Obama's War(s)

[Dos Equis]

what I find odd is that you so much hate Obama that you want to label these conflicts as Obama's wars when he started absolutely none of them........Bush started the Iraq and Afghan wars.....ISIS war started due to Assad not wanting to quit even though his people told him to and to Al Maliki who fucked up the calm peaceful country we left him..............The Libyan War was started by France, Britain and Italy.....Obam helped reluctantly as long as US trops weren't involved which was the right call......

Why dio you feel the need to blame everything on Obama and exonerate everyone else??

I don't hate Obama.  I just think he is dishonest and a lousy president.  That's essentially all I've ever said about him. 

Obama inherited a stable Iraq and proceeded to destabilize the country, and the entire Middle East.

It doesn't matter who started the other wars.  The fact is he is involved.  And doing a horrible job. 

[240 is Back]

Exactly..let the Arbas get their hands dirty for a change...the arabs have to sort this out..its a religious war.....the US cant stop this from happening and will never be able to impose order.....

obama is now to blame for not spending US money, weapons and lives, "breaking up" every civil war in every shitty part of the world.

I mean, we're almost at war with syria and we are at war with ISIS.   We have a situation where they're killing each other daily for control of a shitty city in Syria.... fccking let them!   Let them!   Let them keep this battle contained, let them waste each other, drag it out, use up their men and money.

WTF... repubs' dicks are so hard for a war, they are so desperate to borrow from china to start another war, they just want boots on ground somewhere.   Armchair QBs.   Our mutual enemies are wasting each other, that's a win.

[Dos Equis]

Marine 4-star: Ramadi's fall to ISIS 'breaks my heart'
By Hope Hodge Seck, Staff writer 
May 20, 2015

Gen. John F. Kelly briefs reporters
(Photo: Glenn Fawcett/DoD)

A Marine four-star general who commanded troops during the Iraq War said seeing Ramadi fall to Islamic State militants left him heartbroken and mindful of how hard U.S. service members worked to bring stability to the region.

Gen. John Kelly, the head of U.S. Southern Command, shared his thoughts about the troubling news out of Iraq with an audience at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday. Kelly commanded I Marine Expeditionary Force (forward) in 2007 and Multi-National Force-West in Iraq from 2008 to 2009.

"It breaks my heart," Kelly said. "I've got over two years of my life in Ramadi and Anbar province. As a senior commander once and as a second senior commander once, I got hundreds of young Americans either killed or wounded under my command."

Kelly said he experienced a very different Iraq at the end of his second tour, when regional security was largely in the hands of Iraqi troops and partnerships were brokered with Sunni leaders.

"My last saunters down the streets of Ramadi, I walked unarmed with just my Iraqi soldiers — a couple of the Iraqi soldiers who had sidearms," he said. "Same thing in Fallujah when I left there."

Kelly said the region then had a functioning democratic election process and that troops had begun to tear down the reminders of war in the region: barbed wire and concrete barriers.

"When I went back on my last tour I would meet some of these sheikhs my predecessors had brought on board that had been fighting us tooth and nail," he said. "And I would say, you know, 'Sheikh Ahmed, the last time I was here I was trying to kill you, or at least track you down and capture you.' 'My brother, that's exactly what I was trying to do to you,' [the sheikh replied]. That's how much it changed."


Then-Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commanding general of Multi National Forces-West, speaks to Iraqi Brig. Gen. Nour al Din, the chief intelligence official in Anbar province in 2008. (Photo: Pfc. Jerry Murphy/Marine Corps)

Kelly did not speculate on the strategic significance of the IS capture of Ramadi or the ability of Iraqi troops to regain the turf that had been lost to the militants.

As early as 2008, however, Kelly had warned that Syria was becoming a "sanctuary" from which terrorists and extremists flowed into Iraq.

"The Syrian border ... is the last frontier," Kelly told U.S. News and World Report that year.

Now the U.S. commander responsible for South and Central America and the Caribbean, Kelly is also rumored to be a contender for next commandant of the Marine Corps. The current commandant, Gen. Joseph Dunford, has been nominated to succeed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey when he retires this fall.

