Saturday, December 19, 2015

Iraq snapshot

Saturday, December 19, 2015.  Chaos and violence continue, the US bombings of Iraq continue, Friday's bombing that killed Iraqi forces remains in the news, Iraq and the Islamic State are topics in the Democratic Party's presidential debate, Hillary Clinton gets caught apparently lying about Donald Trump appearing in Islamic State videos, and much more.


Tonight at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, the three candidates vying for the Democratic Part's 2016 presidential nomination -- Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley and Hillary Clinton -- took the stage for a debate broadcast by ABC NEWS and moderated by Martha Raddatz and David Muir.   Isaiah live cartooned the debate.  He offered "What Bernie Wants for America"


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He also offered "Who's Debate Is It Anyway?"

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And he offered "Hillary's Debate Strategy."


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Fact checking took place after the debate.  The biggest liar?

Apparently Hillary Clinton.  CNN offers:


Reality Check: Clinton on ISIS using Trump videos
By Kristen Holmes, CNN White House producer
Speaking about Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States, Hillary Clinton said Saturday that ISIS was using video of the businessman to recruit fighters.
"They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists," Clinton said of the GOP frontrunner during the third Democratic debate hosted by ABC.
It is difficult to speak to all of ISIS's communication, some of which happen in the open on social media sites but others hidden in what's known as the "dark web."
While there have been some tweets and comments posted on ISIS-supported social media referencing Trump's rhetoric, according to information sent recently by SITE Intelligence Groups, there is no evidence that ISIS itself has released videos featuring Trump.
Neither ISIS' main media outlets, nor any ISIS affiliates, have used footage capitalizing on Trump's anti-Muslim language, according to Laith Alkhouri, the co-founder and director of Flashpoint, a group that monitors jihadist activity online. However, Alkhouri noted in comments to CNN on Saturday that Trump's comments do play directly into the recruitment playbook and he has no doubt eventually it could be referenced in official ISIS communications.
Alkhouri said the comments have also been mentioned in top tier ISIS web forums in the dark web. Not too heavily discussed, but they were definitely part of the "news feed, if you will," Alkhouri said.
The Clinton campaign directed CNN to an NBC News story published on December 8, in which the executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group says of ISIS: "They love him from the sense that he is supporting their rhetoric."
"They follow everything Donald Trump says," Rita Katz told NBC. "When he says, 'No Muslims should be allowed in America,' they tell people, 'We told you America hates Muslims and here is proof.' "
Ultimately, however, there is no evidence of ISIS using videos of Donald Trump for recruitment.
Verdict: False



Angie Drobnic Holan (POLITIFACT) also covered the claim:



"We also need to make sure that the really discriminatory messages that Trump is sending around the world don't fall on receptive ears," Clinton said. "He is becoming ISIS's best recruiter. They are going to people showing Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists."
Not having heard that before, our eyebrows went up when we heard Clinton’s comment, and we weren’t alone. The Twittersphere, on both the right and the left, picked up on Clinton’s statement and questioned whether she had any evidence for it.
Extensive Google searches did not turn up any evidence. And the response from the Clinton campaign did not point to any specific videos.
The campaign pointed to an NBC News article that quoted Rita Katz of the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors the social media activities of Islamic terrorist groups.
"They love him from the sense that he is supporting their rhetoric," she said. "They follow everything Donald Trump says. When he says, 'No Muslims should be allowed in America,' they tell people, 'We told you America hates Muslims and here is proof.' "
The article also quoted David Phillips, director of the Program on Peace-Building and Rights at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights, saying that "Trump's incendiary anti-Muslim comments will surely be used by ISIS social media to demonize the United States and attract recruits to fight in Iraq and Syria."
But while such quotes support the notion that ISIS could be making recruiting videos, or will do so, they do not support Clinton’s contention -- offered in the present tense -- that they are currently doing so.
Vox.com tweeted at J.M. Berger, author of the book ISIS: The State of Terror, and Berger tweeted back, "I would be surprised if they had and we didn't hear about it in a big way."

For now, it seems that Clinton has turned speculative left-of-center rhetoric into fact. At PolitiFact, the burden of proof is on the person making the claim. We’ll update our fact-check in the event solid evidence emerges. But for now, that evidence does not exist. The Clinton campaign did not provide any evidence that this is already happening -- only that it could be happening, or that it may in the future. If ISIS was using Trump for recruitment videos, we would expect a frenzy of media coverage over it. We rated this statement False.  


Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee (WASHINGTON POST) also note the claim:

As evidence, the Clinton campaign pointed to an NBC News report quoting Rita Katz, executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors social media activities of Islamic terrorist groups, that Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric was a great recruiting tool for ISIS.
“They love him from the sense that he is supporting their rhetoric,” Katz told NBC. “They love him from the sense that he is supporting their rhetoric.” She added: “They follow everything Donald Trump says. When he says, ‘No Muslims should be allowed in America,’ they tell people, ‘We told you America hates Muslims and here is proof.’”

But Katz did not specifically refer to a video, only to social media. We couldn’t immediately find evidence such a video yet existed.



From the transcript at THE WASHINGTON POST, we'll note this section of the debate on the Islamic State:


RADDATZ: Thank you. I do want to move to the fight against ISIS.

SANDERS: Yeah.

RADDATZ: For the people of New Hampshire, the brutality of ISIS is personal. James Foley grew up here. The first hostage, a journalist, brutally executed last year. You've all said ISIS is a ruthless enemy and must be stopped. Al Qaida as well.
Senator Sanders, you voted to send U.S. ground forces to fight in the coalition to help destroy Al Qaida in Afghanistan. Can you then explain you why don't support sending U.S. combat troops to join a coalition to fight ISIS?

