I wrote earlier today about the big news that president Obama finally said something coherent about ISIS. At NATO, Obama said that the goal is to destroy ISIS. There is still no strategy how to do that, but at least we now know what Obama thinks the objective should be. To be fair, we know what Obama said yesterday that objective should be; he could change his mind in a flash like he did with Syria last year.
But let's proceed on the basis that Obama really means it and will stick with it when he says he wants to destroy ISIS. So what needs to be done? First let's look at the events of the day. In Iraq, Kurdish forces retook several villages that had earlier been captured by ISIS and the Kurds also reoccupied a plain that overlooks Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, and the biggest prize captured by ISIS to date. The peshmerga (the Kurdish forces) ousted the ISIS forces even though the Kurds only have thirty year old Soviet weapons with almost no artillery or armored vehicles. ISIS on the other hand is well armed with modern American weapons that the terrorists seized when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of the ISIS invasion. During the fighting yesterday, however, the Kurds did get support from American air strikes on ISIS positions.
That small summary of yesterday's fighting exposes just how crazy the Obama policy has been. Remember, the Kurds are the only group that is actually fighting against ISIS each day. The Iraqi government in Baghdad says that it is fighting, but the Iraqi army contact with ISIS is sporadic and mostly ineffectual. Were it not for the Kurdish peshmerga, ISIS would still be moving forward instead of giving up territory. But American arms are going only to the Iraqi army. That's right, we arm the ones who won't fight and refrain from arming those who actually do fight. Clearly, it is not that Obama does not want to help the Kurds; he authorized air strikes to help them. Just think what the Kurds could do against ISIS if America actually gave them modern arms and trained them to use the new equipment. The Kurds have been America's friends and allies for at least ten years. The mostly Shiite government in Baghdad has been closer to Iran than the USA since all American forces were pulled out of Iraq by Obama. That means that the issue is not any hesitancy by Obama with regard to arming our enemies; the Kurds clearly are friends, not enemies.
So while Obama may finally stated a clear goal for dealing with ISIS, he still has no clear strategy to reach that goal. A great first step would be to help the Kurds with arms and training. Let's hope that step will not take as long as deciding on a goal.
But let's proceed on the basis that Obama really means it and will stick with it when he says he wants to destroy ISIS. So what needs to be done? First let's look at the events of the day. In Iraq, Kurdish forces retook several villages that had earlier been captured by ISIS and the Kurds also reoccupied a plain that overlooks Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, and the biggest prize captured by ISIS to date. The peshmerga (the Kurdish forces) ousted the ISIS forces even though the Kurds only have thirty year old Soviet weapons with almost no artillery or armored vehicles. ISIS on the other hand is well armed with modern American weapons that the terrorists seized when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of the ISIS invasion. During the fighting yesterday, however, the Kurds did get support from American air strikes on ISIS positions.
That small summary of yesterday's fighting exposes just how crazy the Obama policy has been. Remember, the Kurds are the only group that is actually fighting against ISIS each day. The Iraqi government in Baghdad says that it is fighting, but the Iraqi army contact with ISIS is sporadic and mostly ineffectual. Were it not for the Kurdish peshmerga, ISIS would still be moving forward instead of giving up territory. But American arms are going only to the Iraqi army. That's right, we arm the ones who won't fight and refrain from arming those who actually do fight. Clearly, it is not that Obama does not want to help the Kurds; he authorized air strikes to help them. Just think what the Kurds could do against ISIS if America actually gave them modern arms and trained them to use the new equipment. The Kurds have been America's friends and allies for at least ten years. The mostly Shiite government in Baghdad has been closer to Iran than the USA since all American forces were pulled out of Iraq by Obama. That means that the issue is not any hesitancy by Obama with regard to arming our enemies; the Kurds clearly are friends, not enemies.
So while Obama may finally stated a clear goal for dealing with ISIS, he still has no clear strategy to reach that goal. A great first step would be to help the Kurds with arms and training. Let's hope that step will not take as long as deciding on a goal.
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