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/05/20/marine-general-john-kelly-ramadis-fall-heartbreaking-iraq/27642143/

[andreisdaman]

obama is now to blame for not spending US money, weapons and lives, "breaking up" every civil war in every shitty part of the world.

I mean, we're almost at war with syria and we are at war with ISIS.   We have a situation where they're killing each other daily for control of a shitty city in Syria.... fccking let them!   Let them!   Let them keep this battle contained, let them waste each other, drag it out, use up their men and money.

WTF... repubs' dicks are so hard for a war, they are so desperate to borrow from china to start another war, they just want boots on ground somewhere.   Armchair QBs.   Our mutual enemies are wasting each other, that's a win.

I gotta admit this is a great line.....good job

[Dos Equis]

Krauthammer, Special Report Panel Clobber Obama Over Spread of ISIS
By Curtis Houck | May 22, 2015

The Thursday panel on Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier took on the issue of the Obama administration’s so-called policy in addressing ISIS and blasted the President for maintaining that the U.S. and its allies are not losing the fight against the Islamic extremist group despite the seizures this week of Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria.

Leading the way was FNC contributor Charles Krauthammer, who asserted that “[t]he administration is sounding like Baghdad Bob during the invasion of Iraq” and that “[t]hey're losing” which “[e]verybody understands.”

Following a clip of a testy exchange between State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf and a State Department reporter, host Bret Baier began the segment by reading aloud a quote from President Obama’s interview with The Atlantic before turning to National Public Radio’s Mara Liasson and admitting to her that “there seems to be a series of bad days” that are reminiscent of 2006 during the Iraq War.

Not long after she began her answer, Liasson started poking holes in the current White House attitude on fighting ISIS in the Middle East:

[T]he problem is that the White House, at least talking points, are there’s only two choices. What we're doing and reinvading Iraq, sending hundreds of thousands of ground troops. There's a lot in between there and the question is what, if anything, is the White House willing to do other than what it's doing right now?

Krauthammer then joined the conversion and, as expected, held little back in slamming the administration:

The administration is sounding like Baghdad Bob during the invasion of Iraq. They're losing. Everybody understands that. ISIS, it wasn't only that they took over in Iraq, but it took the town – the city of Palmyra in Syria which gives it control of half of Syria and later, in the day today, they took over a crucial crossing point between Syria and Iraq, essential erasing the frontier and making it easier to resupply Ramadi.

Considering all that ISIS has been able to accomplish in the last week, Krauthammer observed that “[t]hese are huge strategy gains” and “not tactical defeats and what Obama says, well, it's because it wasn’t our – the guys who were trained by us who were in Ramadi.”

With the simple declaration that “this is nuts,” Krauthammer picked apart the premise that the issues in fighting ISIS lie in the lack of training for the Iraqi military:

The idea is, if you're going to have success, you have to have training and you have to have will. The idea that what the Iraqis are lacking is training is ridiculous. We've been training them for 15 years. If the troops haven't gotten their heart battle, it will not succeed and that's what happened in Mosul when they ran away and that's what happened in Ramadi when they ran away.

Later, fellow panelist and FNC contributor Judge Andrew Napolitano opined that “[t]he President coveys an image of being passive and indecisive and that leads to an image of defeat.” In addition, he made the analogy that, on ISIS, Obama is “punching with his left hand and apologizing to the galleries with his right hand for hitting too hard.”

(h/t: Daily Caller)

The relevant portions of the transcript from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on May 22 can be found below.

FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
May 21, 2015
6:52 p.m. Easterm

BRET BAIER: The President was asked, are we losing against ISIS in Atlantic magazine. He said this, “No, I don't think we're losing...There's no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time, primarily because these are not Iraqi security forces that we have trained or reinforced..The training of Iraqi security forces, the fortification, the command-and-control systems are not happening fast enough in Anbar, in the Sunni parts of the country.” We're back with the panel. Mara, I tell you, there seems to be a series of bad days. We saw this in 2006 at the White House and there was a change.

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO’s MARA LIASSON: Well, you know the President was very accurate. Not being trained fast enough. It’s not happening and the problem is that the White House, at least talking points, are there’s only two choices. What we're doing and reinvading Iraq, sending hundreds of thousands of ground troops. There's a lot in between there and the question is what, if anything, is the White House willing to do other than what it's doing right now?

