s still stalling for time, not to beat ISIS, but to wait until ISIS falls out of the headlines. That has been his approach to all his scandals from ObamaCare to the IRS to the VA.

Lie like crazy and wait for people to forget about it and turn their attention to something else.

This is a containment strategy, but not for ISIS. It’s a containment strategy for America. Obama isn’t trying to bottle up ISIS except as a means of bottling up America. He doesn’t see the Caliph of the Islamic State as the real threat, but the average American who watches the latest beheading on the news and wonders why his government doesn’t do something about it. To the left it isn’t the Caliph of ISIS who starts the wars we ought to worry about, but Joe in Tennessee, Bill in California or Pete in Minnesota.

That is why Obama sounds bored when talking about beating ISIS, but heats up when the conversation turns to fighting Republicans. It’s why Hillary Clinton named Republicans, not ISIS, as her enemy.

The left is not interested in making war on ISIS. It is too busy making war on America.

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That Other Side of Russia’s Syria Campaign…

November 15, 2015

That Other Side of Russia’s Syria Campaign…, Independent Strategy and Intelligence Group, November 14, 2015

(Obama’s America isn’t “winning the war” against the (non-Islamic) Islamic State. If Putin’s Russia isn’t either, who will — France? — DM)

True to form, Vlad is increasing operations and the size of his military’s footprint in Syria while lowering the bar of what constitutes “success.” In a recent piece (“Russian-Backed Offensive in Syria Begins to Stall-What Now?”) we discussed how out of all the fronts in the multi-pronged offensive the pro-regime forces are engaged in, only Aleppo has seen any gains – although those gains have been mixed. The SAA and IRGC had to divert resources from the Hama and Idlib fronts just to sustain the Aleppo offensive and achieve the gains that they did – all while sustaining heavy casualties in the process. The diverting of personnel and resources grounded the remaining forces in Hama and Idlib to halt. In some cases they’ve actually lost ground in the two fronts. The only thing that has kept them from driven out of those areas completely is the fact that al-Nusra sent a lot of their fighters to Aleppo, meaning the opposition factions don’t have the manpower to seize the initiative. And so they wait.

Russian-Backed Offensive in Syria Begins to Stall-What Now?
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9219

Has Assad’s New Offensive Changed Syria’s Front Lines?
http://www.syriadeeply.org/articles/2015/11/8733/assads-offensive-changed-syrias-front-lines/

puppet-master-248x300The Puppet Master Source: Derek Bacon (Getty Images)

As of this writing the Russian military has 18 artillery pieces and 9 combat helicopters deployed west of Tadmur with a Spetsnaz unit also operating in the area. Initially these forces were focused on supporting the Assad regime’s multi-pronged offensive in the Northwest due to the major threat the opposition forces posed. Since mid to late-OCT Vlad has conducted airstrikes in Halab Province as part of the effort to disrupt the Islamic State’s (IS) push on the Aleppo supply line. Airstrikes have also been conducted on Raqqa City, Dayr az-Zawr and areas just outside of Damascus. That said, the Russian military is struggling to satisfy the fire support requests of pro-regime forces. The Russian military has 32 combat aircraft, 16 combat helicopters (with more than half in Tadmur) and a Brigade-sized element of artillery.

We’re not surprised that Vlad’s IO guys are trumpeting the recapture of a couple villages and a derelict airbase (Kweires) in Aleppo Province – especially since opposition forces operating in the Ghab Valley were blocking regime advances just a few days ago. Then there’s Jaysh al-Fatah seizing control of several villages in Hama Province. They’ve been poised to push deeper into the areas Northwest of Hama City as of 10 NOV. Regarding Kweires, the recapturing of the base has more symbolic than tactical value. Vlad is hoping the symbolic victory will galvanize the SAA (we’re not holding our breath).

Syrian Regime, Allies Boast of Breaking Aleppo Air Base Siege
http://www.wsj.com/articles/syrian-government-forces-allies-boast-of-breaking-aleppo-air-base-siege-1447265552

Vlad’s increased sense of urgency is understandable considering the current state of the SAA, not to mention the mounting losses of the Iranian military force in-country. Since OCT the IRGC has lost four senior officer to include their most senior official – BG Hossein Hamedani (Reference “Pro-Assad Forces Experience Setbacks Despite Russian Military Intervention”). Even Hezbollah has lost several senior commanders, such as Hassan al-Haj. GEN Suleimani deployed an additional 2,000 IRGC-Qods Force operators to Syria this past summer in response to combat losses. Our sources have informed us that even Ayatollah Khameini has been getting worried about the increase in casualties from the ongoing offensive, which was the driving force behind his decision to deploy additional conventional IRGC personnel (armor, artillery etc). Thing is Khameini is busy trying to keep the Iranian public from learning that things aren’t going as well as advertised. Vlad is already prepping his own domestic audience for a prolonged Russian mission in Syria.

