BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL AID TABLE
REACHED FOR COMMENT, CRANKY SNARLED TO THESE REPORTERS, "LET THEM EAT LUCKY CHARMS! IN THEIR PAJAMAS! THEY'RE FREAKS! FREAKS! I AM QUEEN OF THE WORLD!"
The big Iraq news for the week remains Wednesday's revelation that US President Barack Obama will be sending even more US troops into Iraq. Larisa Epatko (PBS NEWSHOUR) notes, "The authorization followed the July announcement of a 560-troop deployment. The deployments bring the total U.S. troop level in Iraq to 5,262."
From the 'left' we have silence and more silence. The editorial board of THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE weighs in:
There are some strong arguments against increasing U.S. troop involvement in Iraq at this point. The first is that the Iraqi national army, which U.S. forces are supplying and training, continues to show itself relatively toothless on the battlefield — meaning that U.S. forces will play a prominent role in whatever assault on Mosul occurs. Washington has yet to explain coherently why Americans should care one way or the other who holds Mosul, or Raqqa, for that matter. The argument that taking Mosul would validate continued U.S. support of the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the policy of building it a credible national army has a vaguely “dog-chasing-its-tail” quality to it. If Mr. Abadi’s government had the general support of the Iraqi people, they would put in the field a credible national army on their own account, and his government would not need more American troops to fight its battles.
In other news . . .
The TelegraphFrench fighter jets take off on mission against Isil in Iraq
So French war planes will do combat with Islamic State war planes!
Oh, wait.
The Islamic State doesn't have war planes.
The US Defense Dept announced yesterday:
Strikes in Iraq
Attack, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft, as well as rocket artillery, conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
-- Near Qaim, a strike destroyed an ISIL vehicle bomb-making facility.
-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a fighting position.
-- Near Haditha, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed an ISIL fighting position and suppressed two ISIL mortar firing positions.
-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and destroyed a front-end loader, a weapons cache and a vehicle.
-- Near Ramadi, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and two trench systems.
Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.
This is so embarrassing.
Mosul's been held since June of 2014 by a terrorist organization.
It's still held by one.
Barack will be increasing the number of US troops in Iraq to 5262 (using PBS' THE NEWSHOUR number -- special-ops not included in that number).
Now France is joining the US in dropping bombs on Iraq.
All to end the siege of Mosul.
The Islamic State must have millions of fighters in Mosul, right?
Borzou DaragahiUS military says 3,000 to 4,500 ISIS fighters (Iraqi & foreign) holed up in Mosul ahead of planned offensive
RECOMMENDED: "Human rights begin at home"