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: “Tactical Setback; Pres Obama Contends Not Losing ISIS Fight]

BAIER: Charles?

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: The administration is sounding like Baghdad Bob during the invasion of Iraq. They're losing. Everybody understands that. ISIS, it wasn't only that they took over in Iraq, but it took the town – the city of Palmyra in Syria which gives it control of half of Syria and later, in the day today, they took over a crucial crossing point between Syria and Iraq, essential erasing the frontier and making it easier to resupply Ramadi.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Palmyra, Syria Falls to ISIS]

These are huge strategy gains. They are not tactical defeats and what Obama says, well, it's because it wasn’t our – the guys who were trained by us who were in Ramadi. This is nuts. The idea is, if you're going to have success, you have to have training and you have to have will. The idea that what the Iraqis are lacking is training is ridiculous. We've been training them for 15 years. If the troops haven't gotten their heart battle, it will not succeed and that's what happened in Mosul when they ran away and that's what happened in Ramadi when they ran away.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Pres Obama Strategy vs ISIS]

BAIER: You know, Judge, the Pentagon continues to have these different stories about a air strikes and how much they're doing. We know definitively now from our people over there that there have been no air strikes in Ramadi in the past 24 hours. It seems like there's this shift and people trying to figure out what's going on.

JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO: I wish I knew. I wish we all knew knew what was going on and, on this, I agree with both of my colleagues. The President conveys an image of being passive and indecisive and that leads to an image of defeat. If you're going to be there, fight to win to and come home. If you don't think we can win it, then we shouldn't there be. In my view, this cannot be won without a long term commitment of ground troops for a long period of time and nation-building and the American public will not tolerate that politically and we can't afford it. However, what we're doing now accomplishes nothing. He's punching with his left hand and apologizing to the galleries with his right hand for hitting too hard.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/curtis-houck/2015/05/22/krauthammer-special-report-panel-clobber-obama-over-spread-isis#sthash.B3a9rsGp.dpuf

[andreisdaman]

Krauthammer, Special Report Panel Clobber Obama Over Spread of ISIS
By Curtis Houck | May 22, 2015

The Thursday panel on Fox News Channel’s Special Report with Bret Baier took on the issue of the Obama administration’s so-called policy in addressing ISIS and blasted the President for maintaining that the U.S. and its allies are not losing the fight against the Islamic extremist group despite the seizures this week of Ramadi in Iraq and Palmyra in Syria.

Leading the way was FNC contributor Charles Krauthammer, who asserted that “[t]he administration is sounding like Baghdad Bob during the invasion of Iraq” and that “[t]hey're losing” which “[e]verybody understands.”

Following a clip of a testy exchange between State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf and a State Department reporter, host Bret Baier began the segment by reading aloud a quote from President Obama’s interview with The Atlantic before turning to National Public Radio’s Mara Liasson and admitting to her that “there seems to be a series of bad days” that are reminiscent of 2006 during the Iraq War.

Not long after she began her answer, Liasson started poking holes in the current White House attitude on fighting ISIS in the Middle East:

[T]he problem is that the White House, at least talking points, are there’s only two choices. What we're doing and reinvading Iraq, sending hundreds of thousands of ground troops. There's a lot in between there and the question is what, if anything, is the White House willing to do other than what it's doing right now?

Krauthammer then joined the conversion and, as expected, held little back in slamming the administration:

The administration is sounding like Baghdad Bob during the invasion of Iraq. They're losing. Everybody understands that. ISIS, it wasn't only that they took over in Iraq, but it took the town – the city of Palmyra in Syria which gives it control of half of Syria and later, in the day today, they took over a crucial crossing point between Syria and Iraq, essential erasing the frontier and making it easier to resupply Ramadi.

Considering all that ISIS has been able to accomplish in the last week, Krauthammer observed that “[t]hese are huge strategy gains” and “not tactical defeats and what Obama says, well, it's because it wasn’t our – the guys who were trained by us who were in Ramadi.”