Pro-Assad Forces Experience Setbacks Despite Russian Military Intervention
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8778

The Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) is central to Vlad’s efforts to shape domestic and international opinion of the Syrian campaign – especially against the US. A great deal of the IO portion of this campaign involves messaging that highlights Russia’s humanitarian work (of course leaving out the part about indiscriminately targeting civilians) blames the US and its allies for the Syrian regional war and the rise of IS – even to the extent of claiming that Team Baghdadi is really an “American puppet” (FYI that messaging would work if the Obama administration wasn’t grossly incompetent). There’s actually been some inconsistencies with their messaging, because on one hand they’ll claim the US is “orchestrating” IS’ activities while running a parallel series of messaging highlighting American failures to combat the terror group – they may want to tighten up their shot group in that regards. Our in-country sources report the use of UAVs to distribute leaflets warning opposition fighters of their impending “annihilation” if they don’t flee the area. Another area GRU has been busy is employing the services of independent bloggers, sympathetic website admins and pro-Vlad organizations to distribute messaging. They’ve also been creating fake personas to convey IO themes and present counter-arguments to anything critical of Russia’s intervention, the Assad regime and Vlad himself. We’ve encountered a few of these personas on our Facebook and Twitter feed – they’re not hard to identify since they tried to bait us into divulging the identities of our sources (which isn’t going to happen).

In order to fully understand what’s going on, one must first understand Vlad himself. Our favorite KGB officer has gone his whole life trying to avoid the appearance of “weakness.” Also, his perception since the invasion of Crimea of being labeled a “pariah” by the West likely compels him to be aggressive on the international stage – especially when it comes to projecting power in the Middle East. His KGB service continues to drive his worldview. An example of this is time as a KGB officer in Dresden left a particular mark on his psyche as it was during the last days of the Soviet Union – which he refers to as “the most traumatic experience of his life.” So it should come as no surprise that he views himself as Russia’s lone “champion” that can stand up to defend against America. As such, he views Syria as an opportunity to replace US influence and more importantly, as a test of his reputation and Russia’s international prestige.

putin_Young-300x300A younger Vlad Source: PBS

He has a constant need for recognition and validation, which is why popularity polls are so important to him and why his cult of personality was crafted. Ever wondered why he’s always posing in photos lifting weights, doing the topless horse-riding thing or shooting things? That’s why. Interestingly enough, Vlad was his parents’ only surviving child, and was considered small, weak and sickly. Before that, his parents went through a great deal of hardships during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII. In other words, nothing came easy for him – which we respect. Still, he grew up being regarded as “special” – which resulted in the special snowflake growing up thinking that he was “superior” to everybody else (this is the one thing he has in common with President Obama). As for Vlad’s childhood, he grew up in a rat-infested one-room apartment. It certainly wasn’t the privileged childhood of traveling to exotic locales that his American counterpart got to enjoy. Since he was small, fights occurred regularly – which led to his current interest in martial arts. As for his signature unemotional facial expressions, those are a product of a well-cultivated effort to project strength and guard against unwelcome emotional responses, such as sadness or fear. Acts that he views are intended to undermine or humiliate him will result in his escalating a situation in response. He will only “back off” on his own terms – such as feeling a negative response might come from the public, for instance. For instance, his response to the 2011-2012 Moscow protests is a reflection of his sensitivity to internal dissent. His actions since that time – increased public outreach and propaganda efforts – are geared towards reinforcing the narrative he made of himself as being “indispensable.” The current fight against IS (and the West) is a big part of that plan.

putin_gun-300x225He sure doesn’t seem to like wearing shirts, now does he? Source: Associated Press

The architect of Vlad’s Middle East strategy is GRU Chief Igor Sergun, who was added to the EU’s sanctions list last year in response to his involvement of Russia’s Ukraine campaign. Specifically, he’s a member of Vlad’s “circle of trust” who holds the distinction of being one of the few people involved in the decision-making process leading up to the Crimea invasion receiving the “green light.” More recently, Sergun became a major advocate for Russia to increase its presence in the Middle East. He was the point-man involved in the negotiations that led to the establishment of the joint-intelligence coordination centers in Iraq and Syria (Check out “Russia Providing Lethal Aid to Syria, Iran and Establishment of Intel Centers in Iraq” and “Russia Poised to Increase Military Presence in Middle East in Response to Islamic State’s Strength” for additional info). Of note is that Sergun sees bilateral ties as a means of learning about Western intentions and countering them. The US is just “gaga” over this guy’s smile, but the turn is that he’s the leading figure behind the current IO campaign against the US. This guy has a plethora of experience, having joined the GRU in 1984. From 1989-1992 he served undercover under the guise of being a “military attache” in Stockholm and Tirana in 1997. As a side note, we hear that Sergun loves gardening to unwind and has a nice little dacha near Moscow (we’re working to obtain pics).

