Nightmare scenario unfolding for Obama at Ayn al-Assad Air base... By Thomas Lifson

[mystery-ak]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/02/nightmare_scenario_unfolding_for_obama_at_ayn_alassad_air_base.html

February 14, 2015
Nightmare scenario unfolding for Obama at Ayn al-Assad Air base
By Thomas Lifson

The massive air base at Ayn al-Assad in Iraq’s Anbar Province hosts 400 US Service members, who are training Iraq Air Force personnel. They now are in danger of serving as hostages to ISIS, which has conquered the nearby city of Al Baghdadi and already threatened the perimeter of the base.

As a result, US helicopters have been brought in to provide close ground support for the Iraqi boots on the ground. CNN:

    Robert Baer, a former CIA officer, said the battles may indicate a deepening involvement of U.S. troops in the fight against ISIS.

    "I think what we're seeing here is mission creep," he said Friday night. "The Iraqi army is not up to the task. And without the United States Air Force and the military on the ground, a lot of these ... bases would be overrun."

President Obama’s dream of US withdrawal from Iraq was realized, only to turn into a nightmare, as it became clear that without US support, the Iraqi military would crumble before the ISIS threat. Now, that support is in danger:

    Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby described the battle at the air base, saying, "It looks like they at least got to the outer base limits. We're still looking at this and it's hard to say whether they breached the perimeter or not. But they certainly got to the perimeter level at the very least."

    He said 20-25 people led by suicide bombers made the attack. Most, if not all, of the attackers were wearing Iraqi military uniforms, Kirby said.

Obama’s ultimate nightmare is a US pilot being shot down and falling into the hands of ISIS. Helicopters, for all their armor, are vulneable to ground fire. God forbid such a thing happen, for the pilot would undoubtedly be exploited on video and subjected to a hideously cruel death. In such an instance, public opinion in the United States would demand serious military engagement.

Under the half-hearted leadership of Obama, such engagement could lead to a major disaster. It all seemed so simple under the illusion that if only the malign US presence were ended, peace, love and happiness would result.

We are living in perilous times.

[truth_seeker]

After all these years and billions of US$ the Iraqis are STILL not up to defending their country?

Where will Obama be golfing today? Will he spend time today with top defense people, on what to do about the stranded 400 American service personnel?

[GourmetDan]

Obama’s ultimate nightmare is a US pilot being shot down and falling into the hands of ISIS. Helicopters, for all their armor, are vulneable to ground fire.  God forbid such a thing happen, for the pilot would undoubtedly be exploited on video and subjected to a hideously cruel death.  In such an instance, public opinion in the United States would demand serious military engagement.

I think you can pretty much count on it happening...

"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.  Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustion…"

[Scottftlc]

Serious military engagement against Islamics is not going to happen under this U.S. Leadership.  Not even if they hit one of our cities again.  Obama will toss a couple of missiles at empty buildings and call it good.  And the American public will go back to following American Idol.  The American Nero has a pliant population.

[truth_seeker]

Serious military engagement against Islamics is not going to happen under this U.S. Leadership.  Not even if they hit one of our cities again.  Obama will toss a couple of missiles at empty buildings and call it good.  And the American public will go back to following American Idol.  The American Nero has a pliant population.

But America has elected him twice. The first time he was clearly an anti-war candidate.

You do know that leading up to WWII, American public sentiment was against getting involved once more in Europe's perpetual war cycles?

That sentiment remains on the American left, and in a segment of libertarian-isolationist sentiment.

If a Republican runs on the platform of mounting a big ground game once more against Islamic forces, he will probably lose.

We are simply not willing to go far enough, to achieve lasting victory.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Serious military engagement against Islamics is not going to happen under this U.S. Leadership.  Not even if they hit one of our cities again. Obama will toss a couple of missiles at empty buildings and call it good.  And the American public will go back to following American Idol.  The American Nero has a pliant population.

I couldn't possibly disagree with that more than I do.

So long as Muslims are slaughtering Muslims in Muslim nations, Americans won't care.

That changes when another 9/11 happens.

[EdinVA]

Serious military engagement against Islamics is not going to happen under this U.S. Leadership.  Not even if they hit one of our cities again.  Obama will toss a couple of missiles at empty buildings and call it good.  And the American public will go back to following American Idol.  The American Nero has a pliant population.

Couldn't agree more.
Even with all of our chest beating after 9/11, we did not accomplish a thing except get a bunch of people killed trying to win the hearts and minds of the heartless and mindless..

[Luis Gonzalez]

Couldn't agree more.
Even with all of our chest beating after 9/11, we did not accomplish a thing except get a bunch of people killed trying to win the hearts and minds of the heartless and mindless..