With the simple declaration that “this is nuts,” Krauthammer picked apart the premise that the issues in fighting ISIS lie in the lack of training for the Iraqi military:

The idea is, if you're going to have success, you have to have training and you have to have will. The idea that what the Iraqis are lacking is training is ridiculous. We've been training them for 15 years. If the troops haven't gotten their heart battle, it will not succeed and that's what happened in Mosul when they ran away and that's what happened in Ramadi when they ran away.

Later, fellow panelist and FNC contributor Judge Andrew Napolitano opined that “[t]he President coveys an image of being passive and indecisive and that leads to an image of defeat.” In addition, he made the analogy that, on ISIS, Obama is “punching with his left hand and apologizing to the galleries with his right hand for hitting too hard.”

(h/t: Daily Caller)

The relevant portions of the transcript from FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier on May 22 can be found below.

FNC’s Special Report with Bret Baier
May 21, 2015
6:52 p.m. Easterm

BRET BAIER: The President was asked, are we losing against ISIS in Atlantic magazine. He said this, “No, I don't think we're losing...There's no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time, primarily because these are not Iraqi security forces that we have trained or reinforced..The training of Iraqi security forces, the fortification, the command-and-control systems are not happening fast enough in Anbar, in the Sunni parts of the country.” We're back with the panel. Mara, I tell you, there seems to be a series of bad days. We saw this in 2006 at the White House and there was a change.

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO’s MARA LIASSON: Well, you know the President was very accurate. Not being trained fast enough. It’s not happening and the problem is that the White House, at least talking points, are there’s only two choices. What we're doing and reinvading Iraq, sending hundreds of thousands of ground troops. There's a lot in between there and the question is what, if anything, is the White House willing to do other than what it's doing right now?

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: “Tactical Setback; Pres Obama Contends Not Losing ISIS Fight]

BAIER: Charles?

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: The administration is sounding like Baghdad Bob during the invasion of Iraq. They're losing. Everybody understands that. ISIS, it wasn't only that they took over in Iraq, but it took the town – the city of Palmyra in Syria which gives it control of half of Syria and later, in the day today, they took over a crucial crossing point between Syria and Iraq, essential erasing the frontier and making it easier to resupply Ramadi.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Palmyra, Syria Falls to ISIS]

These are huge strategy gains. They are not tactical defeats and what Obama says, well, it's because it wasn’t our – the guys who were trained by us who were in Ramadi. This is nuts. The idea is, if you're going to have success, you have to have training and you have to have will. The idea that what the Iraqis are lacking is training is ridiculous. We've been training them for 15 years. If the troops haven't gotten their heart battle, it will not succeed and that's what happened in Mosul when they ran away and that's what happened in Ramadi when they ran away.

[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Pres Obama Strategy vs ISIS]

BAIER: You know, Judge, the Pentagon continues to have these different stories about a air strikes and how much they're doing. We know definitively now from our people over there that there have been no air strikes in Ramadi in the past 24 hours. It seems like there's this shift and people trying to figure out what's going on.

JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO: I wish I knew. I wish we all knew knew what was going on and, on this, I agree with both of my colleagues. The President conveys an image of being passive and indecisive and that leads to an image of defeat. If you're going to be there, fight to win to and come home. If you don't think we can win it, then we shouldn't there be. In my view, this cannot be won without a long term commitment of ground troops for a long period of time and nation-building and the American public will not tolerate that politically and we can't afford it. However, what we're doing now accomplishes nothing. He's punching with his left hand and apologizing to the galleries with his right hand for hitting too hard.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/curtis-houck/2015/05/22/krauthammer-special-report-panel-clobber-obama-over-spread-isis#sthash.B3a9rsGp.dpuf

Krauthammer has lost all credibility and has become a shill...I even wrote him a personal e-mail telling him that......he didn't answer of course

[240 is Back]

Krauthammer has lost all credibility and has become a shill...I even wrote him a personal e-mail telling him that......he didn't answer of course

he provides a balance by delivering the right's point of view.  it's that simple.

anyone that claims he's balanced/fair/impartial obviously fcks sheep.  underage sheep.

