Critics Of President Obama's Iraq Strategy Are Now Starting To Speak Out

TWO Retired Four-Star Generals Blast Obama For Failing To Use 'Decisive' Force in Iraq With 'Pinprick' Attacks For 'Political Posturing' -- Daily Mail

* Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey laid into Obama on Friday, saying bombing runs against ISIS positions are political posturing

* 'These are political gestures using military power,' he said, lamenting the president's lack of commitment to a full-blown military campaign

* Obama ran for president on a platform of getting US military out of Iraq but began bombing runs Friday morning in the country's northern region

* White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest assured reporters on Friday that a ground-troop incursion is out of the question

* GOP critics are hammering the White House for not being more aggressive

* House Speaker John Boehner said the White House has an 'ongoing absence of a strategy for countering the grave threat ISIS poses'

* Obama underestimated ISIS in January, telling The New Yorker that 'If a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant'



Two retired four-star U.S. Army Generals heaped scorn Friday on President Barack Obama's authorization of targeted airstrikes in northern Iraq, with one war hero calling it a 'political gesture' calculated to provide the impression that the U.S. is 'doing something' about a humanitarian crisis developing there.



'There's a huge tragedy unfolding: 1.5 million refugees, a couple of hundred thousand just in the last few weeks. 50,000 of this minority group stuck on – up in the mountains,' Gen. Garry McCaffrey said on MSNBC.



'But these are political gestures using military power.'



Read more ....



Update #1: Gen. McCaffrey ‘Dismayed’ by U.S. Strategy in Iraq, Calls it ‘Muddled Thinking’ -- Washington Free Beacon

Update #2: As ISIS Militants Exert Their Control, U.S. Pursues a Military Middle Road -- NYT



My Comment: Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey analysis is spot on .... U.S. military strikes in Iraq do not have a strategic coherence that will not make me feel comfortable that ISIS will eventually be defeated. In short .... I cannot help but feel that the main reason for these strikes is political .... to give credit to the White House for giving the appearance of doing something useful.



On a side note .... the New York Times is praising President Obama's military strategy to Counter ISIS .... As ISIS Militants Exert Their Control, U.S. Pursues a Military Middle Road (NYT). But what I would like to know is .... what is a military middle of the road military policy?

Are U.S. Airstrikes Enough To Defeat The Islamic State In iraq?

Are U.S. Airstrikes Enough To Defeat ISIS In Iraq? -- CBS

ERBIL, Iraq - President Barack Obama warned Saturday that America's latest incursion into Iraq will not be brief.



Airstrikes on ISIS, and air drops for the people the militants have trapped, began Friday. They will likely continue for months.



On Saturday evening, there was word of new U.S. airstrikes, this time targeting ISIS armored personnel carriers.



The ISIS militants are members of the Sunni branch of Islam, at war not just with Iraq's Shiite majority, but also with other ethnic and religious minorities, including Kurds, Christians and Yazidis.



American F/A-18 fighter jets are flying over Iraq once again - this time targeting ISIS militants.



The aim is to help Kurdish soldiers - the only force on the ground in northern Iraq still doing battle with the Islamic extremists.



Read more ....



Update: Analysis: Limited U.S. strikes in Iraq may not work -- Jim Michaels, USA TODAY



My Comment: Launching a few U.S. air strikes here and there is not going to make a difference on the ground for ISIS .... and it will definitely not stop them nor make them re-evaluate their overall military strategy/goals. If anything .... ISIS is laughing at the U.S. for their feeble response.

How The Decision To Launch Air Strikes Against Islamic State Forces In Iraq Was Made

President Barack Obama meets with the National Security Council in the Situation Room of the White House in Washington, in this handout photograph taken and released on August 7, 2014. Credit: REUTERS/Pete Souza/White House/Handout

Obama Iraq Decision Followed Limo Ride Talk With General -- Bloomberg

President Barack Obama’s decision to approve airstrikes and humanitarian air drops in Iraq began to come together at nightfall on Aug. 6, between the end of the African leaders’ summit he’d hosted and a dinner with his wife and some friends.



