Back To Iraq?

[longknife]

Dempsey Floats Idea Of Sending Trainers As Syria's War Spills Over – CNN

Talking about sending “assistance” troops if the country agrees @ Back to Iraq? Dempsey floats idea of sending trainers as Syria's war spills over ? CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs as well as the possibility of sending “trainers” to Lebanon. How will that fly with the American public? And, what on earth is the Obama administration doing when there is no longer a War On Terror?

 

[High_Gravity]

We already have troops and trainers in Jordan.

 

[longknife]

We already have troops and trainers in Jordan.

This talks about putting them in LEBANON!

 

[High_Gravity]

We already have troops and trainers in Jordan.

This talks about putting them in LEBANON!

Lebanon? are they nuts? I don't want our men and women anywhere near that shit hole.

 

[toastman]

We already have troops and trainers in Jordan.

This talks about putting them in LEBANON!

I wonder how Hezbollah will feel about that

 

[waltky]

The Sunni/Shia conflict finally erupts...

5 questions: What's going on in Iraq?
Mon January 6, 2014 Washington (CNN) - The recent fighting in Iraq has posed a serious challenge to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his government, raising questions about his ability to hold the country together amid a rising insurgency.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the United States will help the Iraqi government in the battle against al Qaeda-linked fighters in western Iraq, but he stressed it won't send troops.
Here are five questions about the deteriorating situation:

1. I thought the Iraq war was over. Why is there still fighting?

Well, actually last year was the deadliest since 2008. The number of dead reached its worst levels since the height of the Iraq war, when sectarian fighting between the country's Shiite majority and its Sunni minority pushed it to the brink of civil war. Those tensions continue to be fueled by widespread discontent among the Sunnis, who say they are marginalized by the Shiite-led government and unfairly targeted by heavy-handed security tactics. Sunni anger has made it easier for al Qaeda-linked militants to recruit and operate while eroding the public's cooperation with security forces. Violence has flared in recent days because of the arrest of a Sunni lawmaker in Ramadi and the dismantling of protest sites by the army in Falluja and Ramadi. Sunnis have rejected the authority of the government, and some Sunni officers in the army have deserted to fight Iraqi forces and attack police stations and prisons. Now fears are mounting that national elections in April will bring more violence and descend into civil war.

2. Wait, I thought al Qaeda was on the run? Now they control parts of Iraq?

The U.S. made impressive gains in weakening the so-called "core al Qaeda" leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but affiliate groups, specifically in Iraq, are gaining strength. Since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops, the Sunni-led group tied to al Qaeda, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), has staged a comeback amid Iraq's growing sectarian tensions and launched a series of bloody attacks on government buildings and personnel, killing thousands of civilians. ISIS has been working doggedly to exploit the security vacuum across Iraq. Conflicting reports say ISIS this weekend captured the western city of Falluja and took control of most parts of the principal capital of Ramadi. Iraqi troops are now battling insurgents in both places for control.

3. Falluja and Ramadi were pretty important to the U.S. during the Iraq war. Isn't the U.S. going to help?

Both were important battlegrounds for the U.S. during the Iraq war. Falluja was an insurgent stronghold until U.S. Marines fought their bloodiest battle of the war in 2004 to drive militants out. In Ramadi, the U.S. supported the "Awakening," in which tribal leaders turned on al Qaeda and aligned themselves with American and Iraqi forces to secure Anbar province. That was a turning point in the war. Now that U.S. troops are all out of Iraq, Washington is not eager to go back in.
Kerry said Sunday the U.S. would help the Iraqis in their fight against al Qaeda, but "this is their fight."

4. What does Syria have to do with it?

See also:

IRAQ CALLS ON FALLUJAH RESIDENTS TO EXPEL AL-QAIDA
Jan 6,`14 -- Iraq's prime minister urged Fallujah residents on Monday to expel al-Qaida militants to avoid an all-out battle in the besieged city, a sign that the government could be paving the way for an imminent military push in an attempt to rout hard-line Sunni insurgents challenging its territorial control over the western approaches to Baghdad.

The militants' seizure of Fallujah and parts of nearby Ramadi, once bloody battlegrounds for U.S. troops, has marked the most direct challenge to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government since the departure of American forces two years ago. Both the U.S. and its longtime rival Iran view the escalating conflict with alarm, with neither wanting to see al-Qaida take firmer root inside Iraq. Washington has ruled out sending in American troops but recently delivered dozens of Hellfire missiles to help bolster Iraqi forces.

Tehran signaled Monday that it is willing to follow suit, saying it is ready to help Iraq battle al-Qaida "terrorists" by sending military equipment and advisers should Baghdad ask for it. It is unclear whether Baghdad would take up the Iranian offer, made by Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, the Iranian Army deputy chief-of-staff, in comments to Iranian state media. He ruled out the sending of ground troops across the border.