[Dos Equis]

Krauthammer has lost all credibility and has become a shill...I even wrote him a personal e-mail telling him that......he didn't answer of course

Oh please.     He is my favorite conservative commentator.  Honest, straight, and usually right (so to speak). 

[bears]

he provides a balance by delivering the right's point of view.  it's that simple.

anyone that claims he's balanced/fair/impartial obviously fcks sheep.  underage sheep.

lol

totally using that.

[andreisdaman]

Oh please.     He is my favorite conservative commentator.  Honest, straight, and usually right (so to speak). 

oh please back......he only became a conservative when he got hired at FAUX NEWS......I had been reading his column for years..he was never that extreme..now every single column is an anti-Obama hit piece

[Dos Equis]

oh please back......he only became a conservative when he got hired at FAUX NEWS......I had been reading his column for years..he was never that extreme..now every single column is an anti-Obama hit piece

Stop making up stuff up.    He has been a conservative for decades.  He has only been a Fox News contributor for about ten years.  

Of course he's going to be hard on Obama.  He has been the president the last six years and running the country into the ground.  And everything I've heard him say about Obama has been spot on.  

[andreisdaman]

Stop making up stuff up.    He has been a conservative for decades.  He has only been a Fox News contributor for about ten years.  

Of course he's going to be hard on Obama.  He has been the president the last six years and running the country into the ground.  And everything I've heard him say about Obama has been spot on.  

you are obviously residing in a parallell universe

[Dos Equis]

White House: US won't be 'responsible' for 'security situation' in Iraq
Published May 28, 2015·
FoxNews.com

The White House on Thursday, in no uncertain terms, put the onus on the Iraqis to fight and defeat the Islamic State -- even as a new report warned foreign fighters are flocking to the battlefield at a historic and dangerous pace.

"The United States is not going to be responsible for securing the security situation inside of Iraq," Press Secretary Josh Earnest told Fox News.

Earnest defended the administration's strategy, amid growing concerns about gains made by ISIS fighters in both Iraq and Syria. Earnest said the effort would take a "sustained commitment," but stressed that the U.S. will continue to focus on training and equipping Iraqi forces, while backing them up on the battlefield with air power.

"Our strategy is to support the Iraqi security forces in doing what we will not do for them," he said. "The United States is prepared to train them, to equip them, and to back them on the battlefield with coalition military air power as they take the fight to ISIL in their own country."

In saying the U.S. will not be "responsible" for the security situation, the White House was putting clear limits on the lengths to which the U.S. will go to reverse ISIS' gains, even as the Pentagon considers adjustments to the strategy.

Former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell countered that "it is everybody's fight." Speaking with Brian Kilmeade on Fox News Radio's "Kilmeade and Friends," Morell said the terror group poses a "significant threat to the stability of the entire Middle East."

He said "we cannot be there forever" but urged the U.S. to play a "larger role."

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday that U.S. military leaders are looking for ways to improve and speed up the program to train and equip Iraqi forces, including options to better prepare Sunni tribes to join the fight.

Getting equipment to the battlefield more quickly and enhancing the training could help build the Iraqi forces' confidence, Carter said, just days after he publicly chastised them for showing "no will to fight" when they fled Ramadi last week even though they greatly outnumbered Islamic State militants.

"One particular way that's extremely important is to involve the Sunni tribes in the fight -- that means training and equipping them," said Carter, who has tasked advisers to come up with options.

Iraqi officials have complained that they are not getting the heavy military equipment they need fast enough. And on Tuesday President Obama said the U.S. and its allies must examine whether they are deploying military assets in Iraq effectively. A senior defense official said Carter is not considering providing weapons directly to the Sunnis, and still wants to work through the Iraqi government.

Meanwhile, Earnest, in the interview with Fox News, also stressed the importance of continuing to go after the flow of foreign fighters and "shut down the pipeline."

Based on a new United Nations report, however, this is a task that has grown ever-more challenging.

The report reflected a 70 percent increase in the flow of foreign fighters in the last nine months. The report said the 25,000 fighters have been traveling to jihadi conflicts from more than 100 countries -- representing more than half the countries in the world. They are joining ISIS, Al Qaeda-aligned groups and other networks.

