Free Syrian Army FSA Are Bad Actors

              Obama Refuses to call the 'Fight' with IS as a 'War'?                                   

It seems the only difference between the terrorists groups is that the moderate FSA, Free Syrian Army only wants to put a bullet in your head while the extremist IS, Islamic State only wants to behead you. Obama vetted these FSA soldiers and has supplied weapons. Obama calls FSA terrorists "Rebels". I call them "Murderers!"  Read on... Time to Face the Real Facts and Call it a War! 

Obama Has FSA Fight For Our U.S. Forces?

"The Obama administration has delivered weapons, supplies, and CIA-sponsored training to the Free Syrian Army. United States intelligence analysts estimate that the U.S. has had a hand in training as many as 20,000 FSA rebels. The U.S. reportedly provided the FSA with weapons such as rockets and TOW anti-tank missiles, which were supplied through back-channels in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

"The Free Syrian Army originally formed in July, 2011, at the start of the Syrian civil war. The group was initially composed largely of defectors from Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Armed Forces.

"Recent reports coming out of eastern Syria Monday revealed that several factions within the Syrian opposition force known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have pledged services to the Islamic State, the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Sources and eyewitnesses said that the FSA has handed over its weapons to the Islamic State in large numbers.

"The Free Syrian Army (FSA)" was said to be a “moderate” and “secular” force, which was used as the rationale by U.S. officials to supply the opposition force with weapons and training.

"Sources told Homs, Syria-based Zaman Alwasl newspaper that several factions within the FSA, including Ahl Al Athar, Ibin al-Qa’im, and Aisha have pledged to support the Islamic State."

On Tuesday, July 8, 2014 a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army said all of the area between Deir Ez-Zor, Syria, and the Iraqi border - a 90 mile stretch - has fallen to the Islamic State. The spokesman said that they not only controlled the territory, but had also taken over six Syrian oil and gas fields, along with a major pumping station that delivers oil to both Iraq and Syria. One of the captured oil fields included the al-Omar field, capable of producing 75,000 barrels of oil per day.

In a video proclamation, leaders in the town of al-Sahil said they “decided to swear allegiance” to the Islamic State and its leader: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. 

Shouldn't the U.S. itself go fight on its own terms in combat?

It's Time for ISIS Terrorists to See Allah Close Up!

"Evil succeeds when good people stand by and do nothing."

Obama has been consistently engaged in only reactive strategies, pin-prick attacks, as his overall military maneuver on a case by case basis. It's due to his fears of any additional military combat personnel involvement since it's contrary to his ongoing 'troop withdrawal diplomacy' stance. He apparently has no overall master plan for any ambitious or robust Military Decision Making Process (MDMP). However, his policy decisions have their consequences, deadly consequences, and his 'dithering decisions' have offered no relief whatsoever to the worldwide crises. The Islamic State, IS, terrorist barbarism is a glaring example.

The United States Obama foreign policy negotiations under Secretary of StateU.S. INFLUENCE DISAPPEARS IN KERRY'S FEEBLE HANDS.
 John Kerry have stumbled along behind closed doors in the middle East and in Russia. The 'blame game' of absolving the Obama foreign policy failures are still done by disparaging remarks of former U.S. President George W. Bush actions six years ago. Further blame for not gaining any substantive diplomatic concessions was because of the self-serving behavior of Russia President Vladimir Putin, Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Iran President Hassan Rouhani. Did Obama delude himself to think that his charming ego would turn those heads of state so much as to change their committed agendas?

Obama's 'veil of ignorance' is now worn thin and tattered, the wagging finger of blame points back onto himself. When will Obama now take responsibility to admit to everyone about his sorrowful performance? Although, I don't think Barack is capable of truthfully ever admitting it even to himself.  