SANDERS: And I also voted and helped lead the effort against the war in Iraq, which will go down in history as one of the worst foreign blunders -- foreign policy blunders in the history of our country.
I voted against the first Gulf War, which set the stage, I believe, for the second Iraq war. And what I believe right now, and I believe this is terribly important, is the United States of America cannot succeed, or be thought of as the policeman of the world, that when there's an international crisis all over the world, in France and in the U.K. Or -- hey, just call up the American military and the American taxpayers, they're going to send the troops.
And if they have to be in the Middle East for 20 or 30 years no problem.

RADDATZ: But why Al Qaida, why not ISIS?

SANDERS: I have a problem with that, Martha. What I believe has got to happen is there must be an international coalition, including Russia, a well-coordinated effort.
But I agree, as I mentioned a moment ago, with King Abdullah. This is a war for the soul of Islam. The troops on the ground should not be American troops. They should be Muslim troops. I believe that countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have got to step up to the plate, have got to contribute the money that we need, and the troops that we need, to destroy ISIS with American support.

RADDATZ: The administration has tried that over and over again. If it doesn't work and this threat is so great, what's your plan B?

SANDERS: My plan is to make it work, to tell Saudi Arabia that instead of going to war in Yemen, they, one of the wealthiest countries on Earth, are going to have to go to war against ISIS.
To tell Qatar, that instead of spending $200 billion on the World Cup, maybe they should pay attention to ISIS, which is at their doorstep.
(APPLAUSE)

RADDATZ: Secretary Clinton, you too have ruled out a large U.S. combat force, yet you support sending in special operations forces to Syria, and sending those 100 to 200 troops to Iraq to do exploitation kill raids.
We've already lost one Delta Force member in a raid. It has looked very much to me like we're already in ground combat on frequent trips I've made there.
So, are you fooling Americans when you say, we're not putting American combat troops back into Syria or Iraq?

CLINTON: No. Not at all. I think that what we're facing with ISIS is especially complicated. It was a different situation in Afghanistan. We were attacked from Afghanistan. Al Qaida was based in Afghanistan. We went after those who had attacked us.
What's happening in Syria and Iraq is that, because of the failures in the region, including the failure of the prior government in Baghdad, led by Maliki, there has been a resurgence of Sunni activities, as exemplified by ISIS. And we have to support Sunni-Arab and Kurdish forces against ISIS, because I believe it would be not only a strategic mistake for the United States to put ground combat troops in, as opposed to special operators, as opposed to trainers, because that is exactly what ISIS wants.
They've advertised that. They want American troops back in the Middle East. They want American soldiers on the ground fighting them, giving them many more targets, and giving them a great recruiting opportunity.

CLINTON: So, I think it's absolutely wrong policy for us to be even imagining we're going end up putting tens of thousands of American troops into Syria and Iraq to fight ISIS.
And we do have to form a coalition. I know how hard that is. I have formed them. I put together a coalition, including Arabs, with respect to Libya and a coalition to put sanctions onto Iran. And you have to really work hard at it.
And the final thing I would say, bringing Donald Trump back into it, if you're going to put together a coalition in the region to take on the threat of ISIS you don't want to alienate the very countries and people you need to be part of the coalition. And so that is part of the reason why this is so difficult.
(APPLAUSE)

RADDATZ: Secretary Clinton, I want -- I want to follow up on that. You do support sending special operations forces there. You support what the president has done already. One of the lessons people draw from Vietnam and war since is that a little force can turn into a little more and a little more. President Obama certainly didn't expect to be sending 30,000 additional troops into Afghanistan the first year of his presidency.
Are you prepared to run the risk of a bigger war to achieve your goals to destroy ISIS, or are you prepared to give up on those goals if it requires a larger force?

CLINTON: Well, I just think you're asking a question with a false choice. I believe if we lead an air coalition, which we are now in the position of doing and intensify it, if we continue to build back up the Iraqi army, which has had some recent success in Ramadi, as you know, if we get back talking to the tribal sheiks in Anbar to try to rebuild those relationships, which were very successful, in going after Al Qaida in Iraq, if we get the Turks to pay more attention to ISIS than they're paying to the Kurds, if we do put together the kind of coalition with the specific tasks that I am outlining, I think we can be successful in destroying ISIS.
So that's what I'm focused on, that's what I've outlined and that's what I would do as president.

RADDATZ: Governor O'Malley.
(APPLAUSE) You've emphasized the need for more human intelligence on the ground. What is it our intelligence community is not doing now that needs to be done?

O'MALLEY: Well, we have invested nowhere near what we should be investing in human intelligence on the ground. And what I'm talking about is not only the covert CIA intelligence, I'm also talking about diplomatic intelligence. I mean, we've seen time and time again, especially in this very troubled region of nation-state failures, and then we have no idea who the next generation of leaders are that are coming forward.
So what I would say is not only do we need to be thinking in military terms, but we do our military a disservice when we don't greatly dial up the investment that we are making in diplomacy and human intelligence and when we fail to dial up properly, the role of sustainable development in all of this. As president, I would make the administrator of USAID an actual cabinet member. We have to act in a much more whole of government approach, as General Dempsey said.
And I do believe, and I would disagree somewhat with one of my colleagues, this is a genocidal threat. They have now created a safe haven in the vacuum that we allowed to be partly and because of our blunders, to be created to be created in the areas of Syria and Iraq. We cannot allow safe havens, and as a leader of moral nations around this Earth, we need to come up with new alliances and new ways to prepare for these new sorts of threats, because Martha, this will not be the last region where nation-states fail.
And you've seen a little bit of this emerging in the -- in the African Union and the things that they have done to better stabilize Somalia. We need to pay attention here in Central America as well. So this is the new type of threats that we're facing and we need to lead as a nation in confronting it and putting together new alliances and new coalitions.

CLINTON: Well, I just want to quickly add...

