Tag Archives: US Weapons

Foreign Policy, Liberty Report

Ron Paul: Is Chaos An Excuse For Escalating U.S. Forces In Iraq?

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Despite admission of failed policies, the strategy for resolving the the battle against the Islamic State seems to be escalating U.S forces in Iraq.

It’s been 12 years since the war started, yet three-time presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Ron Paul has been dealing with our government’s intervention in Iraq since 1998. Even with half a million people killed and billions of dollars wasted, it seems the policy direction is staying the same.

President Barack Obama announced Monday that despite not having a specific strategy for Iraq, he is sending 500 troops there to set up a new base. These troops won’t be on the front lines, Obama said.

In his latest Liberty Report, Paul countered that any truck, any base, any embassy—any U.S. presence over there is a target. He asked, “Where are the front lines?”

Paul shared his thoughts on the efforts to rally support from other countries in the fight against the ISIS. “I’ve heard some of the generals on TV and some of the political pundits say, well, we need to get Turkey to act differently and be on our side more,” he said. “At the same time, you don’t hear much about what Israel should be doing. Nobody really talks about Israel. But they are very much involved.”

Daniel McAdams, co-host of the Liberty Report, concurred. “Certainly, in regard to Syria and the goal of overthrowing Assad, Israel is firmly on the side of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which is in favor of overthrow,” McAdams said. “In fact, it’s been shown many times that Israel treats wounded al Nusra fighters—which is the al Qaeda franchise in Syria—on Israeli soil. So they are certainly involved in this.”

Paul also noted U.S. Gen. John Allen‘s comments about about the U.S. military fighting the ideology of ISIS. “ISIS is not the country of Syria or Iraq,” Paul said. “It’s amorphous and it is ideological. Ideas, good and bad, are very difficult to handle. But when that idea becomes popular with the people, good and bad, the ideology becomes very important.”

Watch the full episode above and check out more episodes of the Ron Paul Liberty Report here at Truth In Media.

In case you missed Ben Swann’s Truth In Media episode on ISIS watch it below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6kdi1UXxhY

Politics

Iraqi Insurgents Storm Mosul, Reportedly Seizing US Weaponry

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On Tuesday, insurgents representing a group which calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria stormed and captured Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. The armed rebel group had recently been disavowed by Al-Qaeda leaders, who disagreed with the extreme brutality of ISIS’ tactics. The Washington Post is reporting that, as ISIS fighters charged into the city from the west, many US-trained soldiers and police officers representing the Iraqi government dropped their weapons, stripped off their uniforms, and fled their guard posts, allowing ISIS to seize the entire city and several bases full of weapons, most of which were likely provided by the United States.

According to International Business Times, up to 500,000 residents of Mosul fled in advance of the attack. The city’s population prior to these evacuations was estimated at around 1.5 million people, making this a significant victory for the Sunni insurgency. ISIS also captured Fallujah in January. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki requested that Parliament declare a state of emergency and called on Iraqis to take up arms and fight back against the insurgents, which may have signaled to ISIS that the government lacks the manpower and resources to defend itself against the group’s advances.

Amid reports that the US is sending F-16s to Iraq, ISIS fighters seized a massive stockpile of weapons and vehicles, which likely included munitions supplied by the United States. The infamous Chechen jihadi fighter Omar al-Shishani was depicted in a photograph on Twitter examining a US-provided Humvee which may have been seized during the attack. The loss of US-supplied weapons to insurgents raises questions as to whether or not the Iraqi government has the ability to keep advanced American weaponry from falling into the wrong hands.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also referred to as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, claims to be an independent state representing Iraq and Syria, but is unrecognized by international bodies and is considered a rebel group by the Iraqi government. ISIS now controls a significant portion of land in the region, encompassing sections of eastern Syria and western Iraq, and plans to capture the Levant region in the future. Prime Minister Maliki has announced that security forces will be mobilized to combat the invasion.

The sudden seizure of such a large city has shocked observers, causing experts to reassess the strength of ISIS’ fighters. Also, the fact that government forces fled in advance of the attack calls into question the loyalty of Maliki’s soldiers and police officers, some of whom might have had sympathies for the insurgents.