Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SUPERPOWERS
Blind man's bluff
by Arnaud De Borchgrave, Upi Editor At Large
Washington DC (UPI) Nov 13, 2014


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

President Barack Obama evidently has learned little from the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan. And even less about the 16-year-war in Vietnam. As for the Korean War, it might be worth remembering the U.S. Army is still there after 64 years.

The 13-year Afghan war, designed to punish and eliminate Taliban for its support for al-Qaida following 9/11, is grinding down after well over $1 trillion spent, 2,250 U.S. killed and 19,000 wounded.

And what happened to Taliban? As the U.S. kept shrinking its presence, Taliban kept expanding.

As POTUS plunges back into Iraq with U.S. military advisers in the fight against the spreading Islamic State cancer, U.S. generals are warning that we must reckon on a multi-year commitment.

U.S. air power coupled with military advisers but without U.S. ground troops cannot do much without a muscular Iraqi army. Iraq once had such a force but it was disbanded following the U.S. invasion of 2003 to depose Saddam Hussein and neutralize his nuclear arsenal.

The arsenal turned out to be figment of a defector's imagination, swallowed hook, line and sinker by U.S. intelligence.

Russia and China, meanwhile, are edging cautiously to a de facto alliance as the one-time U.S. global giant has opted once again for the quicksands of Iraq, where Iran now appears to have gained the upper hand.

President Obama evidently believes that he has put the U.S. relationship with China back on track with a long-range deal to cope with their respective carbon polluters. The U.S. agrees to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, and China will try to reach peak emissions by 2030 before reducing.

Before the ink was dry, Republican spokesmen warned such a deal would be blocked by their newly elected majority in both houses of Congress.

"It is the latest example of the president's crusade against affordable, reliable energy that is already hurting jobs and squeezing middle-class families," said House Speaker John Boehner.

For the immediate future, China can see the U.S. saddled with a dysfunctional system of government, crumbling national infrastructure, while at the same time doubling down in Iraq.

As President Xi Jinping reads the U.S. tea leaves, public opinion is more interested in what Washington plans to do about crumbling national infrastructure than the much-touted "pivot to Asia."

For detached observers, both foreign and domestic, there now appears to be a pivot back to a no-win war in Iraq.

China and Russia now see the U.S. giant saddled with a gridlocked dysfunctional system in a new world where national sovereignty demonstrates daily it does not have the answers for transnational crime and terrorism.

Retired U.S. army lieutenant general Daniel R. Bolger, the author of "Why We Lost," argues that another surge in Iraq cannot win the day against IS. "If insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, I think we're there."

The alternative to another defeat, Bolger argues, is to keep harassing the Islamic state, degrade its forces, and play the long game at the lowest possible cost.

This, too, sounds like recipe for another military boondoggle with the worst aspects of the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghan wars.

President Obama evidently believes the U.S. finally has a reliable partner in Baghdad. The notion that the al-Abadi government is now inclusive and reliable is greeted with derision.

Government-sanctioned violence against Sunnis continues in Diyala province where they suffered torture and executions. And in northern Iraq, Shiite militia are seen as almost as bad as IS.

U.S. supplied weapons in Baghdad are known to have been used by Shiite factions to suppress Sunni militia. An inclusive government in the Iraqi capital is still a fantasy in some intelligence reports.

This week, the Iraqi military announced dramatic changes in its command structure to fight corruption. Twenty-six senior military officers were removed from their commands. Ten were forced to retire, including Army Chief of Staff Babacar Zebari.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says the time has come to restore the public's confidence in the military after a string of defeats required drastic action against corruption, which he described as big a threat as terrorism.

The most concerned countries about Iraq in the Middle East are Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. But they all want the U.S. to do the job for them.

In bottom line Arabic, isn't the time at hand for the U.S. to tell its Arab and regional friends and allies that history beckons?

We are told they are all fearful of extremist Islamist backlashes on their home fronts? Egyptian cleric Mahmoud Shaaban says yes to dialogue with IS and no to fighting it "and wreak vengeance upon the treacherous Americans, wherever they may be."

But wouldn't this be a lot more serious if IS were allowed to prevail in Iraq?


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SUPERPOWERS
Ukraine says preparing for combat in face of Russian build-up
Donetsk, Ukraine (AFP) Nov 12, 2014
Ukraine said Wednesday it was readying for fresh combat operations in the war-torn east as NATO backed claims that Moscow has poured columns of military hardware across the border. Kiev's warning will fuel fears of a return to all-out conflict despite a two-month-old ceasefire deal which has halted fighting along much of the frontline but not stopped shelling at strategic flashpoints. D ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
After Mars, India space chief aims for the moon

China examines the three stages of lunar test run

China gears up for lunar mission after round-trip success

NASA's LRO Spacecraft Captures Images of LADEE's Impact Crater

SUPERPOWERS
Comet lander 'working well', but may be on slope

China Exclusive: China developing Mars rover

UI instrument sees comet-created atmosphere on Mars

Mars Orbiter MAVEN Demonstrates Relay Prowess

SUPERPOWERS
S3 concludes first phase of drop-tests

Weather delays Orion's move to launch pad, rescheduled for Tuesday

Google takes over NASA airport in Silicon Valley

Orion Hoisted Atop Delta 4 Launcher

SUPERPOWERS
China publishes Earth, Moon photos taken by lunar orbiter

China plans to launch about 120 applied satellites

Mars probe to debut at upcoming air show

China to build global quantum communication network in 2030

SUPERPOWERS
Astronaut turned Twitter star, Reid Wiseman, back on Earth

Three-man multinational space crew returns to Earth

International Space Station astronauts put GoPro camera in a floating ball of water

ISS Agency Heads Issue Joint Statement

SUPERPOWERS
Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday

SpaceX chief Musk confirms Internet satellite plan

Orbital recommits to NASA Commercial program and Antares

Japanese Satellites Orbited as Part of Russia-Ukraine Program

SUPERPOWERS
Follow the Dust to Find Planets

NASA's TESS mission cleared for next development phase

ADS primes ESA's CHEOPS to detect and classify exoplanets

NASA's TESS Mission Cleared for Next Development Phase

SUPERPOWERS
New form of crystalline order good for thermoelectric uses

Supercomputing progress slows

Paris pop-up store immortalises shoppers with 3D printed figurine

How Satellite Laser Ranging Got its Start 50 Years Ago




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.