RADDATZ: Thank you.

CLINTON: Martha, that -- you know, one of the reasons why I have advocated for a no-fly zone is in order to create those safe refuges within Syria, to try to protect people on the ground both from Assad's forces, who are continuing to drop barrel bombs, and from ISIS. And of course, it has to be de-conflicted with the Russians, who are also flying in that space.
I'm hoping that because of the very recent announcement of the agreement at the Security Council, which embodies actually an agreement that I negotiated back in Geneva in June of 2012, we're going to get a diplomatic effort in Syria to begin to try to make a transition. A no-fly zone would prevent the outflow of refugees and give us a chance to have some safe spaces.

RADDATZ: Secretary Clinton, I'd like to go back to that if I could. ISIS doesn't have aircraft, Al Qaida doesn't have aircraft. So would you shoot down a Syrian military aircraft or a Russian airplane?

CLINTON: I do not think it would come to that. We are already de-conflicting air space. We know...

RADDATZ: But isn't that a decision you should make now, whether...

CLINTON: No, I don't think so. I am advocating...

RADDATZ: ... if you're advocating this?

CLINTON: I am advocating the no-fly zone both because I think it would help us on the ground to protect Syrians; I'm also advocating it because I think it gives us some leverage in our conversations with Russia.
Now that Russia has joined us in the Security Council, has adopted an agreement that we hashed out a long day in Geneva three years ago, now I think we can have those conversations. The no-fly zone, I would hope, would be also shared by Russia. If they will begin to turn their military attention away from going after the adversaries of Assad toward ISIS and put the Assad future on the political and diplomatic track, where it belongs.

(CROSSTALK)

MUIR: I want to take this to Senator -- I'm going to take this to Senator Sanders next, because I think there...

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: I have a difference of opinion with Secretary Clinton on this. Our differences are fairly deep on this issue. We disagreed on the war in Iraq. We both listened to the information from Bush and Cheney. I voted against the war.
But I think -- and I say this with due respect -- that I worry too much that Secretary Clinton is too much into regime change and a little bit too aggressive without knowing what the unintended consequences might be.
Yes, we could get rid of Saddam Hussein, but that destabilized the entire region. Yes, we could get rid of Gadhafi, a terrible dictator, but that created a vacuum for ISIS. Yes, we could get rid of Assad tomorrow, but that would create another political vacuum that would benefit ISIS. So I think, yeah, regime change is easy, getting rid of dictators is easy. But before you do that, you've got to think about what happens the day after. And in my view, what we need to do is put together broad coalitions to understand that we're not going to have a political vacuum filled by terrorists, that, in fact, we are going to move steadily -- and maybe slowly -- toward democratic societies, in terms of Assad, a terrible dictator. But I think in Syria the primary focus now must be on destroying ISIS and working over the years to get rid of Assad. That's the secondary issue.

CLINTON: That is exactly...

MUIR: Senator, thank you.

CLINTON: That is exactly what I just said and what I just described.

MUIR: Yeah, but, Secretary Clinton -- Secretary Clinton...

CLINTON: And that is important, because now we have a U.N. Security Council that will enable us to do that. And, you know, with all due respect, Senator, you voted for regime change with respect to Libya. You joined the Senate in voting to get rid of Gadhafi, and you asked that there be a Security Council validation of that with a resolution.
All of these are very difficult issues. I know that; I've been dealing with them for a long time. And, of course, we have to continue to do what is necessary when someone like Gadhafi, a despot with American blood on his hands, is overturned. But I'll tell you what would have happened, if we had not joined with our European partners and our Arab partners to assist the people in Libya, you would be looking at Syria. Now the Libyans are turning their attention to try to dislodge ISIS from its foothold and begin to try to move together to have a unified nation.

SANDERS: I was not the secretary of state...

MUIR: Senator Sanders, Senator Sanders, hold on. One moment, please. I'm going to ask the secretary here, because there does appear to be some daylight here between the policies, at least in respect to when you take out Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Right now or do you wait? Do you tackle ISIS first?
You have said, Secretary Clinton, that you come to the conclusion that we have to proceed on both fronts at once. We heard from the senator just this week that we must put aside the issue of how quickly we get rid of Assad and come together with countries, including Russia and Iran, to destroy ISIS first. Is he wrong?

CLINTON: I think we're missing the point here. We are doing both at the same time.

MUIR: But that's what he's saying, we should put that aside for now and go after ISIS.

CLINTON: Well, I don't agree with that, because we will not get the support on the ground in Syria to dislodge ISIS if the fighters there who are not associated with ISIS, but whose principal goal is getting rid of Assad, don't believe there is a political, diplomatic channel that is ongoing. We now have that. We have the U.N. Security Council adopting a resolution that lays out a transition path. It's very important we operate on both at the same time.
And let me just say a word about coalition-building, because I've heard Senator Sanders say this. I know how hard it is to build coalitions. I think it would be a grave mistake to ask for any more Iranian troops inside Syria. That is like asking the arsonist to come and pour more gas on the fire.
The Iranians getting more of a presence in Syria, linking with Hezbollah, their proxy in Lebanon, would threaten Israel and would make it more difficult for us to move on a path to have a transition that at some point would deal with Assad's future.

(CROSSTALK)

SANDERS: I happen to think...

O'MALLEY: I'd like to offer a...
(APPLAUSE)

MUIR: She says we have to proceed on both fronts at once.

SANDERS: Secretary Clinton is right. This is a complicated issue. I don't think anyone has a magical solution.
But this is what I do believe. Yes, of course Assad is a terrible dictator. But I think we have got to get our foreign policies and priorities right. The immediate -- it is not Assad who is attacking the United States. It is ISIS. And ISIS is attacking France and attacking Russian airliners.
The major priority, right now, in terms of our foreign and military policy should be the destruction of ISIS.
(APPLAUSE)
And I think -- and I think we bring together that broad coalition, including Russia, to help us destroy ISIS. And work on a timetable to get rid of Assad, hopefully through Democratic elections. First priority, destroy ISIS.