"The rate of flow is higher than ever and mainly focused on [Syria and Iraq], with a growing problem also evident in Libya," the report said.

"Such individuals and their networks pose an immediate and long-term threat. Those that have returned or will return to their States of origin or to third countries may pose a continuing threat to national and international security."

The Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team is tasked with assessing the growth and movement of the fighters. They explained that the phenomenon of foreign fighters is not new and fighters associated with Al Qaeda can be traced to various countries, not just Afghanistan, all the way back to the 1990's.

What is different today, the report explained, is the rapid growth in just the last year. "The overall numbers have risen sharply ...the number of countries of origin has also significantly increased." Terrorist fighters in the 1990's came from a small group of states, and now it is more than 100, "including countries that have never experienced problems with groups associated with [Al Qaeda]."

"The problem has become an urgent global security matter," the report warned. Considering the convenience of global travel, it said, "the chance of a national of any country becoming a victim of an attack relating to foreign terrorist fighters is growing, especially with attacks targeting hotels and pubic spaces and venues."

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the George W. Bush administration, said the report reflected a "stunning number" of recruits.

He told Fox News it shows "the breath of recruiting, I think, particularly for ISIS and the nature of this threat as a global growing threat."

The Obama administration also has come under criticism lately for allegedly imposing heavy-handed rules on those involved in the air campaign against ISIS.

Critics say the system does not allow for quick decision-making. One Navy F-18 pilot who has flown missions against ISIS voiced his frustration to Fox News, saying: "There were times I had groups of ISIS fighters in my sights, but couldn't get clearance to engage."

Asked about the complaints on Thursday, Earnest said there are "rules of engagement," and stressed that the U.S. is "very cautious" to ensure no civilian casualties. But, he said, "This strategy, when it's been well executed, has enjoyed some success."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/28/white-house-isis-strategy/

[Dos Equis]

 

Obama under fire for saying no ‘complete strategy’ yet for training Iraqis
Published June 08, 2015
FoxNews.com

President Obama took heat Monday for admitting he doesn't yet have a "complete strategy" in hand for training Iraqis to fight the Islamic State -- months into the coordinated campaign to defeat the deadly terrorist network.

"When a finalized plan is presented to me by the Pentagon, then I will share it with the American people," Obama said, adding, "We don't yet have a complete strategy."

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement: "It is no surprise this administration does not have a 'complete strategy' for training Iraqis to fight ISIS. What is surprising is that the president admitted it."

The president addressed the ISIS fight during a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Germany. He appeared to be speaking specifically to a new strategy for accelerating the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces. "We're reviewing a range of plans for how we might do that," Obama said.

A U.S. official afterward stressed to Fox News that Obama was indeed talking only about optimizing that train-and-equip mission, "including integration of Sunni fighters," and not "overall strategy." State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke also said Obama was not speaking to overall strategy.

But the comments nevertheless fueled critics' concerns about the direction of the U.S. mission, particularly on the heels of ISIS gains in Ramadi, and the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tweeted: "Pres Obama admits: 'We don't yet have a complete strategy' to combat #ISIS"

Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short cited a similar comment Obama made 10 months ago, saying in a statement, "the fact he still doesn't have a final plan for the deteriorating situation in Iraq is unacceptable."

A military official also took issue with Obama's claim that he was waiting for options from the Pentagon. "What the f--- was that? We have given him lots of options, he just hasn't acted on them," the official told Fox News.

Obama, similarly, said last August that the U.S. did not "have a strategy yet" for confronting ISIS in Syria. The administration later approved airstrikes in Syria.

Underscoring the work to be done training Iraqi forces, a Pentagon official told Fox News that zero soldiers are being trained at the al-Asad Air Base in Anbar -- the province where ISIS seized the city of Ramadi last month.

However, the Pentagon says 2,598 are in training at other locations in Iraq. And 8,920 Iraqi soldiers have been trained to date by the U.S. military.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren backed up the president on his assertion he was still awaiting a "finalized plan" from the Pentagon. He said Defense Secretary Ash Carter has assembled a group of "experts" to develop courses of action to "increase support" to Iraqi forces. Warren would not give a timeline on when this "finalized plan" would be presented to the White House.