Any direct Iranian help would exacerbate sectarian tensions fueling Iraq's conflict, as Iraqi Sunnis accuse Tehran of backing what they say are their Shiite-led government's unfair policies against them. Iran has the power to sway al-Maliki's political fortunes ahead of upcoming elections through its deep ties to Iraq's major Shiite factions, which have dominated government offices and security forces since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Iran's arch-foe Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Iraqi government troops have surrounded Fallujah, which was overrun by fighters from al-Qaida's Iraq branch last week. The city is just 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. It is located in the vast Sunni-dominated and largely desert province of Anbar, which borders Syria, where al-Qaida-linked groups are among the most formidable fighters among the rebels trying to topple President Bashar Assad.

Al-Maliki did not say how he expects Fallujah residents and pro-government tribesmen to push out the militants. In his message, broadcast over state TV, he also urged Iraqi troops to avoid targeting residential areas. Dozens of families have begun fleeing Fallujah to nearby towns, crammed in cars loaded with their belongings.

MORE

 

[georgephillip]

"The immediate trigger for the unrest was the Dec. 28 arrest of a Sunni lawmaker sought on terrorism charges, followed by the government's dismantling of a months-old anti-government Sunni protest camp in Ramadi.

Sectarian tensions in Iraq have been rising for much longer as Sunni complaints grew that the government was targeting the minority community unfairly with what they alleged were random arrests on terrorism charges and discrimination. It was a U.S.-backed revolt by Sunni tribal leaders against al-Qaida that led to a decline in the sectarian violence that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, and the current unrest has raised fears the country was again being pushed to the brink of civil war."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-06-22-23-08

The whole idea $eems to involve breaking Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon into small pieces with no effective representation at the UN, or any kind of military power capable of defending their borders against NATO or Israel.

The Big Talking Point will likely be the creation of a "Free Kurdistan" under NATO protection with a Syrian corridor extending to the eastern Mediterranean.

This is necessary to protect oil pipelines running from the Caspian Sea region.

If you scroll down a few pages in the following link, you'll find one example of how the borders of the New Middle East may shake out

http://www.globalresearch.ca/plans-for-redrawing-the-middle-east-the-project-for-a-new-middle-east/3882

"'Hegemony is as old as Mankind…' -Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Advisor

The term 'New Middle East' was introduced to the world in June 2006 in Tel Aviv by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who was credited by the Western media for coining the term) in replacement of the older and more imposing term, the 'Greater Middle East.'”

 

[waltky]

Iraqis fightin' their own battle for Falluja...

Iraqi planes, artillery strike rebel-held Falluja
Sun Jan 26, 2014 - Iraqi government forces battling al Qaeda-linked militants intensified air strikes and artillery fire on the rebel-held city of Falluja on Sunday, and at least seven people were killed, according to hospital officials and tribal leaders.

Religious and tribal leaders in the city, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, said they feared an imminent assault by the army to expel militants and end a three-week standoff that has driven thousands of people from their homes. Iraqi security forces have set up a loose cordon around Falluja and have clashed sporadically with insurgents inside. But they have held off from an all-out offensive, to give community leaders and tribesmen time to convince the gunmen to withdraw. "There is no time left for talks and we're afraid a military solution is looming," said a local cleric in Falluja, the scene of two major battles with U.S. troops in 2004. "A third Falluja battle is at the doors".

On Sunday morning, al Qaeda-linked militants attacked an army post in southern Falluja, seizing two Humvee vehicles and destroying a third, local sources said. A Reuters witness saw gunmen driving the Humvees, in which they were holding four people wearing Iraqi army uniforms captive. Hospital officials in Falluja said 42 people had been wounded by the air strikes, artillery and mortar shelling. Four civilians have been killed in Falluja over the past two days. It was not clear if militants had sustained casualties.

The al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also fighting in neighboring Syria, took control of Falluja and parts of nearby Ramadi on January 1 with the help of sympathetic armed tribesmen. A government military offensive in recent days drove al Qaeda fighters from large desert areas they had been controlling along the Syrian border in western Iraq.

NO DEADLINE

 

[aris2chat]

We already have troops and trainers in Jordan.

This talks about putting them in LEBANON!

There has been a deal for air and naval bases in Lebanon, but they have been put on hold for the moment.

 

[abu afak]

There's NO way 90% of Americans will touch Iraq or supporting any troops there.

Considering Arab Spring (aka 'Nuclear Winter' for Christians), why the hell should we get involved in a/Another intra-Muslim Melee.
`

 

[aris2chat]

1 hour ago
Arming Iraq to Fight Al Qaeda Has a Downside
The rise of Al Qaeda in Fallujah and Ramadi in Iraq's Anbar province has stirred well-deserved concern and fears of renewed violence and despair. The Obama administration's proposal to fix the insecurity of Anbar by providing the central Baghdad government, under Nouri al-Maliki