I feel like I’m back in the Bush years, when the news cycle was a steady drumbeat of negativity, smear, and drive-by; quagmire, grim milestones and flag draped coffins. It was up to the conservative and libertarian blogosphere to counter the narrative, bringing news on the military successes and political progress in Afghanistan and Iraq that couldn’t be found on the mainstream networks.
Well, everything old is new again.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday that new tactics approved by President Trump to defeat Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters have thrown the terrorist group on “their back foot.”
Speaking during a Pentagon press conference, Mattis said the U.S.-led coalition was increasing its pressure on ISIS by encircling fighters in their “strongholds.”
“[Trump] directed a tactical shift from shoving ISIS out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate ISIS,” Mattis said.
He explained that by “taking the time up front to surround these locations, instead of simply shoving them from one to another” coalition forces are able to “carry out the annihilation campaign so we don’t simply transplant this problem from one location to another.”
Lord, grant him strength.
Wars of attrition tend to be long and bloody, for all sides. Put the full weight of the U.S. military behind the campaign and end it as quickly as possible. That is far more humane.
This suggests that Obama was one God-awful chief of the armed forces.
AMEN! HALLELUJAH!
Mattis did say that the rules of engagement have not changed. Recently I watched somewhere that this was still a very contentious issue within the military – that lives were needlessly being risked and lost because legal clearance was required to call in an airstrike among other issues. This definitely is not how the surge was conducted. Mattis is a democrat and has surrounded himself with Dems.
I would encourage people to be very wary in how firmly they back this guy.
“…carry out the annihilation campaign.”
I’ll be in my bunk.
Exactly. Fight to win.
I don’t know Gord. I think there was a change in the rules of engagement, as, from the article and mentioned twice, “But no longer will we have slowed decision cycles because Washington D.C. has to authorize tactical movements on the ground.”. This would suggest that Obama, like Hitler, tactically moved or had to approve the movement of regiments and battalions.
Kate wrote, “Lord, grant him strength.”, and I would add two terms to finish the job.
I was quoting him directly. I’m talking tactically-not strategically.
I am not sure what they consider winning in Syria. They are bombing both sides. What do they see as the final outcome? Bombing Assad aides ISIS who we are told is the enemy, and if they somehow manage to overthrow Assad, ISIS will be the successor.
One of the “principles of war” I was taught as a young officer was “selection and maintenance of the aim”. They are never going to win until they figure that out, and I don’t see any evidence that they have.
Kill them all? What a concept!
When I was taught the Principles of War that one was called the Master Principle.
And understanding that Isis’ aim is to kill us or convert us and destroy our culture, the only logical aim for us is to kill them.
The worst was when JugEars just allowed ISIS to arrogantly parade their vehicles in long columns down Syrian and Iraqi roads with their black flags flying and Hollywood-style production values. That told me right there whose side that jerk was on. One can only imagine how many recruits ISIS got based on those triumpant scenes alone. Worst western leader ever.
Trump just folded, again:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4523618/Amid-tumult-Trump-leaves-presidential-foreign-trip.html#ixzz4hcC6TxeI
Oh, and for all you GWB sycophants out there, here’s his iconic speech just after 9/11:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_ZoroJdVnA
GWB is a traitor, selling out to the Saudis, and it seems Trump is, too.
Kek is not pleased.
And when you have them cornered in their strongholds tidy up the excess civilian population supporting them. The supporters are as equally dangerous as the fighters.
“… the only logical aim for us is to kill them.” Exactly. You fight to win until the other side surrenders unconditionally.
You and Minuteman have it right as to what we were taught.
minuteman, you were too subtle.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Sun Tzu, Art of War.
Does the Trump Administration have a strategy?
Well, I’m sure Steve Bannon does, and as a former Naval Officer, I’d wager he could give a lecture on Sun Tzu’s advice. Note- Steve Bannon is on the Pres. Trump international trip to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.
The Trump Administration either has a strategy, but prefers to keep others guessing.
Thus keeping an element of fear of the unknown in play in the enemies mind, as tactics should serve strategies.
The complete strategy is a work in progress, more flexible than most battle plans, which typically don’t survive the first contact with the enemy.
UNOit precis: I disagree. That is besides your delusional remarks about Bush “making” the Fed chair “devalue the US dollar.”
Get out there, buy those bonds Greenspan. For Gods sake buy, buy, buy!!!
Thank you, now on to reality. Safe zones happen because the things that make them unsafe aren’t there any more, like your arguments.
Of course we must keep in mind killing our enemies only makes them stronger.
Isolate and destroy your enemy. That’s the new military in thing to do. Come in our area, you die, we don’t ask why you’re there.
So try to keep up. Wars of attrition are out. Nation building is so passe; kicking ass is in though, whenever, wherever, without notice.
I guess you missed that.
How the British used to keep their colonies under control was pure brutality. Between 12,000 and 20,000 African rebel were killed during the Mau Mau rebellion with 1,090 of those executed. The British lost less than 200. Why has everyone forgotten how to win a war? Suspected combatants or supporters who get shot in the back of the head in the middle of the night don’t kill our friends.
UNO? makes a specious remark and tells others to educate themselves. Yawn.
Where in the article in you cited does it state Bush made the Fed devalue the $US? Correlation doesn’t equal correlation to the educated.
Just the same old opinion as evidence intellectual laziness. CNN is looking for people just like you.
Did you find a secret memo Greenspan sent to himself? Did a “journalist” read it to you over the phone? Enquiring minds want to know.