We overthrew two governments.

We routed the largest military force in the ME and used Iraq as a staging ground for a couple hundred thousand battle-hardened US troops ready to attack any bordering nation that gave us any reason to do so in a couple of days' notice.

We re-established American Military supremacy.

We have lost everything that was paid for with the flesh and blood of our troops thanks to the efforts of the media and leftists members of the American Fifth Column.

[EdinVA]

We overthrew two governments.

We routed the largest military force in the ME and used Iraq as a staging ground for a couple hundred thousand battle-hardened US troops ready to attack any bordering nation that gave us any reason to do so in a couple of days' notice.

We re-established American Military supremacy.

We have lost everything that was paid for with the flesh and blood of our troops thanks to the efforts of the media and leftists members of the American Fifth Column.

We ousted 1 government (iraq) that was keeping a lid on this crap and another band of thugs posing as a government and we did nothing to put law and order back in place.  We needed a marshall plan like strategy.  We bled and died and won, it was ours to keep as long as we wanted it.

[massadvj]

We overthrew two governments.

We routed the largest military force in the ME and used Iraq as a staging ground for a couple hundred thousand battle-hardened US troops ready to attack any bordering nation that gave us any reason to do so in a couple of days' notice.

We re-established American Military supremacy.

We have lost everything that was paid for with the flesh and blood of our troops thanks to the efforts of the media and leftists members of the American Fifth Column.

We also spent upwards of $1 trillion to do it, and the Iraq state ended up being under the Iranian sphere of influence.  Even as we now beat the war drums against ISIS, very few people fully understand the negative implications of defeating ISIS.  Namely, an empowered Iran, and Assad in Syria stepping back into the vacuum.

I continue to believe and maintain that Iranian nukes and expansion is a greater existential threat to the USA than ISIS. 

I also maintain that the neo-con strategy has been disastrous and in the end was much worse than non-intervention would have been.  If that makes me a libertarian non-interventionist, then so be it.  I am not anti-war, and I am certainly not in favor of reducing our military strength.  When American interests are imperiled, I'd like to see us use our might quickly and decisively and then get the hell out. 

We also need to think much more strategically about how we use our defense infrastructure.

[musiclady]

We overthrew two governments.

We routed the largest military force in the ME and used Iraq as a staging ground for a couple hundred thousand battle-hardened US troops ready to attack any bordering nation that gave us any reason to do so in a couple of days' notice.

We re-established American Military supremacy.

We have lost everything that was paid for with the flesh and blood of our troops thanks to the efforts of the media and leftists members of the American Fifth Column.

 

COMPLETELY agree.

[Luis Gonzalez]

We also spent upwards of $1 trillion to do it, and the Iraq state ended up being under the Iranian sphere of influence.  Even as we now beat the war drums against ISIS, very few people fully understand the negative implications of defeating ISIS.  Namely, an empowered Iran, and Assad in Syria stepping back into the vacuum.

I continue to believe and maintain that Iranian nukes and expansion is a greater existential threat to the USA than ISIS. 

I also maintain that the neo-con strategy has been disastrous and in the end was much worse than non-intervention would have been.  If that makes me a libertarian non-interventionist, then so be it.  I am not anti-war, and I am certainly not in favor of reducing our military strength.  When American interests are imperiled, I'd like to see us use our might quickly and decisively and then get the hell out. 

We also need to think much more strategically about how we use our defense infrastructure.

We became the one enemy we couldn't defeat.

We were attacked by some multi-national shadow army claimed by no nation. Had we NOT retaliated against somebody, the Americam people would have risen up in revolution.

To sit back and criticize the war ex post facto without remembering that in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 we didn't care who we blew up in retaliation is kind of sad.

IF we're going to analyze everything ex post facto, then we should discuss whether or not we believe that we would pay a trillion dollars to avoid the attacks of 9/11.

[Luis Gonzalez]

We ousted 1 government (iraq) that was keeping a lid on this crap and another band of thugs posing as a government and we did nothing to put law and order back in place.  We needed a marshall plan like strategy.  We bled and died and won, it was ours to keep as long as we wanted it.

A band of thugs posing as a government is a government.

[truth_seeker]

I believe our military capabilities far exceed our intelligence, strategic and diplomatic skills.

In order to keep military gains, we must be prepared to stay in a semi-occupy mode indefinitely. That is proved by the givebacks in both Afghanistan and Iraq, since Obama held the tiller.

It could turn out that by "allowing" the terrorists to kill hundreds of fellow muslims, will aid greatly in the longer term, turning public opinion against them.

That in turn pushes the national governments to punish the terrorists.

Maybe Obama is just letting local solutions rise up, to local problems.