The Common Ills: There's a reason for the crazy eyes

Thursday, October 09, 2014

There's a reason for the crazy eyes

There's a reason for those 'crazy eyes.' US President Barack Obama looks a little unhinged in the photo above as he talks to the military command yesterday, attempting to convince them that his 'plan' is working.

But as Barack Obama's 'plan' continues to falter, more and more are noticing the limitations. David S. Cloud (Los Angeles Times) reports:

Despite an intensifying air campaign in Fallouja and other cities not far from Baghdad, an effort that in recent days has included use of U.S. attack helicopters, the Iraqi army has continued to lose ground to the militants, U.S. officials acknowledged.
Military experts say the capital is not in immediate danger, noting that airstrikes to the south of Baghdad had shown signs of blunting attempts by militants to encircle the city. Pentagon officials hope the campaign to roll back the militants' gains will regain momentum now that U.S. special forces teams are advising Iraqi commanders and sharing intelligence with at least a dozen Iraqi army and Kurdish units.

The American people are grasping the failure and the latest polls are and will continue to reflect this. The only one who appears in real denial is Barack.

Yesterday, he declared, "Our strikes continue alongside our partners. It remains a difficult mission. As I have indicated from the start, this is not something that is going to be solved overnight."

Partners?

Oh, yes, Barack and his alleged partners.

For reality on that topic, check out Jason Keisling and J.D. Tuccille's "Disappearing Coalition Partners in Iraq" (Reason).

All Iraq News notes US Secretary of State John Kerry had an 'answer' to pass on: train the military.
Michael B. Kelley (Business Insider) observes, "The US-backed Iraqi military keeps losing ground to ISIS militants who are consolidating their hold on the western Anbar province and inching toward Baghdad." On Anbar Province, Hamza Mustafa (Asharq Al-Awsat) reports:

Iraq’s restive western province of Anbar is on the verge of completely falling into the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) unless urgent action is taken to address military failures, the Anbar Tribal Council warned on Wednesday.
The Anbar Tribal Council, the senior-most Sunni tribal organization in the province, is backing central government attempts to combat ISIS but has complained to Baghdad about the appointment of Lt. Gen. Rashid Fleih as head of the Anbar Military Command, calling for him to be replaced. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Anbar Tribal Council member Faris Ibrahim said “[Fleidh] is unable to do anything.”

“The security situation in Anbar Province is going from bad to worse due to a lack of support, as well as the almost complete absence of security and military leadership. The military leadership is unable to devise new plans to address ISIS advances on the ground,” Ibrahim added.

ADDED: The following community sites updated: