iraq – Page 3 – Moe Lane

Alleged ISIS laptop had a checklist for creating bioweapons.

Background: …well, read my friend and RedState colleague Aaron Gardner, who wrote on this subject himself (including stuff about the laptop mentioned below). But specifically… Syrian rebels (against pretty much both Assad and ISIS these days) reportedly found a laptop and handed it off to Foreign Policy magazine. Said laptop apparently turned out to have quite a number of alarming files in it. How alarming? Well, FP is calling it “The Laptop of Doom:”

The laptop’s contents turn out to be a treasure trove of documents that provide ideological justifications for jihadi organizations — and practical training on how to carry out the Islamic State’s deadly campaigns. They include videos of Osama bin Laden, manuals on how to make bombs, instructions for stealing cars, and lessons on how to use disguises in order to avoid getting arrested while traveling from one jihadi hot spot to another.

But after hours upon hours of scrolling through the documents, it became clear that the ISIS laptop contains more than the typical propaganda and instruction manuals used by jihadists. The documents also suggest that the laptop’s owner was teaching himself about the use of biological weaponry, in preparation for a potential attack that would have shocked the world.

Continue reading Alleged ISIS laptop had a checklist for creating bioweapons.

Rachel Maddow, neocon.

Just as a reminder: I’m a neocon myself.

Of course I wrote that with malice aforethought. What’s the point of this gig if I can’t insert a needle here or there? That doesn’t detract from the slightly dark humor coming from this appearance of Maddow on MSNBC *:

Rachel Maddow made a rare daytime appearance on MSNBC Wednesday, sitting down with Ezra Klein, who was filling in for Alex Wagner, to talk about the possibility of a Congressional vote to authorize airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Referring a report from The Hill quoting unnamed aides on the Left who don’t want Congress to vote on the issue, Maddow diagnosed a severe case of “Democratic wuss-itude.”

The Hill quoted anonymous sources, who said it would be politically “stupid” for Obama to put Democratic Congress members in the position of having to vote for military action in Syria or Iraq. Sen.Tim Kaine (D-VA), who been pushing for vote, said, “The notion of, ‘Well, we don’t want to cast a hard vote before a midterm because it might be unpopular,’ that’s the job we volunteered for.”

Maddow imitated Congress’ position on the matter, saying, “Please let us keep complaining from the peanut gallery and throwing stuff. Please don’t actually make us be the decision makers on this, which the Constitution says we ought to be.”

Continue reading Rachel Maddow, neocon.

US ratchets up bombing campaign in Iraq; Kurds retaking parts of Mosul Dam.

I think that the bolded part (and bolding mine) is probably the most significant takeaway from this story:

Using a “mix of fighter, bomber, attack and remotely piloted aircraft,” the U.S. conducted 14 strikes against ISIS targets near the Mosul dam in northern Iraq.

The Sunday strikes were the first reported use of land-based bombers in the campaign. Previously, most of the strikes had been conducted by a mix of fighter jets and drones.

The strikes represented an uptick in the air campaign, which was initially authorized to help alleviate the humanitarian suffering by Yazidis stuck on Mt. Sinjar and protect U.S. personnel and property in Erbil.

…because that implies a decision to make strategic decisions involving combating ISIS. Bombing jihadis at the Mosul Dam is an excellent idea; it’s also, as Time magazine notes, an expansion of the administration’s self-imposed mission for Iraq. Continue reading US ratchets up bombing campaign in Iraq; Kurds retaking parts of Mosul Dam.

CIA now directly arming Kurds.

When this came out, it was a ‘question’ who was doing it….

The Obama administration has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic militants in northern Iraq, senior U.S. officials said today.

Previously, the U.S. had insisted on only selling arms to the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the Kurdish peshmerga fighters had been losing ground to Islamic State (IS) fighters in recent weeks.

U.S. air strikes have been key to redressing the balance over weekend, allowing Kurdish forces to retake two towns yesterday in one of their first victories since the uprising began in June.

Continue reading CIA now directly arming Kurds.

Best to grab the Kurds as our client-state now, what-what?

Ross Douthat makes a decent case for formalizing the Kurds’ status as an American client state* – basically, he’s arguing that the combination of supporting an existing relationship dovetails neatly with our instinctive dislike of seeing people being eaten by monsters** – but there’s a practical reason for doing so as well. Basically, if we don’t do it, somebody else will. Most likely, Turkey.

And Turkey is… a special situation right now. The guy running it is a bit… well. Erm. He’s the kind of guy that, if he was running the place back when I was a kid, the best that we*** could have said about him would have been Well, at least Edrogan’s not a Commie. I don’t think that we want him to be the Kurds’ quartermaster. It would be… contraindicated. Continue reading Best to grab the Kurds as our client-state *now*, what-what?

Quote of the Day, The Wrong Two Dirty Little Words Being Conjured For The Antiwar Left edition.

The Hill:

The president’s expansion of the U.S. military mission in Iraq is conjuring up two dirty little words for anti-war Democrats: Mission creep.

The actual “two dirty little words” that should be conjured for antiwar Democrats? Shut up. No, not from me*: from President Obama. The antiwar movement still apparently has this ridiculous delusion that their relationship with the mainstream Democratic party is on the usual patron/client model. Which is to say: Establishment Democrats get the antiwar movement’s monetary and electoral support, and in exchange they give the antiwar movement things. That’s theoretical, of course: the reality is that the ‘relationship’ is more like You will attack my enemies, curs, or I will whip you. Always has been, before Barack Obama made the colossal mistake of maybe kinda trying to treat the antiwar movement like they were made up of people who were really real. Continue reading Quote of the Day, The Wrong Two Dirty Little Words Being Conjured For The Antiwar Left edition.

We have now started air strikes in Iraq.

The first of probably many.

U.S. jet fighters hit artillery being used by the militant group called the Islamic State in northern Iraq on Friday, the first of what is expected to be a series of American strikes meant to halt the Sunni extremist advance on the Kurdish capital of Erbil, the Pentagon said.

The U.S. F/A-18 jet fighters dropped 500 pound laser-guided bombs on mobile-artillery positions outside Erbil, said Pentagon press secretary, Rear. Adm. John Kirby.

I don’t know why, but I was struck by the utter inanity of this particular Boing Boing article on the topic. I won’t subject you to the foul-mouthed* text**; suffice it to say that they almost seem surprised that we’re going back. I’m not sure why: even back in 2011 it was obvious that our abandonment of Iraq was going to come back to haunt us. There’s not a single rational or knowledgeable person out there who couldn’t have predicted this, in other words. The only question was how long it was going to be before American re-intervention would be necessary. Continue reading We have now started air strikes in Iraq.

So we’re doing airstrikes in Iraq now.

Sorry about the split reporting, but everybody’s at the RS Gathering and news is going on. Specifically: we’re doing airdrops to support Yazidis refugees. And apparently airstrikes to dissuade ISIS/ISIL. And hopefully we’re going to expand that last bit to give the Kurds some assistance. And… look, we’re going to end up going back to Iraq. I think Barack Obama has finally realized that losing the war there will be a disaster for the country (my major concern), the Democratic party (his party’s major concern), and his future speaker’s fees (guess).

UN official: ISIS planning widespread female genital mutilation in Mosul, Iraq.

Barbarians (if the story is true, of course):

A top UN official in Iraq has said the Sunni Islamist group Isis controlling the city of Mosul is seeking to impose female genital mutilation.

All females aged 11 and 46 in the northern city must undergo the procedure, according to an Isis edict, UN official Jacqueline Badcock said.

She said the unprecedented decree was of grave concern.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m pretty much at the point where I want our government to go tell the Kurds that they can simply keep whatever territory they take back from ISIS. As I recall, Mosul is traditional Kurdish territory, and clearly it could use a change in ownership. And that’s even if this particular story turns out to be false: we already know that ISIS is committing war crimes. I see no reason why they should have free rein to commit any more.

Via Hot Air.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: You would think that the Western feminist movement would be the first in line to slam the butt of a rifle into the face of radical Islamist terrorism.

The central Iraqi government wants the Kirkuk oil fields bacHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Admittedly, that’s how Hot Air put it, not the article below:

On Friday, the Kurds seized two major oil fields and said they would use some of the production for domestic purposes. The move has intensified a bitter dispute with Baghdad, and tensions with Western countries determined not to see Iraq fall apart.

But the central government’s weak hand, coupled with the pesh merga’s consolidation of their gains and the apparent popular support for the Kurds’ enlargement of their territory, will make it hard to roll back the changes.

…but it’s still true that the central government does want to resume control over the territory that the Kurds have, ah, expanded into; and it’s equally true that the idea that that’s going to happen is the funniest dang thing that I’ve read today. Let me just establish, for the record …No. Even if the country doesn’t fall apart, the Kurds will still see no reason why they should let Baghdad get back control of the Kirkuk oil fields, given that Baghdad will just resume mismanaging the money and the Kurds already have Turkish buyers lined up for that precious, precious crude. And as the WaPo article notes, the inhabitants in the area in question have a keen sense of priorities: Continue reading The central Iraqi government wants the Kirkuk oil fields bacHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!