MUIR: Senator sanders, thank you.

O'MALLEY: May I offer a different generation's perspective on this?

MUIR: Governor O'Malley?

O'MALLEY: During the Cold War -- during the Cold War, we got into a bad habit of always looking to see who was wearing the jersey of the communists, and who was wearing the U.S. jersey. We got into a bad habit of creating big bureaucracies, old methodologies, to undermine regimes that were not friendly to the United States. Look what we did in Iran with Mosaddegh. And look at the results that we're still dealing with because of that. I would suggest to you that we need to leave the Cold War behind us, and we need to put together new alliances and new approaches to dealing with this, and we need to restrain ourselves.
I mean, I know Secretary Clinton was gleeful when Gadhafi was torn apart. And the world, no doubt is a better place without him. But look, we didn't know what was happening next. And we fell into the same trap with Assad, saying -- as if it's our job to say, Assad must go.
We have a role to play in this world. But we need to leave the Cold War and that sort of antiquated thinking behind.

MUIR: But -- you criticized -- you criticized Secretary Clinton for what came next. What's your proposal for what comes after Assad?

O'MALLEY: I believe that we need to focus on destroying ISIL. That is the clear and present danger. And I believe that we can springboard off of this new U.N. resolution, and we should create, as Secretary Clinton indicated, and I agree with that, that there should be a political process.
But we shouldn't be the ones declaring that Assad must go. Where did it ever say in the Constitution, where is it written that it's the job of the United States of America or its secretary of State to determine when dictators have to go?

We have a role to play in this world. But it is not the world -- the role of traveling the world looking for new monsters to destroy. 


In TIME magazine's online poll, with  19,351 participants voting, 84% say Senator Bernie Sanders won the debate.


Friday,  AFP reported, "Iraq's joint operations command said 10 Iraqi soldiers were killed or wounded on Friday by so-called friendly fire from US-led coalition aircraft west of Baghdad."


Not just from the US-led coalition aircraft, from a US war plane.  US Secretary of Defense Ash Cater made that clear when speaking today on board the USS Kearsarge.




SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER: I just wanted to recap the last week. We've been to many of the locations from which this multi-axis attack on ISIL is going to be launched. As you know, I'm looking for ways to accelerate our campaign. We've identified a number of them in the course of travels to Iraq, to Turkey, even to Afghanistan yesterday. But this is a multi-mission trip, and this visit to the Gulf illustrates, first, the campaign against ISIL. I'll come back to that in the minute. But we can't forget there's a larger mission of deterrence, maintaining freedom of navigation, countering Iranian maligned influence. So these vessels here have a number of missions out here.

But countering ISIL is one of the reasons for our forces in this region. In that connection, it was very, very significant to me to be able to visit the Charles de Gaulle. That's the French vessel which has been participating in air strikes against ISIL, the first mission, and is now down here in the Gulf second mission, keeping the peace, deterring aggression, ensuring freedom of navigation here, during a period of time when there's not an American aircraft carrier here, there's a French aircraft carrier. And that shows you how close our cooperation is.

I had an opportunity this morning to speak to the French Defense Minister Le Drian, who allowed me to go aboard his vessel, and sadly wasn't able to be here himself. He's meeting with President Hollande at this moment in Paris, so he couldn't be here. But we talked this morning. And we are completely aligned with France on the mission of defeating ISIL, the need to do so in Syria and Iraq, France's willingness to do more as we do more, both in the air and on the ground and here at sea, and both militarily and politically, we and France are completely aligned.

And that's the way it should be. That's the way it has been. And I was very gratified to see that in action out aboard the Charles de Gaulle, which, by the way, is commanding Task Force 50 out here now. So it's -- no kidding, there are Americans who are subordinate to French command out here. That's how close our cooperation is.

So, with that, let me take your questions.

Q: Can you tell us about your call with the Iraqi prime minister?

SEC. CARTER: Oh, I'm sorry. I left that out. Yes. Yes, I also had the opportunity to speak to Prime Minister Abadi this morning. I was conveying our condolences on the loss of lives of Iraqi servicemembers last night. I explained to him our regrets, and he and I agreed that this was an event that we both regretted and that there would be an investigation of it, but that these kinds of things happen when you're fighting side-by-side, as we are, and we recommitted ourselves to that campaign against ISIL.

So this is a regrettable incident. We both know that. These things happen in war. And he and I both expressed regret over the incident and also determination to continue the campaign to expel ISIL from Iraqi territory.

Q: Was it an American...

STAFF: Hold on a second.

Q: Was it an American aircraft that did this?

STAFF: Let's go Missy first.

Q: Just a follow-up (inaudible) what do you know about the incident and how it occurred? And secondly, Prime Minister Abadi is already under pressure from some in the Iraqi political space who oppose American -- deepening American involvement in the campaign in Iraq. What's your response to the potential for this to increase that pressure on Prime Minister Abadi?

SEC. CARTER: Well, I wanted to assure Prime Minister Abadi that I was aware of this incident, that we regretted this incident. I don't want to go into it, because you never know whether you know all the facts of an incident from the beginning. But it has all indications of being a mistake of the kind that can happen on a dynamic battlefield between two forces, ours and Iraqi forces, that are working so closely together.

In a way, this is a sign of how closely we are working together. And an accident happened. It's tragic. I expressed our condolences. But he and I both recognize that things like this can happen in war.

Q: Yeah, but what about the political effect this could have in terms for Prime Minister Abadi who's already under pressure from some people who oppose the American military participation?