It's a fool's errand to attempt to do something that has no chance of success; so do you think that the United States military should ramp up troops to reenter battle fields in Iraq to fight the IS terrorists? In 2011 the U.S. troops withdrew and hundreds of millions of dollars of equipment was left behind for the Iraqi army like weapons, small arms, ammunition, mortars, Humvies, M1 Abrams tanks, howitzer field artillery and transport trucks of which the IS terrorists stole and exploited to take on battles and hold the territories. They are certainly now well-organized and well-equipped as an ad hoc volunteer militia that mimics a strong military force to fight for the Islamic State.

Isn't also foolish to think that the IS terrorists cannot be beaten either? They do appear to be a formidable standing army by virtue of their very sophisticated U.S. weaponry. But, that weaponry can be their achilles' heel too, the soft chink in their armor. So how? That sophisticated weaponry and vehicles absolutely require highly trained maintenance crews in that desert sand-filled environment. Those captured vehicles and equipment will eventually break down requiring needed maintenance, repairs and parts. More importantly, trained mechanics, diagnostic equipment and tools are mandatory assets in short supply.  

PREDATOR DRONE MISSILESThe Islamic State's present successes are indisputable in the Iraqi and Syrian open deserts areas, but its vulnerability has not been U.S. combat tested there yet. Let's see how their 'crack crews' of Islamic jihadi 'rag-tag' IS terrorists do fending off high altitude U.S. F-18s dropping Jdam 'bunker-buster' bombs, Predator drones with Hell-fire missiles seeking out IS leaders along with Huey helicopters with fully loaded rocket launchers aimed on all of their ground troops, large scale Two U.S. F-18 Jdam Bombs were dropped into a recent terrorist meeting as part of a community clean-up program.weaponry and supply lines feeding them. Now this type of military strategy using air strikes without 'putting boots on the ground' can greatly assist the peoples of Iraq and Syria by decimating the stolen IS weaponry, ordinance cache and methodically thinning out their troops to even out the playing field to beat back the terrorist insurgents. It would then provide valuable current 'intel' into troop movements, insurgent terrorist numbers and for all the geographical battlefield placements. Ultimately, the war proven quality and professionalism of our U.S. Army Logistics Branch are far superior to any IS terrorists--'Always There Always Ready'.  

Obama's Scrambled Eggs in Iraq - Not an Omelet!

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

The same can be said about Iraq--it cannot be put back together again. The Obama decision to send 300 special-forces advisers will not affect any military outcome either. The President has no clue about the scope of this ISIS terrorist organization and its ultimate intentions.  They are focused on killing every infidel, non-believer, who does not believe in Allah and the Islamic faith. All of the Iraqis population contains sects that are "the faithful" Islamists - in fact, the vast majority of the world's Muslims are Sunnis. Iraq Stats: Muslim (official) 97% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%.

The ISIS political goal is to establish a 'Caliphate", an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader known as a caliph – i.e. "successor" – to Muhammad. It will ultimately engulf all entire middle Eastern countries and govern these as a sovereign entity. Their aftermath reaches beyond the length of the tenure of the Obama administration--that is fortunate for Obama since he can bail out, it's a tragedy for the American people that will have to continue to live it out to the end. 

ISIS terrorists have stated that "They will attack New York"; it is just a matter of time. Our country's defense strategy should be about controlling the borders and screening travelers. Currently, our Homeland Security and Immigration Service have performed poorly in achieving any secure border security at all. Our U.S. border programs must be a major priority or immigration and terrorists will become a way of life for all Americans.
An Eggo-maniac President

So, does the United States Army leave Iraq with "egg of its face" as it weasels away from a real fight abroad? How does that protect our sovereign shorelines? It is now seen by our Arab jihadists as capitulation, quitting--a great message we have now sent. With our open borders the jihadists can now come across and attack us on our own soil--thank you Mr. President.

It sure looks like President Obama and his advisors have laid another real big foreign policy egg, rotten through and through. 

When will the majority of the American public get it?  This guy is "amateur hour" material, a "community organizer" and without any credentials--the political myth is over--the man is a farce! The voters have been sold "a bill of goods" that did not deliver as promised.

Obama Gets Bad Spanking in Middle East

Does ISIS have a De Facto Status of Forces Agreement?

 الدولة الاسلامية في العراق والشام

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not sign a Status of Forces Agreement with Obama who insiders say would not push for it since that would have allowed the U.S. to stay to fight the al Qaeda; Obama wanted to leave. So did the terrorists, ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,  need an agreement instead? Appears it's not required, since a de facto, in fact, agreement has been established by the terrorist themselves without any threat of criminal prosecution by the opposition Iraqi authorities. Now we have the specter of a radical theocracy governed by sharia law wherever ISIS gains control. 

The execution of Iraqi soldiers by ISIS extremists in the Salaheddin province, Iraq.

As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton served from 2009 through 2013 as Obama's close advisor for International Affairs. On February 27, 2009 at Camp Lajeune, NC Obama announced to the marines his withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq by August 2010 and all remaining troops by December 2011. Since then, Obama announced in June, 2014 of a complete withdrawal as of 2015.

Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite government facing the upcoming U.S. troop withdrawals feverishly started shoring up strained domestic Shiite support. It was politically devastating as it further isolated Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish minorities by the oppressive, corrupt Iraqi military actions. 

Here are more facts: 

• The Iraqi government actions lead to an entirely foreseeable sectarian war that boiled up for past two years and finally erupted now.
• The ongoing U.S. troop reductions and withdrawal date of closing down boots-on-the-ground operations greatly diminished Iraqi resolve to fight for the al-Maliki government. 
• A huge major flaw in the Iraqi defense troops was known by al-Maliki, Obama and Hillary Clinton too.  According to Colonel Peter Mansoor, Advisor to General David Petraeus, the Iraqi army had a 40% 'phantom soldier' rate, a no-show U.S. paid empty uniform subsidy, that the corrupt al-Maliki government stole for themselves. Iraq is not fighting with a full fighting force, only 60% as show-ups. 
• The U.S. failed at Iraqi troop building due to the untimely Obama withdrawal dates. Colonel Peter Mansoor, Advisor to General David Petraeus, reported that our U.S. military exercises trained Iraqi soldiers to fight at a 'company level' of 200 and at a 'battalion level' of 1000 men. At the point of our own soldiers withdrawal this training was capped off at this battalion level and never went to the next level which was to combine several battalions together to form brigades. This level included supplies logistics as well as field personnel combat deployment for large army contigencies. This was the optimum fighting level that Iraqis needed to be at in protecting themselves to repell invaders or attack aggressers with like size brigades.

Why did Obama, his close advisors and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turn a blind eye to all of these obvious warning signs and then further ignore the Iraqi ethnic divisiveness and the ultimate strategic military outcomes?

--How about Obama and Hillary just simply not knowing anything about anything except on how to be politicians running for office? 

With Knowledge Comes Wisdom

Copyright 2013 DoubledayMany people have seen the film classic, Lawrence 'OF' Arabia. Apparently no one has read the history book, "Lawrence 'IN' Arabia".  It's a very well written fact based history book about the tumultuous middle East evolving at the turn of the twentieth century, from 1890 through to the late 1920's. It is the quintessential Middle East primer about its geography, people, powers, politics, religions, wars and how their outcomes ultimately affected the world today, one hundred years later.

It reads like a spy thriller. All of the plot twists and turns of a real who-done-it with multiple intrigues turn into could-a, would-a, should-a, done-it scenarios that ultimately point to many decisions with consequences that doom the Middle-East to its present future in 2014 and beyond.  

The book is based on years of primary document research. It's written by Scott Anderson, a veteran war correspondent with the New York Times and other major publications. He has traveled from Bosnia, Sudan, Egypt, El Salvador, Lebanon, Israel, Northern Ireland, Chechnya and other strife-torn countries. Understand from a 'first-person' view point of the Middle East issues from all sides - Pick it up and read it!

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Is Obama Creating Another Cartoon?

