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Post by 101ABN on Jun 10, 2014 18:57:34 GMT -8
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Post by Sailor on Jun 11, 2014 3:59:24 GMT -8
I've been asking myself the same question.
The answer?
What a fucking waste.
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Post by warrior1972 on Jun 11, 2014 4:39:19 GMT -8
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Post by 101ABN on Jun 11, 2014 8:16:57 GMT -8
Sonofabitch!
Thanks Warrior.
Now various sources are reporting that they've taken Tikrit as well.
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Post by Sailor on Jun 11, 2014 8:31:19 GMT -8
Shit.
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Post by 101ABN on Jun 11, 2014 10:18:56 GMT -8
I just read that Samarra is also under attack.
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Post by warrior1972 on Jun 11, 2014 17:38:06 GMT -8
(CNN) -- The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has taken over much of the Iraqi province of Nineveh, including the country's second largest city, Mosul. In the course of doing so, they have released thousands of jihadist prisoners, reportedly taken hundreds of people hostage and -- perhaps most worryingly of all -- fortified their already strong territorial position in the region. The group has made impressive gains in the last year. Besides this week's achievements, ISIS have come to dominate the international media discourse on the war in Syria and wrested control of the city of Falluja, which, astonishingly, is less than an hour from Baghdad. We should be worried. This, after all, is a group that was rejected by al Qaeda because of its ferocity. Its mysterious leaders are far beyond the extremist pale, and that they seem to be consolidating a territorial base must be put at the forefront of international counter-terrorism policy. ISIS, currently led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is an al Qaeda offshoot and a spawn of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). For the ISI, the last few years have been rocky to say the least, but the unprecedented instability caused by the Syrian civil war has given the group a new lease of life. Since it was formed when al-Baghdadi announced an unanticipated (by all sides) merger with Jabhat al-Nusra in April 2013, ISIS has gone from strength to strength. Commentators on Syria often refer to ISIS as the most radical of the myriad jihadist factions operating there. For some reason, though, coverage from Iraq this week has stuck to calling them Sunni "rebels," "insurgents" or "militants." These terms of reference are woefully unsuitable -- ISIS fighters in Iraq are of exactly the same inclination as those in Syria, who have repeatedly been called out for their unparalleled barbarity on -- and off -- the battlefield. This doesn't just matter to Iraq, though, it matters to the rest of the world as well. In the wider region, ISIS's presence in Syria will continue to skew the fight against the Assad regime for the worse. After all, these "rebels" are fighting the same people as the Syrian army. www.cnn.com/2014/06/11/opinion/cooper-quilliam-isis-mosul-takeover/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |
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Post by 101ABN on Jun 11, 2014 18:55:44 GMT -8
Sounds like the Iraqi army is folding up like a cheap tent in a hurricane.
I'll bet Al-Maliki is wishing he hadn't been so obstinate on a status of forces agreement.
Now he's reportedly asking for US air support.
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Post by Sailor on Jun 12, 2014 2:53:25 GMT -8
ISIS is also threatening (real threat IMHO) to march on Baghdad itself. Iraq is screwed, it will take far more than air support to stop ISIS and friends and there are NO ground forces available to send back into country even if the temperment in this country would permit it, which it won't.
Buh-bye Iraq.
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Post by warrior1972 on Jun 12, 2014 4:10:49 GMT -8
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Post by 101ABN on Jun 12, 2014 20:44:18 GMT -8
Now the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are fighting against ISIS forces, Shia vs. Sunni.
Meanwhile, I'm having PTSD deja vu.
I feel like I'm watching the fucking fall of Saigon all over again.
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Post by Sailor on Jun 13, 2014 2:50:21 GMT -8
Thanks Warrior.
We've evacuated many of our military trainers from Iraq though I think the S.F. trainers are still there. IIRC we've delivered a dozen or so F-16s to Iraq, though without the training personnel those are pretty much useless now.
I don't know off hand what armored ground equipment and artty we left them but with the Army deserting that stuff is probably already in ISIS hands. Quite a lot of arms and ammo fell into ISIS hands in Falujah and Mosul.
Dark days ahead.
Take care bro.
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Post by Sailor on Jun 13, 2014 4:07:30 GMT -8
This didn't take long to find and partially answers my question about what US weapons ISIS has or may capture: Earlier this year, the U.S. began to expedite the sale of military equipment to Iraq, including 500 Hellfire missiles, 24 Apache helicopters, F-16 fighter jets, and other weapons, after ISIS took over Fallujah. The U.S. has also provided armed reconnaissance helicopters, helicopter-fired rockets, sniper rifles, and M-16 and M-4 assault rifles to the Iraqi military. The Pentagon recently notified Congress that it plans to sell 200 Humvees to Iraq for $1 billion. "We have one of the largest FMF and FMS programs [with Iraq], [which] includes approximately $15 billion dollars worth of equipment and training," Warren said. "We've sent them, recently, 300 Hellfire missiles, millions of rounds of small arms, thousands of rounds of tank ammunition, 10 Scan Eagle surveillance [drones] are on schedule for delivery for later in the year," he added Read more: thehill.com/policy/defense/209200-pentagon-iraqi-rebels-may-have-captured-us-military-equipment#ixzz34WJCdyrZ I wonder if its possible to destroy the Falcons, helos and missiles before they can be moved or used? |
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Post by warrior1972 on Jun 13, 2014 4:48:45 GMT -8
This didn't take long to find and partially answers my question about what US weapons ISIS has or may capture: Earlier this year, the U.S. began to expedite the sale of military equipment to Iraq, including 500 Hellfire missiles, 24 Apache helicopters, F-16 fighter jets, and other weapons, after ISIS took over Fallujah. The U.S. has also provided armed reconnaissance helicopters, helicopter-fired rockets, sniper rifles, and M-16 and M-4 assault rifles to the Iraqi military. The Pentagon recently notified Congress that it plans to sell 200 Humvees to Iraq for $1 billion. "We have one of the largest FMF and FMS programs [with Iraq], [which] includes approximately $15 billion dollars worth of equipment and training," Warren said. "We've sent them, recently, 300 Hellfire missiles, millions of rounds of small arms, thousands of rounds of tank ammunition, 10 Scan Eagle surveillance [drones] are on schedule for delivery for later in the year," he added Read more: thehill.com/policy/defense/209200-pentagon-iraqi-rebels-may-have-captured-us-military-equipment#ixzz34WJCdyrZ I wonder if its possible to destroy the Falcons, helos and missiles before they can be moved or used? Yeah... Now think about a radical Islamic military organization (read that: ISIS) armed with all of that equipment(!) Yes, I know...you'd rather not. One of the things we have never learned is that it is impossible to give someone a democracy. Oh, You can fight to give them a chance to establish one, give them the tools to do it, provide the best equipment available, and even train them with high-quality instructors who know how, but, in the final analysis, it's up to them to be willing to do whatever is necessary, up to and including fighting and dying for their own freedom, which they just... might... have... to... do.
That lesson was taught to us in 1975, in Vietnam. It still hurts today. That's just the way it is. And by the way... look for the price of gas to go up. ...Again... |
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Post by 101ABN on Jun 13, 2014 8:39:24 GMT -8
"That lesson was taught to us in 1975, in Vietnam.
It still hurts today.
That's just the way it is.
And by the way... look for the price of gas to go up."
...Again... "
Agreed with one clarification.
The lesson may have been taught in Vietnam but it sure as hell wasn't learned.
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