SEC. CARTER: Well, the government of Iraq and Prime Minister Abadi are committed, as we are, to an effective decentralized governance of a single state of Iraq, and that includes importantly the common mission of defeating ISIL. This shows the -- this incident shows that things happen in wartime, but also the closeness of our relationship on the battlefield, and then shared with Prime Minister Abadi, as well. And I hope Iraqis will understand that this is a reflection of things that happened in combat, but it's also a reflection of how closely we are working with the government of Prime Minister Abadi towards a common objective.

Q: So it was an American aircraft?

SEC. CARTER: It was an American -- that's the -- I want to be very careful. That's the information I have now. It seems to be the case and, again, seems to be a mistake that involves both sides, and regrettable. It happens when you're working this closely together.



Today, the US Defense Dept issued the following announcements on bombings of Iraq:


Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 17 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:

-- Near Fallujah, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL vehicles, four ISIL fighting positions, and an ISIL front end loader. One strike is currently under investigation for a potential friendly fire incident.

-- Near Kirkuk, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL excavator and wounded ISIL fighters.

-- Near Makhmur, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL light machine gun and an ISIL heavy machine gun.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun, two ISIL fighting positions, damaged an ISIL bunker, and suppressed an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Ramadi, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), an ISIL building, nine ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL sniper position, an ISIL staging area, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Sinjar, three strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL heavy machine guns, and two ISIL fighting positions.


Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is a strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.



These bombings have gone on since August of 2014 and yet the Islamic State remains in Iraq.

Let's note Martin O'Malley again from tonight's debate:



O'MALLEY: Well, we have invested nowhere near what we should be investing in human intelligence on the ground. And what I'm talking about is not only the covert CIA intelligence, I'm also talking about diplomatic intelligence. I mean, we've seen time and time again, especially in this very troubled region of nation-state failures, and then we have no idea who the next generation of leaders are that are coming forward.
So what I would say is not only do we need to be thinking in military terms, but we do our military a disservice when we don't greatly dial up the investment that we are making in diplomacy and human intelligence and when we fail to dial up properly, the role of sustainable development in all of this. As president, I would make the administrator of USAID an actual cabinet member. We have to act in a much more whole of government approach, as General Dempsey said.



Despite US President Barack Obama declaring on June 19, 2014 that the only solution to Iraq's crises was a political solution, the White House has failed to use diplomatic power and resorted repeatedly to doing the same thing.

















Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Secretary Carter's Phone Call with Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi

The US Defense Dept issued the following today:


Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Secretary Carter's Phone Call with Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi

Press Operations
Release No: NR-475-15
December 19, 2015     


Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi today during his visit to the USS Kearsarge to express his condolences on the unfortunate loss of Iraqi Security Forces on the front lines of the fight against ISIL. Secretary Carter noted that the United States takes great measures to protect partner forces, and confirmed that the incident is being jointly investigated. The secretary and the prime minister committed to work together to prevent such incidents in the future and to ensure that this incident is not exploited by those who wish to create divisions between the United States and Iraq. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the U.S-Iraq partnership and to continued cooperation in the fight against ISIL.








 



Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "What Bernie Wants for America"

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Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts "What Bernie Wants for America."  Senator Bernie Sanders explains, "I would like free college tuition, an increase in workers' wages, and brand new debate moderators."  Hillary Cranky Clinton says, "I'll convey my boredom by closing my eyes and taking a little nap."  The Democratic Party's presidential debate is airing live on ABC currently.  Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.








  
 

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Who's Debate Is It Anyway?"


whosdebateisitanyway


Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts "Who's Debate Is It Anyway?"  Hillary Cranky Clinton snarls, "This is my debate damn it!  I will talk over everyone."  Martin O'Malley declares, "When the moderators actually let me speak, I make some good points!"    The Democratic Party's presidential debate is airing live on ABC currently.  Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.








  
 

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Hillary's Debate Strategy"

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Isaiah's latest The World Today Just Nuts "Hillary's Debate Strategy."  Hillary, in a smart burlap sack like dress, explains, "I'm just a bitch who never shuts up.  I interrupt, I get loud.  I call it a debate strategy."   The Democratic Party debate is broadcasting on ABC right now.   Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.








  

It's On!! Sanders Vs DNC (David DeGraw)

David DeGraw   notes  trouble brewing in the Democratic Party:



The Democratic Party and Bernie Sanders are now at war! Here are highlights from today's press conference...
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Sanders Campaign: Democratic Party Has Stolen Our Data, Actively Sabotaging Campaign ~ #BernTheDNC

Sanders campaign blasts the DNC in this news conference to discuss breaches of a voter database that allowed access to confidential voter information. +Watch Video



I've been posting to social media about this for the past few hours. Check it out here...

Twitter ~ https://twitter.com/davidVdegraw
Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/ddegraw

Here was my previous strategic advice for the Sanders campaign, in which I suggest that he should tranistion to an Independent run after tomorrow's debate...

#FeelTheBern: How Bernie Sanders Can Win the Presidency #BernTheDNC

Enjoy your weekend,
David

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The ghosts of Christmas TV past, present and future

This is a repost from Great Britain's Socialist Worker:

The ghosts of Christmas TV past, present and future

by Simon Basketter


So you have Dr Who (Christmas Day, BBC1) and Sherlock (New Year’s Day, 9pm, BBC1).

Then there are Christmas specials of every quiz, soap and comedy show. There is no shortage of movies.

But here are some gems in the corners of the schedule.

Japanese animation group Studio Ghibli films—Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away—are all on FilmFour a couple of times over the season.

The story of women workers striking against Ford in 1968 is told in Made in Dagenham (10.55pm, New Year’s Eve, BBC4).

Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick take on imperial Rome in the classic epic of a slave revolt Spartacus (Monday 28 December, 4.30pm, ITV4).

