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
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Lighten up, Mike. They’re just keeping us safe.
Yep….Very safe….just like all the dead people ISIL has helped along the way…?
He’s being sarcastic.
Obama started nothing he just continued a policy that has been in place since the end of WW2 but which is expanding at an increasing rate.
But it’s okay. He has an undeserved Nobel Peace prize in his back pocket. Where are the MLKs when we need them? How are these two remotely similar? One shook the establishment. The other gesticulates via their strings.
We should resolve to be done with the Wall-Street/MIC-vetted coronations which we call elections and not accept their puppets nor comply with their dictates. NO MORE WALL STREET SUITS OR PANTSUITS AT 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE!!
That can be Seen in All its Glorious Splendor…as the “Refugees” are entering Europe…the Fuse will SOON be Lit..!
ISIS is CIA false flag op
Not that this is a novel conclusion here on Liberty Blitzkrieg but if we step back and we use Einsteins Quote,
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein
What other conclusion could any rational, sane person come too other than that every institution on this planet from financial to political, military to healthcare, agriculture, etc. is quite literally run by criminally insane psychopaths who are completely delusional and absolutely incapable of admitting that they have no fucking clue what they are doing. Its almost like they have been possessed by the entities of greed and lust for power which has turned them into nothing but a host body for some alien parasite to do what it will across the globe. Along with the possession of these elitist overlords is the spell of ignorance that has been cast over the majority of the worlds population which by combining the two has trapped this awakening minority on quite literally some type of prison planet. I can only hope that I can find some kind of real peace after I am dead because I have none here.
Well said!!!! Your not alone.
One thing the elite war machine is finally realizing: the money is gone. The credit for war is gone. China will price oil in yuan in October, the major changes will come as the rest of the world follows China as trade partners and the US elites are truly isolated. Nothing more to take from the people in the US. We’re taxed at 64% now. We don’t make the war machinery here now, so they will have to buy uniforms and the rest from other countries, who could begin to require Yuan. Or gold. That would stop the war machine.
Those 10K Syrian refugees, well, the govt apparently realized they couldn’t just round up Americans since we are still armed, and they will make another run at gun control via the UN and Vatican this fall. We have all those FEMA camps waiting empty. Let’s put the elites in them! Then the elites will have all the SECURITY they crave. The elites crave control & security-camps are perfect for them. So save and secure. They can even take their drugs and gold with them. Great idea, the sociopaths and psychopaths need safety.
As for us, we will watch our old lifestyles of entertainment and consumption disappear in the dropping value of the dollar. But, hey, we can all protest by no one voting.
mike , i think you have it wrong.
the u.s and saudi mercenaries are on track to depopulate and destroy the syrian nation state .
after a certain amount of time, an entire government no longer is able to recruit and train individuals to fight if their population has been devastated.
THIS IS THE PLAN. devastate the population, get assad out of power and they lay the pipelines.
if you are telling me it’s a disaster FOR OTHERS, that is the point the u.s. and saudi and emirati are reaching towards. if they are unable to push assad out of power in the next 20 years, than they are losing. so far, it has been a few years and it’s going slower than planned, but still, it has not really erupted into world war 3.
the u.s. is simply trying to get emirati and saudi pipelines to europe to flood europe with cheap gas. this war of violence, is very purposefully crafted to achieve pipeline dominance and economic dominance and it is still very possible that by 2020 they will achieve this goal fully.
so you are very much misjudging the current progress and achievability of the aims of this war.
i think you are writing with your heart instead of your brains.
i agree our militarized foreign policy and military interventions are a disaster but what i sense is the complete dedication here is to bash president obama.
and hey, when you have the world’s premiere military force in the world you have to keep them in practice and funnel ever more money to defense contractors, right?