Have you ever heard of Ain al-Asad? Unless you served in the military in Iraq, chance are great that you have not. Ain al-Asad is an air base in western Iraq where there are currently about 300 American troops who are training Iraqi forces. The base is in Anbar Province next to the Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, another place that no one has heard of. The problem, however, is that ISIS forces captured al-Baghdadi yesterday and used it as a launching point for an attack on Ain al-Asad today. The ISIS attack was repulsed, but it will surely be followed by more.
At the moment, little is being said about this attack, but it is likely to be the start of a major effort by ISIS to take the air base. Just think how ISIS must view the possibility of capture of Ain al-Asad. The base is the main outpost of Iraqi government forces in an area over which ISIS has nearly total control. Taking the base would allow ISIS to consolidate all of its forces in the region. Even more important, taking Ain al-Asad would allow ISIS to capture or kill 300 American troops. That would be a major propaganda victory. Even better for ISIS would be a situation in which the American troops withdraw and the Iraqis left behind are overrun. That would allow ISIS to paint the American troops as cowards.
Right now, there ought to be planning in Washington to destroy the ISIS forces in the area before they can wrest control of the Ain al-Asad base from Iraqi government forces. If that planning requires the use of US ground forces, then so be it. After all, president Obama sent thousands of our men and women back to Iraq, and he has to make sure that they are kept safe if at all possible.
Hopefully, Obama will take a moment away from doing videos to promote Obamacare signups or worrying about climate change so he can deal with the very real threat to our security and to the lives of hundreds of American troops.
At the moment, little is being said about this attack, but it is likely to be the start of a major effort by ISIS to take the air base. Just think how ISIS must view the possibility of capture of Ain al-Asad. The base is the main outpost of Iraqi government forces in an area over which ISIS has nearly total control. Taking the base would allow ISIS to consolidate all of its forces in the region. Even more important, taking Ain al-Asad would allow ISIS to capture or kill 300 American troops. That would be a major propaganda victory. Even better for ISIS would be a situation in which the American troops withdraw and the Iraqis left behind are overrun. That would allow ISIS to paint the American troops as cowards.
Right now, there ought to be planning in Washington to destroy the ISIS forces in the area before they can wrest control of the Ain al-Asad base from Iraqi government forces. If that planning requires the use of US ground forces, then so be it. After all, president Obama sent thousands of our men and women back to Iraq, and he has to make sure that they are kept safe if at all possible.
Hopefully, Obama will take a moment away from doing videos to promote Obamacare signups or worrying about climate change so he can deal with the very real threat to our security and to the lives of hundreds of American troops.
No comments:
Post a Comment