Many a true word is spoken in jest

"Paul Conrad, mostly a liberal Democrat, was not partial to political parties as he also wentPresident Johnson says to V.P. Humphrey about Vietnam bombings, “We’re gonna’ make history, Hubert!” after the Democrats too. In the 1960s, he lampooned Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson and became quite critical of Johnson. Conrad believed Johnson’s policies during the Vietnam War were despicable, drawing one 1964 cartoon showing Congress supplying the president with a “blank check” to wage war on Vietnam. “I really detested Lyndon Johnson,” Conrad said.  “For the Vietnam thing, that’s the one you could really get your teeth into. That was wrong, man, from the word go.”

Another of Conrad’s LBJ cartoons from 1968, shown above right, came at the time Johnson was bombing North Vietnam. It has Slim Pickens riding the A-Bomb!Johnson with vice-president, Hubert Humphrey, riding a bomb similar to a scene from the 1964 movie, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in which the actor Slim Pickens rides a bomb in similar fashion. The caption reads: “We’re gonna’ make history, Hubert!”

I do remember the Presidential war of Washington, DC politics well in 1968. I was a twenty-two year old college student who had friends demonstrating there while the Chicago 7 were doing their incendiary, fiery violence at the National Democratic Convention Center that hot summer. The Vietnam Era instantly all went away five years later as the Vietnam War, like a supernova exploded and imploded into a black hole, it just disappeared.

As that era ended in a whimper, I remember Paul Conrad, a very liberal, left-wing editorial cartoonist in the Los Angeles Times newspaper, who did a political cartoon in the 1973 Vietnam Treaty peace accords edition. It pictured a military graveyard with a sea of white crosses awash over all the rolling hills. Two crosses in the foreground had helmets atop and below them a ticker tape is feverishly typing this: "Paris Peace Talks: Henry Kissinger now says that we should have never been in that war!". Then below that, the one helmet says to the other, "And now he tells us!" That said it all for me on how real war is, it's 100% political without regard to any combat participants and will always be that way--the Vietnam war killed more than 58,000 U.S. servicemen and disabled thousands by its end.

As of June, 2014 politicos like office holders, candidates, newsmen, pundits and hacks are now urging for a dramatic reduction in U.S. military combat troops since the total meltdown of Obama foreign policies of inactions leave no real options open. "My suggestion based upon the first rule of foreign policy is that if your enemies are killing each other, don’t step in to stop them. These radical insurgents, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Levant (ISIS), have blended into the Sunni, Shia and Kurd populations. The latest Iraq war is between Iraq’s pro-Iranian Shiite government and pro-Al Qaeda Sunni rebels. It boils down to Iran vs. Al Qaeda, radical Shiites versus radical Sunnis. 

ISIS the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) insurgent shooting people dead.

"What we’ve seen in Syria, and now in Iraq, is the early phase of a 30-year civil war between Shiites and Sunnis, which will go from region to region, country to country, tribe to tribe. Fighters will become increasingly radical and brutal, and they will be fueled by Arab oil money. For them, it is a fight about religion, power, geography and resources... And it could well be a fight to the finish!

America has a choice:

• We can be caught in the middle of this generational war, propping up this side or that, sometimes switching sides. Or:

• We can figure out what our underlying strategic interests in the region are and find a way to achieve them that doesn’t involve U.S. forces or military assistance."

First, enough already!  Let all sides stop bickering and arguing but instead just agree it’s everybody’s fault about Iraq: Bush shouldn’t have gone into Iraq and Obama shouldn’t have gotten out. There is plenty of blame to go around for past mistakes, but we are where we are and the question now is, what do we do?

"An important but often forgotten test for American foreign policy decisions is what is in our country’s national interest. It’s not about what is best for Iraq or Afghanistan or anyone else. The question is what’s best for America. We have three sustaining vital strategic interests in the Middle East: oil, terrorists and Israel. We want their oil, we don’t want their terrorists and we want Israel to survive in an increasingly dangerous neighborhood."

"If the president fails to do so, he cannot hide behind the excuse that Iraq was Bush’s war, and losing it was Bush’s failure. If he fails to take the steps available to him to develop American energy resources, to protect Americans from terrorist attacks and to offer full support to our ally Israel, it will be on his watch, and on his head."