Article

2015-03-08 Iraq

New Player in the ISIS War: Christian Gazillionaire Foster Friess

[Daily Beast] He's best known for bankrolling Republicans Rick Santorum and Scott Walker afloat, but Foster Friess has a new cause a long way from D.C.
Walker was asked recently how he planned to raise the necessary funding for the upcoming race. He responded by saying "funding was not an issue."
Republican megadonor Foster Friess is shifting his sights from political campaigns to a military campaign: to fight ISIS and save Kurdish lives.

Behind the scenes, the conservative Christian has been traveling to the Middle East to support the vulnerable Kurdish minority in Iraq, and then coming back to the U.S. to lobby for arming and training their militias, known as the Peshmerga. These forces are on the front lines of the war with ISIS.

"They are fighting our fight and we have treated them disgracefully in terms of the armaments we have provided. Not only am I embarrassed to be an American, I'm actually ashamed," Friess told The Daily Beast. Arming the Kurds, he added, would help "defeat a ghastly evil that is running amok."

Some pro-Kurdish advocates have interpreted Friess's interest to mean that he wants to raise a volunteer military force to aid the Kurds, or arm them through private funds. But Friess told The Daily Beast that is not on the table, at least not for now.

Posted by Besoeker 2015-03-08 07:24|| || Front Page|| [11144 views ] Top

#1 "Are you now or have ever been associated with Foster Friess" soon to be a part of the oligarchy lexicon.

Posted by Procopius2k 2015-03-08 09:46|| 2015-03-08 09:46|| Front Page Top

#2 I'm sure you're right, Procopius2k. Perhaps the next president will support the Kurds directly, but I don't think that's on the table for the current resident of the White House -- he's leaving that to Germany, et al. Good for Mr. Friess.

Posted by trailing wife 2015-03-08 10:25|| 2015-03-08 10:25|| Front Page Top

#3 We should give the Kurds decent arms. For fighting ISIS when no one else would, the Kurds deserve to have their own independent state.

Posted by JohnQC 2015-03-08 18:58|| 2015-03-08 18:58|| Front Page Top

#4 Oh, c'mon. Sumbuddy's putin me on, here. Reelee? Foster Friess?

Posted by Anice Nim 2015-03-08 19:46|| 2015-03-08 19:46|| Front Page Top

#5 Well, at least its not Tastee Freez

Posted by Sputh Glavimp5376 2015-03-08 20:23|| 2015-03-08 20:23|| Front Page Top

00:33 EMS Artifact