Tag: isis

Bruce Braley (D CAND, Iowa-SEN)… did *not* vote to authorize air strikes against ISIS.

I don’t care what he says here: Bruce Braley did not make the vote that he says that he made.

As in “I recently had the opportunity to vote to give the President limited authority to begin strikes against terrorists in Iraq and Syria.”  Except… that there hasn’t been a vote.  The President simply up and did it, because he says that the 2002 AUMF covers his actions with regard to Syria and Iraq.

Less than two months after President Barack Obama’s administration called for repeal of the Congressional authorization for the 2002 Iraq war, he is formally citing the 12-year-old measure as a basis for newly expanded airstrikes against the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant.

…Now, I happen to agree with the President on this, but I’m not going to pretend that there’s some kind of new Congressional authorization that covers this.  Why did Bruce Braley?  – Because what Bruce Braley DID vote for was something considerably less bomb-related: Continue reading Bruce Braley (D CAND, Iowa-SEN)… did *not* vote to authorize air strikes against ISIS.

2012: Joe Biden slams Mitt Romney for… being right about Iraq, Syria, and Russia.

I honestly and truly do not like to tell people that the best thing that they can do for the Republic is not to vote.

But…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw6I7MWYKV4

…if Joe Biden’s argument here swayed you – if the thought that Mitt Romney, if elected, would try to:

  • Reverse our withdrawal of troops from Iraq (there’s a heck of a lot of people in ISIS-held territory that wish we were still there);
  • Stop using a fixed timetable for our withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan (I believe that ISIS has shown us all why that’s a bad idea);
  • Engage in combat in Syria (note that Joe Biden assumed that we’d be fighting the fascists there, not giving them [and the theocrats in Iran] tacit assistance);
  • And confront Russia (who is merrily pushing everywhere they can, right now)

– and you thought that this was all a bad thing; then I will submit to you that in voting for Obama-Biden you made the single most foolish, uninformed, and downright dangerous Presidential vote that you are likely to make in your life.  And while I absolutely respect the right of you to exercise your franchise – better men and women than either  you or I died to protect that right – it is my humble request that you refrain from damaging the country that we both love in the future.  I have kids, you see. I don’t want to see them worse off than I was, at their age.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Via

Alleged WMD (chlorine gas) attack in Iraq.

Just now hearing of this.

No other news on this.

Am trying my best not to go into full-blown wrath over this. Wrath gets in the way of proper negative reinforcement of bad behaviors, and original story may not be true.

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.

Tweet of the Day, …I Roll To Disbelieve! I ROLL TO DISBELIEVE! Edition

I hope to God this isn’t as bad as it sounds.

Because if you don’t have a strategy, here’s a free one: shut your mouth until you do.

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.

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?

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.

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.