For a Christmas Carol there’s no shortage of choice. The best is the Alistair Sim version (Christmas Eve, 5.30pm, Channel Five) with the Muppet Christmas Carol (Christmas Day, 2.55pm, ITV1) a close second.

Evil bankers and a liberal history of the early 20th century US make It’s a Wonderful Life (Christmas Eve, 2.15pm, Channel 4). The tale of debt, redemption and angels is better than its schmaltzy reputation.

Hitchcock‘s Dial M for Murder (Christmas Eve, 11.30pm, BBC2) has a romping plot and a slimy villain—if the compulsory cheer is too much.

There’s Cromwell (Sunday 27 December, 11.45am, Channel 5) as an antidote to the queen’s speech.
And if the jingoism of a country at war gets too much, try Zulu Dawn (Boxing Day, 5.55pm, 5USA) for a humiliating defeat for the British Empire.

The MC5 and The Grande Ballroom on DPTV!

Detroit Public TV notes:



Starting in Minutes! At 8 Tonight!

The MC5 and The Grande Ballroom on DPTV!

‘Louder Than Love: The Grande Ballroom Story’ Premieres on Detroit Public TV
 
With special in-studio guests: Wayne Kramer of MC5 and Susan Whitall of the Detroit News

The Grande Ballroom paved the way for the Detroit Rock scene as one of the major epicenters during the 1960’s. While the rest of the world was chilling and listening to the songs of the “Summer of Love,” Detroit was creating a sound all of its own and it was LOUDER THAN LOVE! From artists like Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent to Iggy & the Stooges, the stage of the Grande Ballroom was blasting and jamming as one of the greatest rock and roll venues in the world.


Tonight at 8pm, tune in to Louder than Love—a special program that showcases the true story of The Grande Ballroom, featuring in-studio guests: singer-guitarist  Wayne Kramer formerly of the Detroit revolution-rock band the MC5 and Susan Whitall, Detroit News Feature and Entertainment Writer and former editor of Creem Magazine.  Then watch, listen and learn from music icons like BB King, Slash, Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey and many others, as they tell the story of the impact that the Grande Ballroom had not only on the City of Detroit, but on the world of Rock and Roll. See the vision of Russ Gibb come to life before your very eyes and witness the history that was made right in our own city. Directed and produced by Tony D’Annunzio and edited by Karl Rausch- it truly is the greatest untold story of rock and roll.


‘Louder Than Love: The Grande Ballroom Story’ is another great program this month from DPTV to help showcase Detroit’s talent and rich history.


Watch this wonderful documentary on Detroit Public TV, or stream it online by visiting http://dptv.org/

  





Friday, December 18, 2015

Those amazing precision bombs!!!

Seems like only yesterday a US military official was explaining that Russian bombs on Iraq (and Syria) would result in wrongful deaths because, you understand, Russian bombs lacked the innate intelligence of US bombs (made or just purchased).

But, uh, oh, what's this?

AFP reports, "Iraq's joint operations command said 10 Iraqi soldiers were killed or wounded on Friday by so-called friendly fire from US-led coalition aircraft west of Baghdad."

Apparently those smart bombs aren't so smart after all.

Imagine that.




The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.











 






UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Iraq


SPUTNIK reports the United Nations Security Council is set to meet today for an emergency meeting "regarding the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal said."  Turkish troops have been in Mosul for some time now.  REUTERS notes, "Turkey deployed around 150 troops in the Bashiqa area this month with the stated aim of training an Iraqi militia to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Iraqi government says they are not welcome and must withdraw."




Sunday, December 6th, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi gave Turkey 48 hours to remove their troops from Mosul.  Tuesday, December 8th saw Turkey's response: We'll stop sending new troops into Iraq . . . but we're leaving those already in Mosul.  Thursday, December 10th, REUTERS reported Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared, "Withdrawing our soldiers is out of the question for the moment."
Saturday,  AL ARABIYA reported, "Meanwhile, several thousand protesters, most of them members of Shiite paramilitary forces, gathered in central Baghdad on Saturday to demand the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraq."


Last week, State Dept spokesperson John Kirby verbally attacked RT correspondent Gayane Chichakyan in the midst of a press briefing because she dared to note that the Iraqi Parliament was among those calling for the Turkish forces -- all Turkish forces -- to leave Iraq.

For the full exchange, refer to last week's snapshot but here's what was asked that was so offensive to delicate flower John Kirby.


QUESTION: Thank you. Well, you were saying that it’s up to Turkey and Iraq to figure out the situation with the uninvited Turkish troops. But the U.S. does take upon itself to invite forces from other countries into Iraq and in Syria. Ash Carter was telling Congress yesterday that he personally reached out to 40 countries asking them to commit special ops for the fight and other support. The Iraqi parliament is concerned that their country is becoming this ground where different countries do what they want. The Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee is calling for the review or cancelation of the U.S. security agreement with Iraq. What does the U.S. do to address their concerns?



MR KIRBY: Address whose concerns?



QUESTION: The Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee that is now calling to review or cancel the agreement with the U.S.

MR KIRBY: I haven’t seen those reports, ma’am. We continue to work with the Iraqi Government. The troops that Secretary Carter referred to, that decision was done in full coordination and cooperation with the Iraqi Government. If you’re trying to suggest that somehow U.S. military assistance against ISIL is untoward or being done without full coordination with the Iraq Government, it’s just a completely baseless charge. And I don’t think it’s worth having any more discussions about it.


QUESTION: But you’re saying – are you saying that you’re not aware of the Iraqi parliament’s – this Security and Defense Committee’s initiative that they want to --


MR KIRBY: I haven’t seen that, no. I haven’t seen that.


QUESTION: Okay. What – the situation where the U.S. invites forces --


MR KIRBY: I’m going to give you just one more, honestly, and then that’s it. Okay?


QUESTION: Sure.


