Spot on.
I'll watch for it. Love reading/watching stuff about them.
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Spot on.
I'll watch for it. Love reading/watching stuff about them.
Lying "No Boots on the ground" Obama.
You knew it was Obama's fault!
Bush officials wanted Obama to help close troop deal with Iraq
Outgoing George W. Bush White House officials privately urged Barack Obama in November 2008 to support talks with Baghdad that would allow U.S. troops to remain Iraq for several years, but the incoming president's team demurred, new emails published by WikiLeaks show.
The agreement, known as the Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, has become a fiercely contested topic in recent years, with Bush’s team insisting that Obama could have further extended it once in office, and the president’s supporters insisting that was not possible.
But at the time of the post-election exchange, which featured Bush’s top national security council aide for Iraq, Douglas Lute, and senior Obama adviser, and now chief of staff, Denis McDonough, the Bush administration was still negotiating terms with Iraq’s government to keep tens of thousands of American soldiers in the country for three more years.
According to Lute’s Nov. 11 email, the talks were clouded by the Iraqi government’s uncertainty over where Obama, who had campaigned on a gradual U.S troop withdrawal from Iraq, stood on the question.
Saying that the U.S. had sent the Iraqis “a text we consider final,” Lute — who said he was following up on a prior conversation between McDonough and Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen Hadley — wrote that the Iraqis were “keenly interested in understanding President-Elect Obama's position on the SOFA.”
“Indeed, a number of senior Iraqi officials - including a number of Prime Minister's most senior advisors -- are claiming that Mr. Obama will not support a SOFA signed by President Bush and interpreting the few messages publicly available as a pretext to reject the agreement on the table,” Lute wrote. “After the transition team has had time to review the SOFA text, we ask that the Obama team express support for the SOFA, lest the Iraqis use previous positions or the absence of comment to scuttle the deal.”
The pact was needed because U.S. troops were acting under a United Nations mandate due to expire on Dec. 31, a few weeks before Obama would take office.
Lute even offered a proposed language for an Obama statement, which included the vow that the president election would “respect the agreement as negotiated and not insist it be ratified by the US Congress.”
McDonough passed along Lute’s email to several other top Obama foreign policy advisers, including Susan Rice, Mark Lippert, and James Steinberg. John Podesta, then an Obama transition adviser, was later added to the email chain; the exchange was contained in his email account, which U.S. officials have said was hacked at the direction of the Russian government.
“I think we should be cautious about getting in the middle of this,” warned Steinberg, a former Bill Clinton administration official who would become Obama’s deputy secretary of state. “We have one President at a time and we don't propose to get into the middle of the negotations [sic]. If we get briefed now and we don't like it, what do we propose to do -- tell Hadley we can't support it? I think they should do the deed and hopefully its something we can support. The alternative puts us in a position [where] they're using our clout without [us] having any influence on the conduct of the negotation [sic].”
“Good point,” McDonough replied, adding that another transition official was scheduled to attend another unspecified briefing the next day. “We can see where we are then.”
Obama did not weigh in publicly on the details of the talks until the deal was formally concluded several days later, on Nov. 17. It allowed for U.S. troops to remain in Iraq, with legal immunity there, until December 31, 2011.
"President-elect Obama believes it is critical that a status-of-forces agreement that ensures sufficient protections for our men and women in uniform is reached before the end of the year. We look forward to reviewing the final text of the agreement," an Obama spokesperson said at the time.
As president, Obama honored the agreement, which he did not submit to the U.S. Congress for approval. He also did not extend the SOFA, for reasons that are still the subject of dispute, and removed all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/live-blog-up...#ixzz4O2xyptyB
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ISIS had about 4,000 soldiers in Mosul. They have lost 900 killed so far. Some have been captured, like two "zeros" caught in women's clothing trying to slip out with some refugees. Come to think of it, the great General Santa Ana was caught in drag after the battle at San Jacinto.
I'm not sure anymore that we can believe anything coming from any military source due our mandated WH/Obama interference and spin. Therefore numbers such as 900 killed or even 4,000 in place to begin with can't be totally believed.Originally Posted by dawg80
What a mess!
A brief fire-fight erupted between Shiite Militia and Iraqi Army units as both tried to rush through a breach in ISIS' defensive line outside of Mosul.
A coalition of 45,000 troops have surrounded Mosul where 4,000 ISIS troops were inside the city, and another 2,500 were manning outside defensive positions. Yesterday, coalition forced blasted a hole in the defensive line, killing 200 ISIS soldiers, and capturing 400 more, and opening a gap a mile-wide. Units of the Iranian-backed Shiite Militia and regular Iraqi Army units started pushing elements of their armies into the gap when a "disagreement" happened resulting in shots fired at each other. There are no reports of casualties. But it points to the highly intense situation that exists, especially between former enemies, the Sunni Iraqis and the Shiite Iranians.
Meanwhile, ISIS's attacks on neighboring towns near Mosul have all been beaten back, with high casualties among the retreating ISIS forces. US military advisors on the ground near Mosul report that the ISIS attacks on the other towns were diversions designed to draw off coalition units from Mosul and hopefully allowing the trapped ISIS units to escape. US advisors advised coalition leaders not to take the bait and move substantial forces away from Mosul. US air strikes supported small contingents of Iraqi army units defending those other towns.
Mosul could be over-run and captured in less than 24 hours if an all-out attack was ordered. Unfortunately, the ISIS scumbag cowards are using civilians, mostly women and children, as human shields. Special forces may be able to infiltrate and surgically remove ISIS leadership and eliminate some defensive positions. But, the bigger problem will remain, how to retake Mosul without it becoming a blood bath of civilian casualties.
So far, it is estimated that 1,500 of the original 6,500 ISIS troops have been killed or captured. And coalition forces have suffered practically no casualties...thus far.
Latest...
Iraqi troops have entered eastern suburbs of Mosul.
Shiite Militia sent to west side of Mosul to cut off any attempts of escape by ISIS troops. They will want to head west, toward their strongholds in Syria. Putting the Shiite on the west does two things:
1. they will show no mercy for the Sunni ISIS troops, slaughter them all without remorse.
2. it separates the Iranian-backed Shiite Militia from the Iraqi units...so they won't shoot at each other anymore. (well, not to until ISIS is defeated, then all bets are off)
Should have been done years ago. I bet Obama is paying Iran $$ to fight against ISIS (part of the deal) with the billions he just gave them.
Amnesty International has issued a complaint that Iraqi soldiers are treating captured ISIS soldiers "badly." Would this be the same ISIS soldiers who have committed all kinds of atrocities against innocent people, including children?
Meanwhile, the gallant Kurds continue their march to complete victory. They are on the verge of retaking Raqqa. Supported by US air strikes. The Kurds have also successfully met all of their tactical objectives in northern Mosul. Keep rolling Peshmerga!
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