Russia’s Military Chief and deputy PM added to EU’s sanctions list
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4a3ff1cc-cf71-11e3-bec6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3rZBrt6dm

Ukrainian Rebel Commander Identified As Russian GRU Military Intelligence Colonel

Ukrainian Rebel Commander Identified As Russian GRU Military Intelligence Colonel

Russia Providing Lethal Aid to Syria, Iran and Establishment of Intel Centers in Iraq
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8532

Russia Poised to Increase Military Presence in Middle East in Response to Islamic State’s Strength
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8416

igor-sergun-300x273Igor Sergun: Likes to channel his “Inner-Martha Stewart” for relaxation. Source: The ISIS Study Group

The guy Sergun hand-picked to oversee intel and IO operations in Syria is COL Pavel Vladimirovich Petrunin. His duties involve the coordinating of intel-sharing with the SAA, IRGC and other pro-regime elements, such as Hezbollah. One of the things he’s been heavily involved with is overseeing the creation of IO messaging that emphasizes Russian/Syrian “successes” no matter how minor. According to our sources, he’s also been engaged in stream-lining offensive cyber-warfare operations with the Syrian Electronic Army in the targeting of opposition social media accounts and web sites – even targeting American and allied computer systems. One of the more interesting things we’ve learned is that he was the one who recommended spinning fratricide/civilian collateral damage incidents (which are a common occurrence on the Syrian front) as “IS attacks” as a means of masking SAA ineptitude. Just as important is the direct intel support that his subordinates provide to the Spetsnaz operators conducting CT-operations in the country against opposition leadership.

Apparent Russian raids kill 11 in Syria’s Idlib: monitor
http://news.yahoo.com/10-dead-syria-regime-raids-held-town-monitor-143407847.html

This fight isn’t going to end anytime soon and because of that, the GRU’s IO campaign is going to increase in importance. Keep in mind that Vlad feels that he’s “Russia” itself, and therefore views his failure as “Russia’s failure.” As we’ve stated previously, Vlad is now at the point where he has to escalate the Russian military mission in Syria so as to continue to project that image of “strength.” This becomes even more important after the Sinai Plane Bombing and Paris attacks. That said, the current situation on the ground in Syria and Vlad’s sensitivities to internal dissent presents several exploitable opportunities for the US to launch an IO campaign of its own – whether they’ll have the testicular fortitude to actually do it is another thing altogether…

Other Related Articles:

Russia Supports New Syrian Offensive and Begins Prepping For Russian Ground OPs
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=8669

Amplifying Details on the Sinai Plane Bombing and the Egypt-Libya Nexus
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9230

Sinai Plane Crash Update
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9184

Islamic State Claims to Have Shot-Down Russian Plane in Sinai – But Did They?
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=9157

US to cut 40,000 troops despite Russian and Chinese Belligerence and Rapidly Expanding Islamic State
http://isisstudygroup.com/?p=7563

Categories: Islamic State, Obama and Islamic State, Putin, Russia, Russia - Middle East, Russia - Syrian war
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EU: US-Russia cooperation crucial to defeating ISIS in Syria

November 15, 2015

EU: US-Russia cooperation crucial to defeating ISIS in Syria

By REUTERS \

11/15/2015 16:25

Source: EU: US-Russia cooperation crucial to defeating ISIS in Syria – International – Jerusalem Post

“It should be our common aim to coordinate our actions against Daesh and for sure the cooperation between the United States and Russia is a crucial one,” Donald Tusk said

BELEK, Turkey – The United States and Russia must cooperate in fighting Islamic State in Syria, the president of the European Council said on Sunday, stressing Russia should focus its military actions there on the radical Islamists and not the Syrian opposition.

At a news conference on the sidelines of a summit of world leaders in the Turkish coastal province of Antalya, Donald Tusk said that Russian bombing of President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents was only increasing the wave of refugees to Europe.