MR KIRBY: Go ahead.


QUESTION: The situation where the U.S. invites forces to Iraq and the U.S. is leading this coalition, but when something goes wrong, the U.S. says it’s none of our business, like with the Turkish troops. Let – you have to figure it out between yourselves. Should it be of no concern to Iraq?


MR KIRBY: Should what be of no concern? I love these questions that are 10 minutes long then I’m supposed to get the grain of it out of there. Should what be of no concern?


QUESTION: The fact that when something – you have this cooperation, you have this agreement, but when something goes wrong, the U.S. says it’s none of our business, like with what’s happening with the Turkish troops.



As Trina observed of the news that US Vice President Joe Biden told the Turkish government on Thursday that they should respect the wishes of the Iraqi government, "Well he certainly took his sweet ass time, didn't he?"


In other news, Wednesday, 16 Qataris were kidnapped while hunting in Iraq's al-Muthana desert.  GULF NEWS reports today it was 26 Qataris and that at least 7 of them (possibly nine) and one Saudi and one Kuwaiti have managed to escape and cross the border into Kuwait.


As the never-ending Iraq War continues, some wonder why?

War is big business.


For example, GovConWire.com notes, "General Dynamics’ (NYSE: GD) land systems business unit has secured a potential one-year, $72.5 million contract modification from the U.S. Army to provide training and logistics support for Iraq’s Abrams M1A1 battle tanks and M88 recovery vehicles."







The following community sites updated:









  • The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.










     



    Thursday, December 17, 2015

    Iraq snapshot

    Thursday, December 17, 2015. Chaos and violence continue, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter visits Iraq, and more.



    Join in, to the tune of "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" (written by Stanley Styne and Fred Karger, originally sung by James Darren):


    It's not the same
    Down by the Arabian sea
    Since Ash Carter went
    South of Turkey

    . . .


    Follow Carter's travels in the at our web special here:
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    1. Carter today thanked and coined troops serving in Baghdad during the holiday season
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    Speaking to the US troops, Carter declared, "This fight has to be fought.  It's for civilization against evil.  It's for America against its enemies. [. . .] We will win.  But we need to win quickly, and that in turn, is on you, your ingenuity."


    Carter addresses troops in Baghdad, wishes them a happy holiday and thanks them for all they do
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    Secretary Ash Carter (speaking in Baghdad): But whatever you call it, here in Iraq and also in Syria, we have to defeat it, we're going to defeat it, and we're looking for ways to up our game and hasten that demise of ISIL, here in Iraq, also in Syria.  And I should say, by the way, from the nature of our world today, and -- I call it sort of social media terrorism, that even though the parent tumor of ISIL is here in Iraq and Syria, it's like a cancer. It metastasizes around the world.  So, we're combating everywhere else, including at home. And we'll do that, and we have do that, but we have to take out the parent tumor, which is here in Iraq and Syria.  Here in Iraq, we do that by importantly supporting the Iraqi Security Forces. We have to build them, we have to help them be successful, we have to do more than we've been doing, as circumstances arise, and of course, subject to Iraqi approval.  But to help that -- I expect us to be doing more. And I told General MacFarland, we're looking for him to bring us ideas for how we can hasten this.  Now, obviously, a lot of it hinges on the performance of the Iraqis, and we need to help strengthen. But we need to have things that no other contributor can possibly bring.  And there are others around the world, other members of the coalition who can bring things to the fight -- and I'm talking to them about supporting the fight, too, because this has to be what it needs to be, which is a fight of the civilized world against this form of evil.  And since it is good versus evil, and it's the powerful, after all, in the end of day, it's us, the powerful and the many against the few.  We will win. But we need to win quickly, and that in turn, is on you, your ingenuity. And I'm here to help you, and there will be others joining the fight as well, both here in Iraq, and here in Syria.






    1. Today visited troops in Erbil to thank them for the unique capabilities they bring to counter fight
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    Secretary Ash Carter (speaking in Erbil): The Kurdish Peshmerga have been exactly what we have been looking for in this whole fight in Iraq and Syria, namely a capable and motivated force that we can enable. I had an opportunity, first and foremost, to meet with our forces here, and by the way, if anybody wonders whether there are boots on the ground in Iraq, there are 3,500 boots on the ground, including some wonderful people here.  And in addition to telling them how much their country appreciates them at holiday time. Of course, our business was to talk about how to enhance our effective -- the effectiveness of the campaign here.  Let me start with the Kurdish side, if I could. I had a very productive meeting with President Barzani. I commended him on some -- a couple of items of recent performance of the Peshmerga. One was the taking of Sinjar, which was important because it separated the Iraqi-Mosul side of the theater from the Syrian-Raqqah side. So that was an important objective and that couldn't have been accomplished without them.  But also, and very timely here in Erbil, there was an attack by ISIL right here in the Kurdish region last night by ISIL -- an intense attack which shows you that ISIL intends -- it certainly showed the people who live here that ISIL intends to strike at them and can strike at them. And it also shows -- showed how effective the Peshmerga were because they repelled the attack. And it showed you especially how effective they were as -- when they were enabled, as they were, by our -- our forces here that advised them, and in particular called in air.  I discussed with President Barzani the future of the campaign, particularly the role that his forces could play in the encirclement and recapture of Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, an important objective where we need to help, and he affirmed we would get the help of the Kurdish Peshmerga.




    In addition to meeting with US and Kurdish forces, Carter also met with a few officials.



    Carter met with Iraqi PM and MinDef to discuss the counter campaign
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    THE WASHINGTON POST's Liz Sly Tweeted:







  • Whether or not the proposal is off is unknown.  It is known -- or should have been -- that the US government was aware Haider al-Abadi was already making such statements for public consumption and that he had conveyed this in conversations with US Lt Gen Sean MacFarland before Ash Carter made his now infamous remarks in this month's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.




