Guest Post
With all the U.S.-trained fighters dead, captured or missing and their leader in the hands of Al Qaeda, top U.S. commanders are scrambling this week to determine how to revive the half-billion dollar program to create a moderate Syrian army to fight the Islamic State.
The outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, who viewed the force as a critical element of the military strategy in both Syria and Iraq, is conferring with top Pentagon officials behind closed doors to figure out what options are left for what is widely considered a policy and military failure, according to senior defense officials.
Sen. Chris Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat who sits on the Appropriations Committee, returned from a trip to the region last week where he was briefed on the effort. His assessment of the program: “a bigger disaster than I could have ever imagined.”
– From the the Politico article: The Pentagon’s Syria Debacle
American “leaders” have the anti-Midas effect when it comes to foreign policy. Everything they touch turns to shit. Everything.
Yet there they remain. Firmly in positions of power, pulling the strings and goose-stepping the world into military-industrial complex oblivion. Before getting to the meat of this post, I want to reiterate my overall thesis on U.S. foreign policy and what it means for our nation. From the post, The Forgotten War – Understanding the Incredible Debacle Left Behind by NATO in Libya:
There are only two logical conclusions that can be reached about American foreign policy leadership in the 21st century.
1) American leadership is ruthlessly pursuing immoral wars all over the world with the intent of creating outside enemies to focus public anger on, as a conscious diversion away from the criminality happening domestically. As an added bonus, the intelligence-military-industrial complex makes an incredible sum of money. The end result: serfs are distracted with inane nationalistic fervor, while the “elites” earn billions.
2) American leadership is completely and totally inept; being easily manipulated into overseas conflicts by ruthless corporate interests and cunning foreign “rebels” in order to advance their own selfish interests, which are in conflict with the interests of the general public.
I can’t come up with any other logical conclusion. Either way, such people have no business running the affairs of these United States, and their actions are merely increasing instability and violence across the planet. The longer they remain in charge with no accountability, the more dangerous this world will become.
In charge they remain, which is why we continue to be tortured with fiction-esque stories of incompetence such as the following.
From Politico:
With all the U.S.-trained fighters dead, captured or missing and their leader in the hands of Al Qaeda, top U.S. commanders are scrambling this week to determine how to revive the half-billion dollar program to create a moderate Syrian army to fight the Islamic State.
The outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, who viewed the force as a critical element of the military strategy in both Syria and Iraq, is conferring with top Pentagon officials behind closed doors to figure out what options are left for what is widely considered a policy and military failure, according to senior defense officials.
Just the latest failure in an endless string.
But a year after Congress authorized the Syrian train and equip program, to the tune of $500 million, even Republican hawks are no longer willing to throw their support behind it — including some who think it should be scrapped altogether.
“It’s a bad, bad sick joke,” Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told reporters, calling the decision to authorize the program in the first place a mistake.
You know it’s bad when one of the biggest proponents of arming and supporting Syrian “moderates” in the first place, Crazy John McCain, is against it.
Sen. Chris Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat who sits on the Appropriations Committee, returned from a trip to the region last week where he was briefed on the effort. His assessment of the program: “a bigger disaster than I could have ever imagined.”
After nearly 12 months of extensive international outreach, the program has so far yielded only 54 fighters — all of whom were killed, captured by terrorists in Syria or scattered when they came under attack this summer.
The White House’s original goal for the first year was for more than a brigade’s worth of combatants — about 5,400 — who would be able to push the Islamic State out of the villages it controls in northern Syria and then go on offense against the terror group.
“Hundreds” more fighters are in training as part of a second cadre, defense officials say, but it isn’t clear whether when they’d enter Syria or even whether they’d be held back until the Pentagon decides how it might try to overhaul the program.
Yeah, I mean why would they learn from their mistakes and stop acting like imbeciles over and over again.
Now here’s the money shot. What’s the brilliant solution? More of the same, just bigger. Which will naturally lead to further unmitigated disaster, a result American leadership consistently achieve with remarkable consistency.
So Dempsey, leaders of the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Middle East, and other top officials are considering a number of options.
One is to evaluate the idea of fielding a much larger force this time, according to the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Another option is to pair a cadre of trained Syrian fighters with a force of Kurdish fighters like those who helped push the Islamic State out of the town of the Syrian town of Kobani. And the Pentagon is studying ways to better prepare future trainees in the so-called New Syrian Force with better intelligence, air support, and to keep closer control of them.
A touch of Khorasan group, a dash of al-Qaeda, two tablespoons of ISIS, and presto! Another Pentagon funded and created terrorist group is born.
Carter, in brief remarks to reporters Wednesday, insisted that “the underlying concept of trying to find capable, motivated ground forces that we can enable, who are local, who can sustain the defeat of extremism on territories, is fundamentally the right strategic principle.”
If that fails, we can always try the General Petraeus strategy: Team Up with al-Qaeda.
With this group in charge, it will take a miracle to escape WW3.