A separate defense official told Fox News that any potential increases in the size of the U.S. military presence would likely be in the "train-and-equip" mission and not tactical air controllers to call in close air support against ISIS forces by U.S. aircraft flying overhead.

Echoing the president, the official said, "the problem is the number of recruits" that the U.S. military can train. "We are sending weapons as quickly as we can to Iraq, I don't think we can send anymore," he said.

Obama put some of the responsibility on the Iraqis themselves, urging them to be more inclusive. Speaking Monday, shortly after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Obama said a "big part" of the solution is "outreach to Sunni tribes."

"We've seen Sunni tribes who are not only willing and prepared to fight ISIL, but have been successful at rebuffing ISIL. But it has not been happening as fast as it needs to," he said. "And so, one of the efforts that I'm hoping to see out of Prime Minister Abadi and the Iraqi legislature when they're in session is to move forward on a national guard law that would help to devolve some of the security efforts in places like Anbar to local folks and to get those Sunni tribes involved more rapidly."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/06/08/obama-under-fire-for-saying-no-complete-strategy-yet-for-training-iraqis/

[Straw Man]

I blame Bush for invading in the first place and not having any plan at all after "Shock and Awe"
I blame Rumsfeld for not having a plan and selling the American public on "six day, six weeks, I doubt six months"
I blame Paul Bremer for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_Provisional_Authority_Order_2  

[andreisdaman]

Obama under fire for saying no ‘complete strategy’ yet for training Iraqis
Published June 08, 2015
FoxNews.com

President Obama took heat Monday for admitting he doesn't yet have a "complete strategy" in hand for training Iraqis to fight the Islamic State -- months into the coordinated campaign to defeat the deadly terrorist network.

"When a finalized plan is presented to me by the Pentagon, then I will share it with the American people," Obama said, adding, "We don't yet have a complete strategy."

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said in a statement: "It is no surprise this administration does not have a 'complete strategy' for training Iraqis to fight ISIS. What is surprising is that the president admitted it."

The president addressed the ISIS fight during a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Germany. He appeared to be speaking specifically to a new strategy for accelerating the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces. "We're reviewing a range of plans for how we might do that," Obama said.

A U.S. official afterward stressed to Fox News that Obama was indeed talking only about optimizing that train-and-equip mission, "including integration of Sunni fighters," and not "overall strategy." State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke also said Obama was not speaking to overall strategy.

But the comments nevertheless fueled critics' concerns about the direction of the U.S. mission, particularly on the heels of ISIS gains in Ramadi, and the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tweeted: "Pres Obama admits: 'We don't yet have a complete strategy' to combat #ISIS"

Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short cited a similar comment Obama made 10 months ago, saying in a statement, "the fact he still doesn't have a final plan for the deteriorating situation in Iraq is unacceptable."

A military official also took issue with Obama's claim that he was waiting for options from the Pentagon. "What the f--- was that? We have given him lots of options, he just hasn't acted on them," the official told Fox News.

Obama, similarly, said last August that the U.S. did not "have a strategy yet" for confronting ISIS in Syria. The administration later approved airstrikes in Syria.

Underscoring the work to be done training Iraqi forces, a Pentagon official told Fox News that zero soldiers are being trained at the al-Asad Air Base in Anbar -- the province where ISIS seized the city of Ramadi last month.

However, the Pentagon says 2,598 are in training at other locations in Iraq. And 8,920 Iraqi soldiers have been trained to date by the U.S. military.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren backed up the president on his assertion he was still awaiting a "finalized plan" from the Pentagon. He said Defense Secretary Ash Carter has assembled a group of "experts" to develop courses of action to "increase support" to Iraqi forces. Warren would not give a timeline on when this "finalized plan" would be presented to the White House.

A separate defense official told Fox News that any potential increases in the size of the U.S. military presence would likely be in the "train-and-equip" mission and not tactical air controllers to call in close air support against ISIS forces by U.S. aircraft flying overhead.

Echoing the president, the official said, "the problem is the number of recruits" that the U.S. military can train. "We are sending weapons as quickly as we can to Iraq, I don't think we can send anymore," he said.

