But who are these counties?
Let's begin with the Brits (our greatest allies until they surrendered to their restive Islamist population), In spite of the recent beheading of a British aid worker, they have agreed to neither fighting in air or on the ground. All we have from them is David Cameron's "Five Point Plan", pictured below.
How about the French? Well, they are hosting the confab, which pretty much fulfills their requirements. Besides, they led the way in Libya. That didn't turn out so well after Qaddafi fell.
The Turks? They are a NATO member bordering both Iraq and Syria. They have also allowed their territory to be used as a gateway for thousands of jihadists flocking to join the jihad from some 70 countries around the world. However, they will not allow us to use their territory from which to launch air strikes. Some NATO ally.
The Germans are understandably skittish about putting their troops on foreign soil given their past history. That pretty much leaves them unwilling to confront another evil that conjures up memories of the Nazis.
As things stand now, it is the US which is launching air strikes in Iraq, perhaps to be followed by air strikes in Syria against ISIS while still supporting and giving arms to selected other rebel groups even though said groups are now reported to have agreed with ISIS not to fight each other. We are also threatening to take out Syrian command and control installations should Assad's forces try to stop us from bombing ISIS, which is Assad's enemy.
Let me try to clear that up for you if you are confused. It means the US is becoming involved in fighting on both sides of the Syrian civil war.
Both sides of the Syrian civil war! You talk about a figure 8 stock car race! And you wonder why other countries are reluctant to sign onto military action with the likes of Barack Obama and John Kerry.
This just in! The Germans have agreed to supply one thousand cases of Becks to our pilots.
And how does your demand for coherent action here compare to your most recent post disparaging all those who advocated any kind of action?
ReplyDeleteSiarlys,
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what recent post you are quoting, but I will admit my thinking is evolving rapidly. I have said many times that we should build a wall around the Arab world and let them kill each other (minus the Israelis) all they want. Yet here we have thousands of foreign fighters from our own countries who swear they will hit us next. I am coming to the conclusion that what is needed is a massive multi-national military force -air and ground to wipe them out. Reality tells me that if the US doesn't lead, who will?
It seems our best minds don't have an answer for this mess. Do you think I do?
Including the Christians elwood? That's how that phrase usually is employed. Also the Jews I suppose, if you admire them rather than (as is historically precedented for conservatives) wanting them among the targets.
ReplyDeleteGary, there is no massive multi-national military force available or capable. We can do what worked in Afghanistan. Anywhere there are ground forces willing to stand up to ISIS, we will send some air support. If ISIS ever develops any kind of fixed target, we will pulverize it. Otherwise, its up to the neighbors. When we send troops, they become the issue and the prime target. The UN has lost whatever capacity it might have had in 1960 to do anything like that.