Mosul has fallen

[mrjarrell]

Looks like the entire Anbar province is now on the chopping block. Any bets as to how this will pan out? My guess is that the IS will end up in possession of all of it. The Iraqi forces just don't seem to have a backbone and the airstrikes alone just won't do it. Seriously, if the rest of the region doesn't get off their asses and get involved Iraq is going to fall to IS and then it'll be onto to the rest of the region.

Islamic State fighters are threatening to overrun Iraq's Anbar province - The Washington Post

 

[Kirk Freeman]

ISIL continues to probe suburbs of Baghad: ISIS within 8 miles of Baghdad airport, and armed with MANPADs - CBS News

Obama pom pom girls in denial, here are the tweets: ?Continues the streak': Politico?s Blake Hounshell looks like a fool ? again | Twitchy

 

[Redhorse]

ISIL continues to probe suburbs of Baghad: ISIS within 8 miles of Baghdad airport, and armed with MANPADs - CBS News

Obama pom pom girls in denial, here are the tweets: ?Continues the streak': Politico?s Blake Hounshell looks like a fool ? again | Twitchy

I wonder if I'll get drafted.

 

[BogWalker]

Time to invade everyone.

Sure would simplify things, wouldn't it?

 

[TheRude1]

ISIS is nothing more than the SS reborn with a pinch of modern/historic evil and twisted to no end
See what happens when the person in charge walks softly and carries a limp stick ! People always moaning about the U.S. being the policeman of the world, this is what happens when even the threat of the U.S. being the policeman is not there. Chaos mayhem murder and rape. Aaaa the good old days
How many millions need to dye before the U.S. starts cracking peoples sculls for the things they have done ?
But it will never happen here right, Dream on putts(you will be needed as targets so I have time to reload so thanks for taking one in advance)
Prayers go out to the Kurds for actually standing up to them !

 

[1911ly]

ISIS is nothing more than the SS reborn with a pinch of modern/historic evil and twisted to no end
See what happens when the person in charge walks softly and carries a limp stick ! People always moaning about the U.S. being the policeman of the world, this is what happens when even the threat of the U.S. being the policeman is not there. Chaos mayhem murder and rape. Aaaa the good old days
How many millions need to dye before the U.S. starts cracking peoples sculls for the things they have done ?
But it will never happen here right, Dream on putts(you will be needed as targets so I have time to reload so thanks for taking one in advance)
Prayers go out to the Kurds for actually standing up to them !

One things for sure. It WON'T happen while the present commander and chief is in office. The way it looks to me Iraq will fall. I just hope that when they get to the airport we bomb the crap out if the air strips. I can't imagine them having a access full fledged airport. Freaking insane. But highly likely.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Obama's strategy in tatters as ISIL presses its attacks in Iraq and Syria: War against Isis: US strategy in tatters as militants march on - Comment - Voices - The Independent

 

[Redhorse]

Obama's strategy in tatters as ISIL presses its attacks in Iraq and Syria: War against Isis: US strategy in tatters as militants march on - Comment - Voices - The Independent

Short of sending in a US backed invasion, what can we do? Carpet bomb ISIS positions with B-52s? The only thing I see that'll work is recongizing all the Kurdish fighting forces (in Syria, Iraq, and Turkey) as a unified fighting force and arming them to the teeth with guns, trucks, tanks, and helicopters, along with sending in Special Forces and an army of volunteers (literally American troops who volunteer to go fight) to fight alongside the Kurds. There's not much we can do from the air.

 

[Henry]

It isn't ours to do.

 

[Thor]

There are no good guys in this fight to fight for. The Kurds might have been but no one in the region even wants them to exist anymore...and they don't have a country, just some ground carved out of what used to be Iraq. We should just wait and see who's left alive at the end of the shooting. Then we need to make sure they don't ever leave there. It serves our national interests to contain this evil, not pick which of the evils to work on behalf of.

Of course the current apologizer in chief will never do anything that resembles the best interests of America.

 

[Thor]

There's not much we can do from the air.

During DS1 we flew 119 airstrikes an hour for 5 weeks (avg.) the current effort can't be qualified as an attempt to accomplish anything. We're spending $.5M to blow up $30k pickup trucks...

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Iraqi leaders call for U.S. troops: Iraq's Anbar province: Send U.S. troops to stop ISIS - CNN.com

Obama's bombs cannot stop winter or put food in the bellies of refugees.

 

[T.Lex]

Oh, the complications of regional politics:
BBC News - Turkish jets bomb Kurdish PKK rebels near Iraq

Turkish F-16 and F-4 warplanes have bombed Kurdish PKK rebel targets near the Iraqi border, as their ceasefire comes under increasing strain.

Yes, our ally Turkey, bombed our erstwhile ally, the Kurds, all while a strategic town is under imminent threat of falling squarely under the control of ISIS.

Now, the pure win part of that article, though, is the pic of an active-duty F-4.

Beautiful f'n plane, that is.

 

[Thor]

Oh, the complications of regional politics:
BBC News - Turkish jets bomb Kurdish PKK rebels near Iraq



Yes, our ally Turkey, bombed our erstwhile ally, the Kurds, all while a strategic town is under imminent threat of falling squarely under the control of ISIS.

Now, the pure win part of that article, though, is the pic of an active-duty F-4.

Beautiful f'n plane, that is.

Yes indeed, the good old days when we had iron on the ramp not plastic, when we prefighted planes instead of preprograming them...when we actually flew them!

 

[Redhorse]

I'm sorry but I don't see where these guys are so bad. They really seem like a good second Israel option to me.One 60-Second Video Shows The Powerful Difference Between Kurdish Forces and ISIS Terrorists.

 

[Thor]

They are not as bad, it's just highly unlikely that they will accomplish much beyond survival if they are lucky. The entire region has devolved to their desired state of tribalism where they have retreated to every time they were given the chance. Now comes the fun of raiding and killing the rival tribes.

I believe T.Lex was just pointing out that one of our supposed allies was bombing another of our supposed allies and oh look and F4!

I see that's a hard wing with no gun so F4C or D? I'd have to look up the Turkish Air Order of Battle to make sure.

 

[T.Lex]

{Total derail, but worth it.}

... oh look and F4!

I see that's a hard wing with no gun so F4C or D? I'd have to look up the Turkish Air Order of Battle to make sure.

Been out of that world for awhile, but I thought they had Es. It seems like there's that elongated internal cannon in the nose.

Also, sorta back on track, I think Turkey would be a great ally, if we dealt with them better. Or if we had a comprehensive, rational, foreign policy.

But we don't, so we don't.

 

[Thor]

Apparently, the version now flown by the Turks is the F4E Terminator 2020 with upgraded electronics and weapons carrying capabilities.

 

[T.Lex]

Hey - maybe those F-4s will get some BCM like the old days! Ok, more likely to be the F-16s doing CAP or Intercept/Sweep that get the A-A work.
Islamic State training pilots to fly in three jets: Syria monitor

It was not clear whether the jets were equipped with weaponry or whether the pilots could fly longer distances in the planes, which witnesses said appeared to be MiG 21 or MiG 23 models captured from the Syrian military.

Party like its 1989!

Now, it does strike me as odd that the witnesses couldn't tell the difference between a -21 and -23. They don't look very similar.

 

[T.Lex]

Something strange going on in Turkey. Wonder what the back-room negotiations are like.
BBC News - Islamic State: Turkey to let Iraq Kurds join Kobane fight

In a policy reversal, Turkey is to allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters to cross the Syrian border to fight Islamic State (IS) militants in Kobane.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added that talks on the subject were continuing.