The US media propaganda wants Americans to believe the people in the Middle East are sadly incompetent and simply can't find a way to stand up for their own lives, hence the USA should fight a forever war.
The people of the Syrian region of the middle east are used to being lead by dictators and their militarizes. Life with a dictator was very different than life in The West. Dictators slaughtered and imprisoned them on a regular basis. They weren't allowed to fight back. They would die in large numbers if they tried to fight back.
Iraq and Syria are Third World nations. They were before the "W" invasion and they still are.
Learned passivity is a cultural issue. The Iraqis had to learn they needed to kill in order to protect themselves now that Saddam and the Ba'athists were gone. This battle is new for these people.
July 19, 2015
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi military operation (click here) to retake the key Sunni city ofRamadi from Islamic State militants is gaining momentum, the top U.S. military officer said Saturday.
Gen.Martin Dempsey , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , said his senior field commanders here do not require additional U.S. forces or the need to deploy advisers in the field with Iraq's combat forces for the offensive to succeed.
"I asked the senior leaders point-blank: 'Are we at the point where, in order to make sure this mission succeeds, that we need to be here in greater numbers and go farther forward?' " Dempsey told reporters as he wrapped up a day-long visit here. "And the answer was 'no'."
Iraqi forces have been repeatedly humiliated in battles by the vastly smaller ranks of Islamic State fighters. That has prompted critics of the administration's limited presence in Iraq to push for more U.S. forces in Iraq, including teams that could accompany Iraqi combat forces to help call in more precise airstrikes against the militants.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, center, chairs a joint meeting of the Revolutionary Command Council and the regional command of the ruling Baath Party on Oct. 31, 1998. (Reuters)
...Abu Hamza, (click here) who became the group’s ruler in a small community in Syria, never discovered the Iraqis’ real identities, which were cloaked by code names or simply not revealed. All of the men, however, were former Iraqi officers who had served under Saddam Hussein, including the masked man, who had once worked for an Iraqi intelligence agency and now belonged to the Islamic State’s own shadowy security service, he said.
His account, and those of others who have lived with or fought against the Islamic State over the past two years, underscore the pervasive role played by members of Iraq’s former Baathist army in an organization more typically associated with flamboyant foreign jihadists and the gruesome videos in which they star.
Even with the influx of thousands of foreign fighters, almost all of the leaders of the Islamic State are former Iraqi officers, including the members of its shadowy military and security committees, and the majority of its emirs and princes, according to Iraqis, Syrians and analysts who study the group....
The Ba'athists were involved in destabilizing Syria since the beginnings of the Iraq invasion in 2003. They left when the Iraqi tank columns didn't stand up to the USA tanks.
I am quite confident there were/are members of Saddam's military wanted for war crimes. They went to Syria because they could. For all we know Assad allowed their presence in Syria. Why not? Assad saw what occurred in Iraq to Saddam why would his life be any different?
But, that is history. The fact is the Ba'athists found a place where they weren't hunted and taken to justice in Syria. They never gave up the fight and with traffic moving across the Iraqi borders with Syria during the time "W" occupied Iraq, it was probably well known the Ba'athists were still alive and well.
When Daesh finally moved against Iraq, the Iraqi soldiers gave up easily because of a psychological advantage the Ba'athists had. How does a people used to oppression, cruelty at every turn, ethnic prejudices that have permeated their lives for so long have a new reality and they have to fight for a country that is still named Iraq?
The slaughter of the Iraqi army was a stark reminder of who the Ba'athists actually were. It is unfortunate the people of the Syrian region of the Middle East have to suffer. They don't deserve it. The Ba'athists will never give up. For as long as they are alive they will fight the war to dominate the region and seek to increase the borders of their particular brand of terror. The tactics of Daesh strongly prove the men behind the killing are inhumane and take no prisoners. They are no doubt wanted for war crimes, so they have nothing to lose.
It is interesting how the Kurds and the Shia have a strong resolve and do not consider Daesh as unconquerable. The Kurds and the Shia lived under a no fly zone. They were killed in large numbers by Saddam. Today, they were ready to fight for their lives when Daesh made their presence known. The Kurds and the Shia were quite used to standing up for their own safety and for the survival of their people. They had to do it with Saddam and the Ba'athists. To the Kurds and Shia the Ba'athists were always the enemy.
It is the other people that lived in Saddam's Iraq that fear Daesh. The Iraqi military is quite used to hiding from the Ba'athists or living with them while they behaved.
The Iraqi people need to stand up for their country. I don't care if they split the land into three or more separate provinces and have a defense force for each; they have to stand up and fight. They have to realize these are the Saddam Ba'athists and the land needs to be cleared of them. If killing them is the only way, then that is their task. Daesh were international criminals long before they called themselves Daesh.
It might help psychologically to try the Ba'athist leadership of Daesh in absentia at human rights criminal courts. It would reveal the real identity of these horrible men and dispel the mystery of the caliphate. The courts could also provide a vehicle to arrest them if the opportunity ever presented itself. But, no doubt they would rather fight to their death and their wish should come true.
The people of the Syrian region of the middle east are used to being lead by dictators and their militarizes. Life with a dictator was very different than life in The West. Dictators slaughtered and imprisoned them on a regular basis. They weren't allowed to fight back. They would die in large numbers if they tried to fight back.
Iraq and Syria are Third World nations. They were before the "W" invasion and they still are.
Learned passivity is a cultural issue. The Iraqis had to learn they needed to kill in order to protect themselves now that Saddam and the Ba'athists were gone. This battle is new for these people.
July 19, 2015
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi military operation (click here) to retake the key Sunni city of
Gen.
"I asked the senior leaders point-blank: 'Are we at the point where, in order to make sure this mission succeeds, that we need to be here in greater numbers and go farther forward?' " Dempsey told reporters as he wrapped up a day-long visit here. "And the answer was 'no'."
...Abu Hamza, (click here) who became the group’s ruler in a small community in Syria, never discovered the Iraqis’ real identities, which were cloaked by code names or simply not revealed. All of the men, however, were former Iraqi officers who had served under Saddam Hussein, including the masked man, who had once worked for an Iraqi intelligence agency and now belonged to the Islamic State’s own shadowy security service, he said.
His account, and those of others who have lived with or fought against the Islamic State over the past two years, underscore the pervasive role played by members of Iraq’s former Baathist army in an organization more typically associated with flamboyant foreign jihadists and the gruesome videos in which they star.
Even with the influx of thousands of foreign fighters, almost all of the leaders of the Islamic State are former Iraqi officers, including the members of its shadowy military and security committees, and the majority of its emirs and princes, according to Iraqis, Syrians and analysts who study the group....
The Ba'athists were involved in destabilizing Syria since the beginnings of the Iraq invasion in 2003. They left when the Iraqi tank columns didn't stand up to the USA tanks.
I am quite confident there were/are members of Saddam's military wanted for war crimes. They went to Syria because they could. For all we know Assad allowed their presence in Syria. Why not? Assad saw what occurred in Iraq to Saddam why would his life be any different?
But, that is history. The fact is the Ba'athists found a place where they weren't hunted and taken to justice in Syria. They never gave up the fight and with traffic moving across the Iraqi borders with Syria during the time "W" occupied Iraq, it was probably well known the Ba'athists were still alive and well.
When Daesh finally moved against Iraq, the Iraqi soldiers gave up easily because of a psychological advantage the Ba'athists had. How does a people used to oppression, cruelty at every turn, ethnic prejudices that have permeated their lives for so long have a new reality and they have to fight for a country that is still named Iraq?
The slaughter of the Iraqi army was a stark reminder of who the Ba'athists actually were. It is unfortunate the people of the Syrian region of the Middle East have to suffer. They don't deserve it. The Ba'athists will never give up. For as long as they are alive they will fight the war to dominate the region and seek to increase the borders of their particular brand of terror. The tactics of Daesh strongly prove the men behind the killing are inhumane and take no prisoners. They are no doubt wanted for war crimes, so they have nothing to lose.
It is interesting how the Kurds and the Shia have a strong resolve and do not consider Daesh as unconquerable. The Kurds and the Shia lived under a no fly zone. They were killed in large numbers by Saddam. Today, they were ready to fight for their lives when Daesh made their presence known. The Kurds and the Shia were quite used to standing up for their own safety and for the survival of their people. They had to do it with Saddam and the Ba'athists. To the Kurds and Shia the Ba'athists were always the enemy.
It is the other people that lived in Saddam's Iraq that fear Daesh. The Iraqi military is quite used to hiding from the Ba'athists or living with them while they behaved.
The Iraqi people need to stand up for their country. I don't care if they split the land into three or more separate provinces and have a defense force for each; they have to stand up and fight. They have to realize these are the Saddam Ba'athists and the land needs to be cleared of them. If killing them is the only way, then that is their task. Daesh were international criminals long before they called themselves Daesh.
It might help psychologically to try the Ba'athist leadership of Daesh in absentia at human rights criminal courts. It would reveal the real identity of these horrible men and dispel the mystery of the caliphate. The courts could also provide a vehicle to arrest them if the opportunity ever presented itself. But, no doubt they would rather fight to their death and their wish should come true.