    Secretary Ash Carter:  Turning to northern Iraq, Peshmerga units, with the help of U.S. air power and advisers, have retaken the town of Sinjar, cutting the main line of communication between Raqqa and Mosul, the two largest cities under ISIL's control. To move people and supplies, ISIL now must rely on backroads, where we will locate and destroy them. Elsewhere in Iraq, we have about 3,500 troops at six locations in support of Iraqi Security Forces, or ISF. There, we've been providing increased lethal fire and augmenting the existing training, advising, and assisting program. And we're prepared to do more as Iraq shows capability and motivation in the counter-ISIL fight and in resolving its political divisions. After a frustratingly long time, we are starting to see some movement in the operation to re capture Ramadi. Over the past several months, the coalition has provided specialized training and equipment -- including combat engineering techniques like in-stride breaching and bulldozing, and munitions like AT-4 shoulder- fired missiles to stop truck bombs -- to the Iraqi Army and counter-terrorism service units that are now beginning to enter Ramadi neighborhoods from multiple directions. In fact, in the last 24 hours, the ISF retook the Anbar Operations Center on the northern bank of the Euphrates River across from Ramadi's city center. This is an important step, but there is still tough fighting ahead. ISIL has counter-attacked several times, but thus far the ISF has shown resilience. The United States is prepared to assist the Iraqi Army with additional unique capabilities to help them finish the job, including attack helicopters and accompanying advisors, if requested by Prime Minister Abadi.



    We covered the hearing in the Wednesday, December 9th "Iraq snapshot," "Turkey's invasion and occupation of Iraq continues..." and in the Thursday, December 10th "Iraq snapshot" while Mike covered it in "So now attack helicopters" and "What is the plan?," Betty in "Joe Manchin is a sad US Senator," Wally at Rebecca's site with "Who knew Ash Carter was a fan of The Killers?," Ava at Trina's site with "Those shameful senators," Ann with "That posturing and preening Senate Armed Services Committee," Ruth with "Senator Blumenthal misses the point," Kat with "Disgusting 'answer' to the refugee crisis" and Elaine with "Senator Claire McCaskill is a pig."




    In Baghdad, on Wednesday, Carter took questions from the press.



    Q: (inaudible) -- clarification -- (inaudible). When you announced the -- (inaudible) -- last week to the Congress, you put it in the context of the Ramadi fight. Are you saying now that the use of American Apaches to support the Iraqi forces and their (inaudible) advisers -- (inaudible) -- level is -- are steps that are unlikely to happen during the battle of Ramadi and will be perhaps taken up for a future engagement?

    SEC. CARTER: They certainly might be taken up for a future engagement. And I am telling you that it's not either General MacFarland's judgment or the prime minister's judgment that they're needed right now for the completion of the fight in Ramadi. That does not mean that they wouldn't -- they won't make a difference sometime in the future.

    And so, the offer of the United States when circumstances suggest it, and subject to -- always to Iraqi approval, our willingness to do more, including the use of Apache helicopters. So that's the situation.

    (CROSSTALK)

    Q: Mr. Secretary, there is some reluctance among some Iraqis to have a larger U.S. or coalition footprint on the ground here in Iraq. Did you discuss that with either the minister or the prime minister? And what is their assessment of how much more they could accept?

    SEC. CARTER: We didn't discuss specifically, no, numbers. We did discuss the opportunity for the United States to do more. Now, you know, the ways that we uniquely contribute and can uniquely contribute to Iraqi battlefield success is by training Iraqi units, providing air support to Iraqi units, and possibly operating with Iraqi units to advise and do other things like that; not to replace them.

    So I don't think in any case that the numbers were a part of the conversation -- numbers, per se. But I just want to be clear, numbers aside, we were talking about the opportunities that will arise in the future to increase the American contribution to Iraqi success here, and both he and I anticipate that those circumstances will arise as Iraqi troops move north to Mosul, and we're prepared to increase our contribution.




    The US government has Lt Gen Sean MacFarland doing daily meetings in Iraq and they had Secretary of Defense Ash Carter visiting this week.

    The White House still, however, struggles to seriously work on the political aspect.

    Wednesday, December 16th in Baghdad, Carter did remark, "By the way, while I'm rattling on, I should say it's actually a whole-of-government too, because there's a political side to this, right, all these societies. And really importantly for us, there's a law enforcement, homeland security, intelligence, you know, my colleagues around the U.S. government matter in this, as well as everyone. That's a whole government approach."


    That's the only time he noted the political aspect.

    In fairness to Carter, he's the Secretary of Defense, not the Secretary of State.

    But it does underscore the lack of importance the White House has placed on diplomacy.


    Yes, June 19, 2015, US President Barack Obama insisted in public that only a political solution could solve Iraq's various crises.

    But it was just empty lip service as evidenced by the refusal to emphasize diplomacy.


    Repeatedly, Barack has acted as though the answer -- the one and only answer -- was military.


    In keeping with that one-note approach, the US Defense Dept announced today:




    Strikes in Iraq
    Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:
    -- Near Fallujah, one strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL sniper position, an ISIL tunnel, two ISIL heavy machine guns and an ISIL rocket-propelled grenade and wounded an ISIL fighter.
    -- Near Hit, one strike destroyed an ISIL homemade explosives cache.
    -- Near Kirkuk, one strike destroyed an ISIL excavator.
    -- Near Mosul, two strikes struck multiple large ISIL tactical units and three suicide bombers and destroyed 12 ISIL machine guns, 13 ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL vehicles and an ISIL vehicle bomb.
    -- Near Ramadi, four strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL machine gun, three ISIL fighting positions, five ISIL buildings, three ISIL staging areas and an ISIL vehicle bomb.
    -- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL machine gun.

    Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.