During a five-minute limo ride back to the White House from the State Department with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey, Obama’s fears were confirmed. The offensive by militants with the Islamic State group had reached a critical point, according to an administration official who asked for anonymity to outline the private discussions.



That chat turned into an hour-long meeting in the Oval Office with Dempsey and Obama’s chief of staff and top national security advisers that night.



Read more ....



WNU Editor: The New York Times has more details on these discussions .... as well as revealing the White House's fear of another "Bengahzi" occurring .... Fear of ‘Another Benghazi’ Drove White House to Airstrikes in Iraq (New York Times).

A Look At The U.S. Military Forces That Have Been Deployed To Attack The Islamic State In Iraq

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) is shown under way in the Atlantic Ocean conducting sea trials on Jan. 27, 2010.(Photo: Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Jason Winn, U.S. Navy)

Ready So Strike: How The US Is Armed To The Teeth In The Middle East After Moving Ships, Jets And Troops Within Striking Distance... And Britain Has Its Base In The Med To Drop Ai -- Daily Mail

* U.S. forces have spent last two months moving ships, weapons and troops within close proximity of conflict zone

* Two F/A18 fighters flew from American 'supercarrier' in Persian Gulf to fire 500lb laser-guided bombs on ISIS group

* Jets were on USS George H.W. Bush, which travelled 1,000 miles from Arabian Sea to Persian Gulf seven weeks ago



The strike on ISIS today came after U.S. forces spent the last two months moving ships, jets and troops within striking distance.



After President Obama gave the go ahead last night, two F/A18 fighters flew off from an American 'supercarrier' in the Persian Gulf to fire 500lb laser-guided bombs on a group of Islamic militants outside Kurdish capital Erbil.



The jets were on the USS George H.W. Bush, which was ordered to travel 1,000 miles from the Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf seven weeks ago.



Read more ....



Update: More than 100 aircraft, 8 ships ready for Iraq air campaign -- Military Times



My Comment: President Obama has made it clear that U.S. ground forces will not be sent to Iraq .... but apparently there are SAS forces on the ground right now in northern Iraq .

The Iraqi Army Does Not Have The 'Heart' To Fight. The Kurdish Fighters Do Not Have The Bullets

Kurdish peshmerga troops participate in an intensive security deployment against Islamic State militants in Makhmur, on the outskirts of the province of Nineveh August 7, 2014.

Credit: REUTERS/Stringer

ISIS Beating Iraqis and Kurds As One Lacks 'Heart' And The Other Ammo -- ABC News

The Islamic militia ISIS has been able to roll back both the Iraqi army and the Kurdish peshmerga force because one lacks the "heart" for a fight while the other lacks the firepower, according to Americans familiar with both forces.



ISIS has easily swept the Iraqi army from Anbar province in the southwest of Iraq as well as much of northern Iraq and then blunted attempts by the Iraqi government to retake cities.



The Kurdish peshmerga was expected to be a more formidable force, but they have also lost ground to ISIS, including the vital Mosul dam, in recent days.



"It is not clear whether either the peshmerga or the ISF (Iraq Security Force) can prevent ISIS from seizing villages and outlying infrastructure that ISIS desires to control,” said Jessica Lewis, the research director at the Institute of the Study of War.



Read more ....



My Comment: ISIS has enough captured American weaponry to arm tens of thousands of fighter .... the Iraqi army has shown itself to be totally dysfunctional ..... and as for the Kurds, while Kurdish forces were busy seizing land and oilfields from departing Iraqi forces, they neglected to focus on the need to have an effective military force to face The Islamic State.



This is a sobering article on how ill prepared the Kurds are to confront The Islamic State .... Kurdish forces ill-equipped to fight Iraq's extremists (The Telegraph)

Islamic State Unleashes A Propaganda War Against The U.S.

