| Tango01 | 26 Jan 2015 11:05 p.m. PST |
"The 82nd Airborne, and more specifically its 3rd Brigade Combat Team, are no strangers to Iraq. Since 2003, parts of the brigade have deployed in support of U.S. efforts there on at least three occasions. Now, more than three years after the U.S. military presence in Iraq was thought over, about a quarter of the Panther Brigade will return with a new mission to help train Iraqi forces to fight ISIS. About 1,000 paratroopers from the brigade will deploy this week as part of the Operation Inherent Resolve mission. The deployment was officially announced in December and is expected to last nine months…"
Full article here
link Amicalement
Armand |
| Mako11 | 26 Jan 2015 11:25 p.m. PST |
Losing count. So, that brings us to what, 8,000 – 9,000 boots on the ground in Iraq, assuming two boots per soldier? |
 Legion 4   | 27 Jan 2015 8:59 a.m. PST |
That still is a lot of "boots". For a country that should be able to defend themselves after all the blood & treasure spent/wasted(?) by the US, UK, Oz, etc. in the recent past … |
| latto6plus2 | 27 Jan 2015 9:36 a.m. PST |
Yep and after all the freedom & democracy talk we cant just install another saddam to keep things under control.
I imagine we'll mission creep into remove ISIL, pacify/garrison the sunni areas, wait till it all turns to rat again.
Reckon we'll be back where we are now in about…2018? |
| Legion 4 | 27 Jan 2015 9:46 a.m. PST |
Who would have thought Saddam was the lesser of evils ?!?  Rat, one on my SF instructors used to say that ! |
| Tango01 | 27 Jan 2015 10:23 a.m. PST |
Has anyone seen the TV "Tyrant" serie? (smile) Amicalement
Armand |
| 15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 27 Jan 2015 10:23 a.m. PST |
Who would have thought Saddam was the lesser of evils? Many thought that, including George H.W. Bush when he refrained from rolling into Baghdad after liberating Kuwait during Gulf War I. His son wasn't as bright and hubris led him and his SecDef Cheney to go for a "regime change" in 2003. Now those of us who questioned the wisdom of Gulf War II are proven correct. The sectarian conflict between sunnis and shiites is flaring up right now because the balance-of-power which existed between Iraq and Iran was shattered after Saddam was toppled. Iraq and Iran fought each other to a standstill (and to exhaustion) in an eight year "War of Attrition" in the 1980's during which the US secretly helped both sides by providing intelligence to Iraq and weapons to Iran (which came to light in the "Iran-Contra" scandal during Reagan's second term). Without Saddam Hussein a power vacuum now exists in Iraq (and to a lesser degree in Syria due to the rebellion against Assad) which Daesh and other extremists are exploiting. Hate to say "I told you so" but….. |
| Legion 4 | 27 Jan 2015 11:04 a.m. PST |
Without Saddam Hussein a power vacuum now exists in Iraq (and to a lesser degree in Syria due to the rebellion against Assad) which Daesh and other extremists are exploiting. Very true … But Deash seems to make Saddam's evil look like, if I may, "the JV Team" … |
| Lion in the Stars | 27 Jan 2015 11:16 a.m. PST |
Who are you kidding, L4, DAESHbags make Saddam look like a freaking saint! |
| Deadone | 27 Jan 2015 3:50 p.m. PST |
Dang this all reeks of Vietnam. First advisers and air support, then ground troops.
War without end.
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| Legion 4 | 27 Jan 2015 5:17 p.m. PST |
Who are you kidding, L4, DAESHbags make Saddam look like a freaking saint!
At least a choir boy …  |
| Mako11 | 27 Jan 2015 5:41 p.m. PST |
Actually, now, due to the complete pullout from Iraq of US military troops, which was warned against, Iran (and the Shia) are handily in control of Iraq's leadership. That's not to say it is a good, or effective leadership, but they are in control, politically. Clearly, the Sunni's and ISIS (majority Sunni) don't like that, so are attacking them. Yes, the similarity to our involvement in Vietnam is very striking. |
| Deadone | 27 Jan 2015 6:35 p.m. PST |
And just like Vietnam there is no exit point. Afghanistan's the same – despite the war being "over" there's still 12,000 NATO troops there that will stay for at least a couple of years. Say what we wan't about the Russians, at least they were smart enough to know when to get out of Dodge. And given their eventual annihilation of Chechen insurgents, they certainly learned how to win against this kind of insurgent.
On the other hand I suspect we'll still be in Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2050s.
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| Legion 4 | 29 Jan 2015 8:42 a.m. PST |
I hope not … < Shakes head in disgust … fades to black …> |
| Lion in the Stars | 29 Jan 2015 12:00 p.m. PST |
And given their eventual annihilation of Chechen insurgents, they certainly learned how to win against this kind of insurgent. Yes, if you kill everyone in the region, you don't have to fight there anymore. The US (and NATO) has neither the media control nor the political will to do so. To be honest, I'm kinda wondering when China is going to get hit with major terrorism attacks launched out of Africa or the Middle East. Because the Chinese will not care about how many Africans/Afghans/Iraqis they kill. I fully expect to see some Chinese jackboots marching through and leveling entire cities that took a shot at their soldiers. |
tackles two subjects from his favorite sculptor.