Obama put some of the responsibility on the Iraqis themselves, urging them to be more inclusive. Speaking Monday, shortly after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Obama said a "big part" of the solution is "outreach to Sunni tribes."

"We've seen Sunni tribes who are not only willing and prepared to fight ISIL, but have been successful at rebuffing ISIL. But it has not been happening as fast as it needs to," he said. "And so, one of the efforts that I'm hoping to see out of Prime Minister Abadi and the Iraqi legislature when they're in session is to move forward on a national guard law that would help to devolve some of the security efforts in places like Anbar to local folks and to get those Sunni tribes involved more rapidly."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/06/08/obama-under-fire-for-saying-no-complete-strategy-yet-for-training-iraqis/

whats the problem???..its refreshing that hes telling the truth

[Dos Equis]

whats the problem???..its refreshing that hes telling the truth

The problem is he is incompetent.  From the story:

Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short cited a similar comment Obama made 10 months ago, saying in a statement, "the fact he still doesn't have a final plan for the deteriorating situation in Iraq is unacceptable."

A military official also took issue with Obama's claim that he was waiting for options from the Pentagon. "What the f--- was that? We have given him lots of options, he just hasn't acted on them," the official told Fox News.

[andreisdaman]

The problem is he is incompetent.  From the story:

Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short cited a similar comment Obama made 10 months ago, saying in a statement, "the fact he still doesn't have a final plan for the deteriorating situation in Iraq is unacceptable."

A military official also took issue with Obama's claim that he was waiting for options from the Pentagon. "What the f--- was that? We have given him lots of options, he just hasn't acted on them," the official told Fox News.

Its not an easy problem to fix.....do you suggest he do like the repubs and just send in the troops???

[Dos Equis]

Its not an easy problem to fix.....do you suggest he do like the repubs and just send in the troops???

I suggest he have a strategy, which includes picking one of the "lots of options" the Pentagon has given him. 

[headhuntersix]

I think the retard has made a decision. From what we're hearing the folks at Hood and Riley are getting their shit together. But don't worry...u pussies can sit this one out as well. 

[andreisdaman]

I suggest he have a strategy, which includes picking one of the "lots of options" the Pentagon has given him. 

I asked you last week what should be done in your opinion..you have yet to give me an answer..you sit on the fence and say Obama should do something....he is...again...training Iraqi troops...conducting an airwar.....sending arms.....has advisers there......he is doing something..its going to be a long drawn out affair

[Dos Equis]

I think the retard has made a decision. From what we're hearing the folks at Hood and Riley are getting their shit together. But don't worry...u pussies can sit this one out as well. 

Good luck. 

[Dos Equis]

I asked you last week what should be done in your opinion..you have yet to give me an answer..you sit on the fence and say Obama should do something....he is...again...training Iraqi troops...conducting an airwar.....sending arms.....has advisers there......he is doing something..its going to be a long drawn out affair

You asked me what we should have done.  I answered you about three times.   

[andreisdaman]

You asked me what we should have done.  I answered you about three times.   

you answered and said nothing...and that's because you know in your heart you don't have an answer either.....you just repeat over and over that Obama should "do something" or pick and option"...he has..you just want to beat him over the head because you've got nothing else

[Dos Equis]

you answered and said nothing...and that's because you know in your heart you don't have an answer either.....you just repeat over and over that Obama should "do something" or pick and option"...he has..you just want to beat him over the head because you've got nothing else

O Rly?

We didn't leave a stabilizing force behind in Vietnam.  We did in Germany and South Korea.  That's exactly what we should have done in Iraq.  Had we done so, we wouldn't be talking about ISIS running through Iraq and headhunter wouldn't be getting WARNOs for possible deployments back to Iraq. 

you know exactly why we couldn't be in IRAQ..stop being dishonest..they did not want us there and not grantlng us the agreement we wanted was tantamount to kicking us out of the country...we could not stay there against their wishes as an occupying force....

I'm still waiting for your solution to ISIS

Ok andre.  Whatever you say.   

I gave you my solution.  We should have left a stabilizing force behind.