“It should be our common aim to coordinate our actions against Daesh and for sure the cooperation between the United States and Russia is a crucial one,” Tusk said, referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

“But we need not only more cooperation, but also more good will, especially from Russian action on the ground in Syria. It must be focussed more on Islamic State and not – because we cannot accept it – against the moderate Syrian opposition,” Tusk said.

Europe is facing an inflow of 1 million refugees from the Middle East and Africa this year alone as a result of the Syrian conflict, which pits the forces of Islamic State, Assad and the Syrian opposition against each other.

Russia joined the conflict a month and a half ago with air strikes in Syria, but has been targeting mainly areas controlled by forces opposed to its long-term ally Assad, rather than by Islamic State.

“We have no doubt that from actions against the Syrian opposition the only result will be a new wave of refugees and we have started seeing that, in fact it has started,” Tusk said.

“This is why the cooperation between Russia and other countries, especially the United States, is so important also in this context of the refugee crisis,” he said.

Russia, the United States and powers from Europe and the Middle East outlined a plan on Saturday for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years, a day after gunmen and suicide bombers from Islamic State went on a rampage through Paris, killing 129 people.

Tusk said that after attacks in Paris, the G20 had to step up efforts to cut off financing to terrorists.

“Terror networks cannot plan or operate without the money that moves through the financial systems of many countries. Only if we fully cooperate on exchange of information about suspicious transactions, will we be able to stop this threat effectively,” Tusk said.

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 Obama, 1 Day before Paris Massacres: ‘We’ve Contained ISIS’

November 15, 2015

’ Sunday, he repeated what he said February that he will “redouble” efforts to wipe out ISIS. Santorum: ‘People are dying because this President refuses to face the truth.”

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

Published: November 15th, 2015

Source: The Jewish Press » » Obama, 1 Day before Paris Massacres: ‘We’ve Contained ISIS’

ISIS murderers threatening Obama in a YouTube video.

ISIS murderers threatening Obama in a YouTube video.
Photo Credit: YouTube, translation by MEMRI.org

President Barack Obama said Sunday that he will “redouble” efforts to eliminate the Islamic State (ISIS), the same word he uttered last February.

His latest vow comes three days after the President declared in a television interview that he has “contained” ISIS. President Obama  was referring to “containing” ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but the massive ISIS attacks in Paris the following days have come back to haunt him.

A senior administration official tried to fend off complaints that President Obama was talking through his hat, and told news sources:

We, including the President, have said from beginning the fight against ISIL would be long and have both good and bad days.

Friday was not a bad day; it was catastrophic.

The day before, President Obama told George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America:

We’ve always understood that our goal has to be militarily constraining ISIL’s capabilities, cutting off their supply lines, cutting off their financing.’

Stephanopolous politely but bluntly tried to tell the President hat ISIS actually is gaining strength, but the Commander-in-Chief rejected the idea and insisted:

I don’t think they’re gaining strength. From the start, our goal has been first to contain and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq, and in Syria they’ll come in, they’ll leave. But you don’t see this systemic march by ISIL across the terrain.

Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris proved that ISIS, or ISIL as President Obama likes to call the Islamic State, has marched right into the terrain of Europe.

The White House bragged about U.S.-led airstrikes freeing an Iraqi city from ISIS rule and possibly having killed “Jihadi John.” but the real impact of ISIS is its terrorist infrastructure that obviously is entrenched in Europe and which has reached the United States.

President Obama came bouncing back Sunday at a meeting with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan and vowed to “redouble” efforts to eliminate ISIS. After exceptionally poetic rhetoric, even for him, that the skies have been darkened” by the Paris attacks, the president stated:

We will redouble our efforts working with other members of the coalition to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria and to eliminate Daesh as a force that can create so much pain and suffering for people in Paris and Ankara and other parts of the globe.

Sound familiar? It should.

Here is what President Obama had to say last February, after ISIS posted a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive:

Should in fact this video be authentic…it, I think, will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated.

It also just indicates the degree to which whatever ideology they’re operate off of is bankrupt.

Polls have shown that American voters are increasingly placing the threat of ISIS attacks near the top of their list of worries.

The Republican party is having a field day harping on President Obama’s empty claim that “we have restrained ISIS.”

Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum directly blamed President Obama for the attacks in Paris and told reporters in Florida on Saturday:

This President doesn’t plan. … This President has completely abandoned ship.

This is delusional. That’s the only way I can put it. … And people are dying because this President refuses to face the truth.

I would say to a war-weary country that if we do not begin to take back ground back from ISIS, we will see war visit us here more dramatically and repeatedly….

The public relations value that the President gives ISIS every day by engaging in a war that he has no intention of winning is what you saw in France yesterday.

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