It may seem hard to imagine, but things have gotten worse in the Middle East, and it has nothing to do with the confrontation between Israel and the terror group Hamas. No, the problem is that the terrorist army, ISIS, has now taken over an important Syrian city, Der al Zour. The city, which is near the border between Iraq and Syria, had been under the control of the Free Syrian Army. For those of you who need a scorecard to remember all the players in the area, the Free Syrian Army is the group the president Obama calls the "vetted opposition" to Bashir al Assad and his murderers. In other words, the Free Syrian Army is the non-crazy, non-terrorist opposition to Assad. They are the group that Obama agrees the USA should support in Syria. Indeed, Obama has asked for a half a billion dollar program to train and help the Free Syrian Army.
The problem at Der al Zour was not the strength of ISIS. There were many more fighters for the Free Syrian Army in that region than there were for ISIS. The problem was that the Free Syrian Army was running out of ammunition. And here's the rub: the Free Syrian Army asked the USA for ammunition so that they could keep ISIS out of Der al Zour. It was not just one request; there were repeated and ever more desperate requests made over the course of more than a month. Some of the requests were made in meetings with Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the UN. Others were made to different officials of the Obama administration. There are large stockpiles of American ammunition in the region, so that was not the reason why no deliveries were made to the Free Syrian Army. Just from US stocks in Turkey, Jordan and Israel, there could have been a massive delivery long before the ISIS forces came to Der al Zour, but there was none. No, the reason for the inaction was the lack of a decision in Washington.
Let's step back and consider what the effect of the loss of Der al Zour is. Certainly, that one city will not make much difference, right? Actually, the answer is "wrong". The loss of the city to ISIS provides ISIS with an unbroken territory from deep in Syria until the outskirts of Baghdad in Iraq. The Free Syrian Army in Der al Zour (assuming it had ammunition) could have disrupted the supply lines for ISIS between Syrian and Iraqi segments of ISIS territory. Even more important, however, is the lesson that the loss of Der al Zour teaches to the locals. The Free Syrian Army did not ask for American boots on the ground. They were prepared to do their own fighting. The Free Syrian Army did not ask for American air strikes. The Free Syrian Army did not even ask for American weapons. All they wanted was ammunition for the weapons that they already had. The response from Obama was to do nothing as the one group in Syria that are actually the friends of America were forced out by ISIS, a group that would love to destroy America. So, by doing nothing, Obama has taught the Syrians the lesson that the USA is an unreliable friend. Obama has also made clear to the Syrians that no matter what he says, when the real problems appear, Obama will do nothing.
The full report on this latest mess is available here. It is extremely depressing.
The problem at Der al Zour was not the strength of ISIS. There were many more fighters for the Free Syrian Army in that region than there were for ISIS. The problem was that the Free Syrian Army was running out of ammunition. And here's the rub: the Free Syrian Army asked the USA for ammunition so that they could keep ISIS out of Der al Zour. It was not just one request; there were repeated and ever more desperate requests made over the course of more than a month. Some of the requests were made in meetings with Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the UN. Others were made to different officials of the Obama administration. There are large stockpiles of American ammunition in the region, so that was not the reason why no deliveries were made to the Free Syrian Army. Just from US stocks in Turkey, Jordan and Israel, there could have been a massive delivery long before the ISIS forces came to Der al Zour, but there was none. No, the reason for the inaction was the lack of a decision in Washington.
Let's step back and consider what the effect of the loss of Der al Zour is. Certainly, that one city will not make much difference, right? Actually, the answer is "wrong". The loss of the city to ISIS provides ISIS with an unbroken territory from deep in Syria until the outskirts of Baghdad in Iraq. The Free Syrian Army in Der al Zour (assuming it had ammunition) could have disrupted the supply lines for ISIS between Syrian and Iraqi segments of ISIS territory. Even more important, however, is the lesson that the loss of Der al Zour teaches to the locals. The Free Syrian Army did not ask for American boots on the ground. They were prepared to do their own fighting. The Free Syrian Army did not ask for American air strikes. The Free Syrian Army did not even ask for American weapons. All they wanted was ammunition for the weapons that they already had. The response from Obama was to do nothing as the one group in Syria that are actually the friends of America were forced out by ISIS, a group that would love to destroy America. So, by doing nothing, Obama has taught the Syrians the lesson that the USA is an unreliable friend. Obama has also made clear to the Syrians that no matter what he says, when the real problems appear, Obama will do nothing.
The full report on this latest mess is available here. It is extremely depressing.
1 comment:
Obama has also made clear to the WORLD!!! that no matter what he says, when the real problems appear, Obama will do nothing.
Post a Comment