For related articles, see:
KKR Employee and Former CIA Head, General David Petraeus, Suggests Supporting al-Qaeda Against ISIS
Additional Details Emerge on How U.S. Government Policy Created, Armed, Supported and Funded ISIS
America’s Disastrous Foreign Policy – My Thoughts on Iraq
Afghan President Hamid Karzai Slams U.S. Foreign Policy in Farewell Speech
More Foreign Policy Incompetence – U.S. Humanitarian Aid is Going Directly to ISIS
Accusations Emerge That the U.S. Is Aiding ISIS – The Latest “Conspiracy Theory” Circulating in Iraq
The Forgotten War – Understanding the Incredible Debacle Left Behind by NATO in Libya
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
Article is spot-on.
Stop sticking your nose into MENA.
Obama and his meddling has caused extreme upheaval in MENA – and you thought Bush was bad.
You remove one leg off a three-legged stool and your going to have an imbalance. With Saddam gone, the US solution was to remove the other legs from the stool in order to achieve balance.
Even the dumb ass Mexican government has been reluctant to ‘take out’ the various cartel leaders for fear of creating a cowboy cartel circus.
Petraeus is not as dumb as he looks, Al Qaeda was once our ally.
” …………… top U.S. commanders are scrambling this week to determine how to revive the half-billion dollar program to create a moderate Syrian army to fight the Islamic State.”
A “moderate” army is one that doesn’t really believe in anything.
Not the best kind of army to fight the true believers of ISIS.
Anonymous says: A “moderate” army is one that doesn’t really believe in anything. Not the best kind of army to fight the true believers of ISIS.
And yet the Christian Romans (almost) routinely hired Barbarians and Germans to fend off the Huns and sometimes the Persians..
It doesn’t matter if you have a cracker with a wacker or a nigger with a trigger as long as you have somebody there to slow them down.
Evil should be crushed everywhere but we should clean our own house first and you kill a snake by striking the head not the tail. TPTB have been working to create a war between the Muslims and the West: “The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the “agentur” of the “Illuminati” between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other…” Albert Pike 1871
Bob, maybe the endgame is to bring the Muslim fight stateside, then we can take down all Constitutional rights and institute the Patriot act in its full glory.
SS, AFDC, MediCare and all entitlement programs will be frozen while troops battle Black Muzzies on the streets of Philly, Jersey and Detroit.
Mr Cunning, I think you are right and their rules of engagement stipulate that when this fight is over, TPTB are to be the only men left standing.
Seems to me there are three basic choices:
1) Lease Assad alone and help Russia & Iran (together with Hezbollah) kill off ISIS. The Obama-McCain-Hillary neocon alliance is too stupid to do this.
2) Stay out of it, leave Assad alone and – if we’re lucky – Russia, Assad, Hezbollah & Iran will destroy ISIS. The Obama-McCain-Hillary neocon alliance is too stupid to do this.
3) Keep trying to take down Assad while we bomb ISIS. We’ll succeed in toppling Assad, but not in destroying ISIS, so ISIS will take over Syria – and turn next to Jordan. The Obama-McCain-Hillary neocon alliance is just stupid enough to take to path.
Now that the Russians have stuck their snout into this, it will just drag on and on and on. There will be truces, then more fighting, then another truce, then…..you get the picture. Groups will switch sides–it’s already happening. Destruction of public wealth with endless war. Does this sound familiar to anyone else but me?
Are we sure that TPTB aren’t using the novel 1984 as a blueprint for world domination? How friggen ironic would that be? Which came first, the novel or the Plan?
Iska. That does about explain it
Lysander, I think George Orwell was a Communist who fought against the Spanish Patriots and was related to an intelligence officer who briefed him on insider plans. There is a possibility the guy I am thing of was Carroll Quigley who wrote Tragedy & Hope.
PS: Albert Pike also says that TPTB must pit the Atheist and Christians against each other so that when the fighting ends, they have wiped each other out: “…the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time…”
Lysander PSPS: “The Plan” came way before Orwell and Quigley. There is “The Plan” which may precede Adam Weishaupt that UN insiders refer to in their secret Satanic seances. Ref “The U.N. Plan to Rule the World Paperback – October, 1995 by Cliff Kincaid”.
Bob Siddell- You are referring to the letter from Albert Pike to Mazzini which outlines the plan for three world wars. The first two went off just as the letter stated and the set up is in motion and seems to be going according to plan for the third and final world war. The army that does not believe in anything discussed above would be the nihilists referred to in Pikes letter.
And may God have mercy on us all.
Bea Lever, you the man! TPTB are dividing us to conquer us; setting us up for many internal conflicts. If a Kingdom be divided against itself, that Kingdom cannot stand. That Army you mention is being created by Hussein by pulling up the Wheat and replacing them with Tares; all TPTB’s unConstitutional and egregious attacks on Christians are supposed to make us weak and angry and the humanist bolder and stronger; likewise the ones against Whites and Asians but for Blacks and Hispanics; the ones for Muslims and Atheist but against Christians and Jews; the ones against the workers but for the FSA; the ones pitting youth against Seniors; “Homeland Security” against the Citizens but for the illegals; the rulings and laws aiding and abetting the scofflaw criminals but against the honest; the money printers stealing homes and bread from the working poor with inflation; etc. When the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. My people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge.