Announcing today he’d send 450 more U.S. advisors to Iraq, President Barack Obama signaled no change in U.S. policy toward the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Refusing to put U.S. boots on the ground, Barack disagreed with his Capitol Hill critics led by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), heading of the Armed Services Committtee, to put more U.S. boots on the ground to battle ISIS. Between now and the day the next president is sworn in Jan. 20, 2017, Obama has no plan of escalating U.S. involvement. Barack has no problem letting Democrats and Republicans debate before the election whether to re-litigate the Iraq War. Proving that politics make strange bedfellows, Obama agrees with GOP Tea Party conservative Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) refusing to put more U.S. boots on the ground. Obama and Paul think it’s not the U.S. responsibility to fight Iraq or Syria’s battles.
White House foreign policy experts can’t get its policy straight about toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Juggling many balls, the White House wants, on the one hand, to topple al-Assad, while, on the other hand, to fight ISIS that openly seeks to topple al-Assad. Using its powerful Beirut-based, Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, al-Assad fights for his life against Daesh [ISIS] in Oalamum on the rugged Syrian-Lebanese border. White House policy refuses to coordinate military activities against ISIS, especially discovering that Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah has been al-Assad only reliable ally fighting to save his Damscus government. “The battle with Daesh in Qalamum has begun, in the eastern [mountain] chain on the Syrian-Lebanese border,” said Nasrallah, proving al-Assad’s most reliable Shiite ally battling the Sunni-Wahhabi-Saudi-backed ISIS terror group.
Obama wants to avoid getting the U.S. drawn into a sectarian war, pitting Sunnis against Shiites, unsure what to do. While the White House policy is regime change in Damascus, the administration knows toppling al-Assad would hand Syira over to ISIS. Russian President Vladimir Putin remains a staunch ally of al-Assad, opposing U.S. and other Sunni groups’ efforts to topple al-Assad. “They [IS] began the fighting, but we will continue the battle,” said Nasrallah, showing al-Assad’s backing from Iran’s strongest Shiite militia. While a bitter enemy of Israel, Hexbollah serves as al-Assad’s ace-in-the-hole preventing a Sunni takeover of Damascus. White House officials nee a reality-check in Syria, before supporting a policy that would repeat the same mistake in Iraq in Syria. When former President George W. Bush toppled Saddam Hussein April 10, 2003, he turned loose the evil genie of radical Islam.
With the White House feverishly negotiating a nuke deal with Iran in Geneva, it doesn’t help matters battling Iran’s Lebanon-based militia in Syria. White House officials need to get the policy straight when it comes to regime change in Damascus. Regardless of the so-called 2011 Arab Spring that began the Sunni revolt against al-Assad’s Baathist rule, the U.S. must learn its lessons from Iraq. Soon-to-be official GOP presidential candidate former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush needs to get his story straight on Iraq. He’s only recently admitted, knowing what he knows now, he wouldn’t have toppled Saddam. Obama opposed the Iraq War authorization Oct. 10, 2002, paving the way for the March 20, 2003 Iraq War. Barack’s reluctance to battle ISIS with U.S. troops directly relates to the human and economic toll from the eight-year Iraq War, leaving the economy in shambles by 2007.
Given Hezbollah is the only viable Shiite ally battling ISIS to save al-Assad, the U.S. should reconsider its alliances to Sunni groups seeking to topple Damascus. When Baghdad was toppled April 10, 2003, Iraq descended into anarchy, with radical Sunni and Shiite groups battling for control. No one took ISIS seriously until their 2014 blitzkrieg that captured some 30% of Iraq and Syria. When Iraq’s oil-rich second largest city Mosul fell June 10, 2014, it became clear that the terrorist group was backed by more than it’s 42-year-old radical leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. More close inspection revealed the military was built from the ashes of Saddam’s Republican Guards, led by 72-year-old red-haired former Iraqi Gen. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. While seldomly mentioned, Saddam’s former Republican Guards have once against risen to seize back Iraq from its new Shiite masters.
Joining the Syrian army to battle ISIS, Hezbollah has been the only credible force battling the barbaric terrorist group now threatening Baghdad and Damascus. Before it’s too late, the White House needs to figure out whom it backs in Iraq and Syria. No matter how the White House detests al-Assad, Obama needs to heed what happened in Baghdad causing today’s Mideast chaos. Today’s announcement to send 450 more U.S. advisors to Iraq does little to change the outcome with ISIS. While it’s Barack’s call to not send U.S. troops, he should still have a coherent strategy to help stabilize Iraq and Syria. More discussions with Moscow and Iran would at least help clarify what’s become an untenable U.S. policy. Following Capitol Hill hawks, like McCain, to arm more Sunni groups to topple Damascus has already backfired, leaving the region in the grip of radical Islam.
