Ayn al Arab (also called Kobane) is falling to ISIS although there still are some pockets of resistance by the Kurdish defenders of the city. The Turkish army, the world media and large numbers of refugees are watching the battle from hills in Turkey which are less than a mile from the fighting. The Turks with their hundreds of tanks are doing nothing to help defeat ISIS. The media is not reporting from inside Syria. The Kurdish refugees are being prevented by the Turkish forces from entering Syria to bolster the defenders in their fight against ISIS. At the same time, American planes are conducting air strikes in a sporadic fashion against ISIS targets outside the city, but none of the planes are hitting the ISIS troops who are actually in the city fighting the Kurds. Yesterday there were roughly ten such air strikes.
It is important to understand that when the government or the media tell us that there were ten air strikes, they are talking about ten sorties. That means ten planes flew one mission each in Syria yesterday. If the planes came at one time, each one is counted separately and not as just one strike with multiple planes. The USA easily has the capability to launch 300 to 500 air strikes against ISIS forces in the area each day, but we have hit a maximum of ten.
So what is happening here? One explanation is that the entire effort the president Obama announced against ISIS in Syria is a sham, something that Obama was forced to do for political reasons, something that will give Democrats cover in the November elections but which will not meaningfully change the situation on the ground in Syria. This is an explanation favored by those who think that Obama is incapable of committing to a real war in the Middle East. They see Obama as a schemer who is trying to put one over on the American people, to appear to fight while actually doing the least bit possible for the time being.
Another explanation is that the American effort is delusional. This view assumes that president Obama actually thinks that the minimal number of air attacks can stem the tide of battle and defeat ISIS. Those who hold this view believe that Obama meant it when he called ISIS the jayvee team of terrorists, and they think that Obama still believes this. For this group, the idea is that Obama thinks that ISIS fighters will run when faced with the occasional American plane.
A third view is that American policy in Syria today is a manifestation of Obama's incompetence and indecision. This view holds that Obama cannot get his hands around the idea that massive force is needed to stop ISIS and that he wants to do the least possible to stop the terrorists. The holders of this view believe that Obama has still not committed to the destruction of ISIS, no matter what he said a few weeks back. These people see the initial refusal by team Obama to call this a war as proof that the real goal is containment, even though that strategy clearly does not work. They see Obama clinging to a false hope while failing to recognize the facts on the ground or to listen to the generals who have competent military strategies that would work to stop and then to destroy ISIS.
I reject the first two views, although I am not sure I accept the third one either. If Obama has demonstrated one thing in the last six years, it is that he could not pull off a politically motivated sham of this magnitude without their being all manner of leaks of the truth. Obama just is not such a great political mastermind as to come up with a plan like this. I also refuse to accept this as just a delusion. I do not believe that Obama thinks the ISIS fighters will flee after a few American air attacks. In truth, I believe that Obama really does not care whether or not the ISIS fighters flee.
The truth, however, is that no matter what the reason, we are watching a major Kurdish city fall to ISIS. Thousands will surely die even though most of those deaths were easily preventable. The Turks have been exposed as unsteady allies who would rather see the Kurds destroyed than to stop the ISIS terrorists. America has also been exposed as a "paper tiger" like the old claim of the Chinese. It is a sad day.
It is important to understand that when the government or the media tell us that there were ten air strikes, they are talking about ten sorties. That means ten planes flew one mission each in Syria yesterday. If the planes came at one time, each one is counted separately and not as just one strike with multiple planes. The USA easily has the capability to launch 300 to 500 air strikes against ISIS forces in the area each day, but we have hit a maximum of ten.
So what is happening here? One explanation is that the entire effort the president Obama announced against ISIS in Syria is a sham, something that Obama was forced to do for political reasons, something that will give Democrats cover in the November elections but which will not meaningfully change the situation on the ground in Syria. This is an explanation favored by those who think that Obama is incapable of committing to a real war in the Middle East. They see Obama as a schemer who is trying to put one over on the American people, to appear to fight while actually doing the least bit possible for the time being.
Another explanation is that the American effort is delusional. This view assumes that president Obama actually thinks that the minimal number of air attacks can stem the tide of battle and defeat ISIS. Those who hold this view believe that Obama meant it when he called ISIS the jayvee team of terrorists, and they think that Obama still believes this. For this group, the idea is that Obama thinks that ISIS fighters will run when faced with the occasional American plane.
A third view is that American policy in Syria today is a manifestation of Obama's incompetence and indecision. This view holds that Obama cannot get his hands around the idea that massive force is needed to stop ISIS and that he wants to do the least possible to stop the terrorists. The holders of this view believe that Obama has still not committed to the destruction of ISIS, no matter what he said a few weeks back. These people see the initial refusal by team Obama to call this a war as proof that the real goal is containment, even though that strategy clearly does not work. They see Obama clinging to a false hope while failing to recognize the facts on the ground or to listen to the generals who have competent military strategies that would work to stop and then to destroy ISIS.
I reject the first two views, although I am not sure I accept the third one either. If Obama has demonstrated one thing in the last six years, it is that he could not pull off a politically motivated sham of this magnitude without their being all manner of leaks of the truth. Obama just is not such a great political mastermind as to come up with a plan like this. I also refuse to accept this as just a delusion. I do not believe that Obama thinks the ISIS fighters will flee after a few American air attacks. In truth, I believe that Obama really does not care whether or not the ISIS fighters flee.
The truth, however, is that no matter what the reason, we are watching a major Kurdish city fall to ISIS. Thousands will surely die even though most of those deaths were easily preventable. The Turks have been exposed as unsteady allies who would rather see the Kurds destroyed than to stop the ISIS terrorists. America has also been exposed as a "paper tiger" like the old claim of the Chinese. It is a sad day.
No comments:
Post a Comment