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| Iraq |
| Making Sense of the Meltdown in Iraq |
| 2014-06-13 |
| Austin Bay: US interest in Iraq is not simply energy or economics — it is political example. Iran’s dictatorship and various violent Islamic militant groups know that a successful Iraqi democracy would be fatal to them and to their goals.(1) The US and Iraq must negotiate a new Status of Forces Agreement. To stabilize, Iraqis need confidence; a long-term US security presence inspires confidence. American kept a security “nightlight” in Germany and Japan for half a century.(2) OPERATIONAL MILITARY: Iraqi forces need US airpower, now. They need US special operations forces (SOF) teams to coordinate air strikes and tap US intelligence assets. First, target ISIL’s truck-borne flying columns. Air attacks devastate light vehicles in the open, and northwestern Iraq is open. The US has US Navy carrier aircraft within range; so is NATO’s huge Incirlik air base. |
| Posted by:KBK |
| #2 "Can't I just eat my waffle?" |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-06-13 23:49 |
| #1 An excellent analysis, KBK, but which would our current leadership choose, guns or butter? Wagyu? We are Americans. Whiskey drinking, gun toting, spit in your eye Americans. The problem is not who we are, but what we feel about who we are - as we surrender to the incessant drumbeat of usurpers. We can save Iraq (and ourselves), but it will take a greater calculus. |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2014-06-13 23:37 |