The Mideast is no place for us

With the fall of Mosul it's clear that the idea of transforming a country in the mideast to a "democratic" entity is a pipe dream. The people there don't want to have that - they need a ruthless dictator to keep the peace (so to speak). The Mosul police and military abandoned the city leaving militants weapons, vehicles, etc. So here we go again, another country on the verge of collapse after a long war, far too many U.S. casualties, and billions of dollars wasted. And Iraq is supposed to be more advanced than Afghanistan. It's a waste of time to even try and help those people. Bring ALL our troops back and let the Afghans and Iraqis have at it.

"Sunni Militants Seize Control in Iraqi City of Mosul

BAGHDAD — Sunni militants on Tuesday seized control of military bases and the provincial governor’s building in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, as police officers and army soldiers abandoned the town and left weapons, vehicles and even their uniforms to the gunmen.

By midday, the militants, believed to belong to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an extremist group, were in control of much of central and southern Mosul, according to witnesses and local officials. Soldiers who fled the city said the militants had seized a jail, freeing the inmates.

“They took control of everything, and they are everywhere,” said one soldier who fled the city, giving only his first name, Haidar."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/world/middleeast/militants-in-mosul.html?hp&_r=0

nochain wrote:

With the fall of Mosul it's clear that the idea of transforming a country in the mideast to a "democratic" entity is a pipe dream. The people there don't want to have that - they need a ruthless dictator to keep the peace (so to speak). The Mosul police and military abandoned the city leaving militants weapons, vehicles, etc. So here we go again, another country on the verge of collapse after a long war, far too many U.S. casualties, and billions of dollars wasted. And Iraq is supposed to be more advanced than Afghanistan. It's a waste of time to even try and help those people. Bring ALL our troops back and let the Afghans and Iraqis have at it.

"Sunni Militants Seize Control in Iraqi City of Mosul

BAGHDAD — Sunni militants on Tuesday seized control of military bases and the provincial governor’s building in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, as police officers and army soldiers abandoned the town and left weapons, vehicles and even their uniforms to the gunmen.

By midday, the militants, believed to belong to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an extremist group, were in control of much of central and southern Mosul, according to witnesses and local officials. Soldiers who fled the city said the militants had seized a jail, freeing the inmates.

“They took control of everything, and they are everywhere,” said one soldier who fled the city, giving only his first name, Haidar."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/world/middleeast/militants-in-mosul.html?hp&_r=0

Lettem have the place!... If I'm quoting you correctly...Ragheads are going to be Ragheads!!.....We need to redefine our use of military force and establishment of long term bases...HIT...HIT HARD...and get OUT!...Problem continues... repeat initial steps...

One problem, particularly in Afghanistan, is what does "win" mean? If it's something that's not going to happen then pull out now and move on to correcting things in our own country.

We didn't win shit. All we did was destabilize the region and create a new generation of Jihadists.

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And now, we kill 5 more of our sons with friendly fire.



https://news.yahoo.com/5-us-troops-killed-friendly-fire-afghanistan-112047271.html

I don't understand how fratricide can still occur with the communications systems available. Why don't vehicles and ground units have a simple encoded beaconing system linked to GPS so aircraft know exactly where friendlies are located?

Nochain, that would make too much sense.

Perhaps they're worried about the enemy getting ahold of some of those beacons and using them to their advantage.

I have to wonder if this will be the result of the crisis in Iraq and the civil war in Syria. ISIS.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/11/world/middleeast/isis-control-map.html

nochain wrote:

I have to wonder if this will be the result of the crisis in Iraq and the civil war in Syria. ISIS.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/11/world/middleeast/isis-control-map.html

Guess we showed'em in Syria with all that "line in the sand" rhetoric... Going from almost being toppled to now being a MAJOR player in the Middle East...

Looks like Iraq is about done as a civilized country. Now the terrorists have access to sophisticated weapons, vehicles, etc. Syria is next on their agenda, then Afghanistan and what happens when they get to Pakistan - a country with nukes? Even the Iranians are probably telling themselves they miscalculated. I imagine the Israelis are sharpening their knives right now....