Obama's Red Line. @ShamiWitness , @HazemIbnAlBaraa . @ghazishami @Afghananalyst @AbuYazidMuawiya @AbuBakr1924 http://ift.tt/1vsfQ8K

— Jizya Collector (@unseenocean) August 9, 2014

'A Message From ISIS To The US': Islamist Militants Tweet Gruesome Images Of Dead American Soldiers And Vow To Blow Up Embassies As Terrorist Convoy Is Wiped Out In SECOND Round Of Airstrikes -- Daily Mail

* WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Militants who support the terror group ISIS tweeted threats to America on Friday after Barack Obama began airstrikes in Iraq

* Some warn of car bombs at embassies while others taunt US military personnel with death threats

* A handful of biting retorts have mocked the ham-fisted attempt to use social media as a tool of war

* Tweets coincided with first U.S. airstrikes authorized by Obama to protect American staff and relief efforts

* Food and water supplies have been airdropped to 50,000 refugees trapped on mountain

* ISIS have been accused of taking hundreds of women hostage



Supporters of the ISIS terror group tweeted thousands of messages on Friday bearing the hashtag #AmessagefromISIStoUS featuring gruesome photos and threats to U.S. soldiers and citizens after American airstrikes took out terrorist targets in Iraq for the first time.



Some tweeted photos depict dead U.S. Army soldiers, U.S. marines hung from bridges in Fallujah, decapitated men, human heads on spikes, and the twin towers in flames on September 11, 2001.



'This is a message for every American citizen,' read one message sent with the hashtag. 'You are the target of every Muslim in the world wherever you are.'



Read more ....



My Comment: I doubt that the Islamic State's "tweets" and other propaganda efforts will have a significant impact on the West. They are sensational to a certain degree .... . but The Islamic State's propaganda efforts are mainly targeted at their own people. They want to show to their supporters that they can stand up to the U.S. .... as well as stroking fears in their enemies.

Iraq's Minority Communities Feel the Wrath Of Islamic Militants

'A Catastrophe': Yazidi Survivor Recalls Horror Of Evading ISIS And Death -- CNN

Irbil, Iraq (CNN) -- Which is worse: Running desperately for your life, or seeing others' lives end without enough to eat or drink?



It's an impossible question to answer. Then again, it's difficult to fathom most anything thousands of minority Yazidis have endured in recent weeks as they've fled from ISIS militants into remote, rugged, sparse mountains of northern Iraq.



"With my own eyes, I saw dogs feeding off dead bodies," one of those Yazidis, a man named Tariq, told CNN.



"It's not a crisis. It's a catastrophe."



Read more ....

More News On The Plight Of Iraq's Minority Communities Who Are Feeling The Wrath Of Islamic Militants

Islamic State militants tell 300 Yazidi families: convert or die -- Reuters

Kurds rescue Yazidis from Iraqi mountain -- Al Jazeera

Thousands From Iraq Minority Flee to Syria -- AP

We Need an Army: Iraq Refugees in Erbil Urge Obama to Do More -- NBC

Iraq crisis: save us from death -- The Telegraph

Iraq conflict: US aid drop follows fresh raids on militants -- BBC

Iraqi refugees 'facing genocide' to receive UK airdrop of aid -- The Guardian

'Isis has shattered the ancient ties that bound Iraq's minorities' -- The Guardian

Who are the religious and ethnic groups under threat from ISIS? -- Joshua Berlinger, CNN

President Obama: No Timetable Tor U.S. Airstrikes In iraq

Obama Says Tackling Iraq's Insurgency Will Take Time -- Reuters

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday U.S. airstrikes had destroyed arms that Islamic State militants could have used against Iraqi Kurds, but warned there was no quick fix to a crisis that threatens to tear Iraq apart.



But speaking before U.S. warplanes struck militant targets for the second straight day, Obama said it would take more than bombs to restore stability, and criticized Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government for failing to empower Iraq's Sunnis.