So sorry to hear the US military failed to properly brief you on ROEs. Why would anyone care about your view of ROEs?
Go check your field message book or something, assuming you have a clue what that means.
In the real world it doesn’t matter what you understand or think is “educated.”
Making others try to disprove your specious points is a waste of time, so why bother; iow go educate yourself.
Love the conceit, “go educate yourself” with link to site we’ve purposefully stopped reading because the GOPe went the way of the Whigs. National Review aims to take down Trump. While Trump voters are taking down the GOP. You see, they are not Republican either. Not the way National Reviews defines their precious non-representative club. They’d rather loose elections than represent conservatives.
Great post, Kate. I’m lining it. I especially like your own intro.
That is absolutely correct. Moreover, when the revolution in Syria erupted the first thing Assad did was to release from prisons all hardcore pisslamists, knowing that they will capture headlines and he will then get to present himself in the eyes of jubilee western idiots as the good guy. Then his pal Pootin went in to help and bombed everybody but ISIS. Enema is right, “there is only one side”.
“The consequences of running out of oxygen are all too apparent…”
This is the one topic where I yield to your personal experience… with your sphincter cutting circulation to what pases for as your brains.
“I feel like I’m back in the Bush years, …”
I know, I was so relieved to learn that dissent is no longer racist but again constitutes the highest form of patriotism.
When did GWB push “Greenspan to devalue the US dollar,” Unomind? We all want to read that memo by Greenspan to himself.
I don’t disprove non-arguments, no onus for that. I’m too busy trying to disprove the non-existence of God; you’ll have to carry on without me.
BTW spare us your Alinsky BS about making the other person “prove” your perception of their argument, with you getting a free ride of course.
Idiocy from both of you. My education went just fine, what went wrong with “yours,” Unolittle?
When I went fishing, I was always happy to make a catch, but it was inconvenient when the fish swallowed the hook.
“CHINA KILLS U.S. SPIES. BUT ON OBAMA’S WATCH, SO NO DRAMA”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/china-kills-us-spies-but-on-obamas-watch-so-no-drama/news-story/5d1cd783689c18a65ca36c2ad787cffaFF
I have a degree from one of the finest universities in the world. But how would you know being illiterate in every sense of the word.
Still waiting for your transcripts of Bush ordering Greenspan to lower the dollar.
BTW, only an idiot doesn’t know the Fed is responsible for monetary policy and is not directed by government.
Oh, right. Seen. Educate yourself. Now wait, never mind. Lost cause. Must be a Demobrat, or a loony tunes “conservative,” aka the unelectable ones.
http://www.frbsf.org/education/publications/doctor-econ/2003/september/private-public-corporation/
“It was up to the conservative and libertarian blogosphere to counter the narrative, bringing news on the military successes and political progress in Afghanistan and Iraq that couldn’t be found on the mainstream networks.”
So much self-aggrandizement. This “surround and annihilate ISIS” story was also covered by the New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, etc.
In many ways I agree with you, Gord Tulk. You may be right in this case. I don’t know. It is so hard to know these days what is or is not true because of FAKE news commentary..
For example: I like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. However, all that I know of Mattis I have gotten from news sources, questionable news sources. I’m beginning to feel that even following blogs or news or anything on the net is questionably trustworthy.
I just do not know what is reliable. I comment and even read less and less because of this unreliability.
I just trust in God and recuse myself more and more and my recusal results in less stress and ignorance seems to result in more bliss, more happiness.
The shits that I give become less, and the illusion that my participation in politics having any positive result in how I live my life fades daily.
Who here at SDA cares that people here love Putin or Trump unreservedly/unexaminably.
Who here at SDA wants better government? Surely not SDA, SDA is the champion of the Alberta PCs and the bane of Wildrose, the Alberta Populists.(yeah, Wildrose is popular because the PEOPLE of ALBERTA want a government in tune with the people’s will, such a SIN)
Popularity/Popularism what’s that and what does it have to do with conservative politics anyway?
(forget that populism means diff.rent things in different places) and that Populism in Albert means to be conservative, not progressive, CONSERVATIVE is what Alberta populism is all about.
‘all that I know of Mattis I have gotten from news sources, questionable news sources.’
What helped me was to stop reading hack journalists vitriolic response to anyone in the Trump administration’s statements. Even worse are the mainstream TV news prostitutes who typically cut a one hour question and answer session down to 20s of video. It’s garbage. I go to the source. If it’s some sort of news conference, I watch that. Spicer answering questions from the WH press, then pull up the video of that and watch for a while. You don’t have to watch the entire hour long video, but just enough to get a taste and feel the flavour. What kind of idiotic questions were asked.. were the “journalists” asking questions being respectful or acting like dickwads? That sort of thing… Youtube is your friend, you can always find unedited video of these things now.
I started doing this during the campaign and it really made a difference.
I strongly disagree with this assessment. I would stipulate that the U.S. led coalition has had virtually no impact on controlling ISIS, and indeed the opposite took place as ISIS flourished under its watch. There has been one critical event that spelled the death knell for ISIS in the Levant, and it occurred in September of 2015. Anyone that has closely followed the conflict in Syria and Iraq knows the difference Russia has made to the group’s demise. A critical stage was reached earlier this year whereby with Russian assistance the SAA was able to cut the final access point ISIS had with Turkey in Eastern Aleppo. This has rapidly sped up the group’s collapse. When within a year ISIS will be confined to hiding in desert regions of Iraq and Syria America will look to take the credit, but those in the know will tip their hats to the bear.
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