"I don't think we're going to solve this problem in weeks. This is going to take some time," Obama told a news conference in Washington.



Read more ....

More News On President Obama Committing U.S. Forces Into Iraq

Bombing in Iraq could last weeks, says Obama as U.S. launches air strikes... but he insists there will be no boots on the ground -- Daily Mail

Barack Obama Offers No Time Limit on Iraq Military Action -- AP

Obama pledges long-term campaign to fight Iraq's spreading jihadist crisis -- The Guardian

Obama Signals Lengthy U.S. Role in Iraq -- WSJ

Iraq Airstrikes May Continue for Months, Obama Says -- New York Times

Obama: Iraq air strikes and aid drops will prevent 'act of genocide' -- The Guardian

Obama: No 'timetable' for U.S. airstrikes in Iraq -- USA Today

Obama: Iraq problem will not be solved overnight -- The Telegraph

US prepared for long military effort in Iraq against ISIS, Obama says -- Jerusalem Post

US strikes again as Obama vows to save Iraqis stranded on Mount Sinjar -- AFP

Obama Says Thwarting Iraq Militants Will ‘Take Some Time’ -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Obama Warns of 'Long-Term Project' in Iraq -- NBC

Obama on solving Iraq crisis: 'It will take some time' -- RT

Obama Refuses to Name Timeframe for US Airstrikes in Iraq -- RIA Novosti

Obama commits US to long-term involvement in Iraq campaign -- Irish Times

Why Obama decided to strike ISIS -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN

U.S. Launches More Air Strikes Against Islamic State Fighters In Iraq

U.S. Conducts Four More Airstrikes in Iraq to Defend Yazidis -- Wall Street Journal

U.S. Attacks Rely on Mix of Fighter Jets and Unmanned Aircraft



WASHINGTON—The U.S. military launched four airstrikes Saturday in northern Iraq designed to defend members of the Yazidi religious minority who were coming under attack from Islamic extremists, American officials said.



The U.S. attacks relied on a mix of U.S. fighter jets and unmanned aircraft, and followed a set of three strikes on Friday. While Friday's strikes were intended to keep the militant group calling itself the Islamic State away from the city of Erbil, Saturday's strikes were the first aimed at safeguarding Yazidis.



The strikes began minutes after President Barack Obama spoke about the effort Saturday morning at the White House.



Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Launching More Air Strikes Against Islamic State Fighters In Iraq

U.S. strikes Islamic State targets in northern Iraq, Central Command says -- Reuters

Officials: U.S. airstrikes pound ISIS militants firing at Iraq's Yazidis -- CNN

US jets bomb Islamic State group in Iraq -- Al Jazeera

Iraq conflict: US in new air strikes on militants -- BBC

US Officials Report Fresh Strikes in Iraq -- VOA

U.S. launches second wave of airstrikes in Iraq -- USA Today

US launches four airstrikes against Islamic militants in Iraq -- FOX News

Israelis, Gaza militants fight on, defying truce efforts

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel launched more than 30 air attacks in Gaza on Saturday, killing nine Palestinians, and militants fired rockets at Israel as the conflict entered a second month, defying international efforts to revive a ceasefire.

Israel strikes Gaza after militants resume rocket fire

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel launched air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday in response to Palestinian rockets after Egyptian-mediated talks failed to extend a 72-hour truce in a month-old war.

Obama says tackling Iraq's insurgency will take time

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday U.S. airstrikes had destroyed arms that Islamic State militants could have used against Iraqi Kurds, but warned there was no quick fix to a crisis that threatens to tear Iraq apart.

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U.S. bombs Islamic State after Obama call to prevent Iraq 'genocide'

BAGHDAD/ARBIL Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. warplanes bombed Islamist fighters marching on Iraq's Kurdish capital on Friday after President Barack Obama said Washington must act to prevent "genocide".