Posted by Tina
High priority…on President Obama’s orders military strikes in Syria have begun. Appearing before cameras today the President made it clear that “this is not America’s fight alone.” He promised a “broad coalition” would fight this fight; he delivered “Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Qatar,” stating, “the Middle East are rejecting ISIL and standing up for the peace and security that the people of the region and the world deserve.” He also delivered the unifying message that, “America is always stronger when we stand united. And that unity sends a powerful message to the world that we will do what’s necessary to defend our country.”
I hope this war plan works. That hope is not supported by confidence. It bothers me that so many military men believe this cannot be done without boots on the ground. The strikes were “very successful,” according to Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby. CNN reports:
The strikes came in three waves, with coalition partners participating in the latter two, Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville Jr. said Tuesday. The first wave, which mostly targeted the Khorasan Group, started at 5:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. ET Monday) and involved U.S. ships firing missiles into eastern and northern Syria.
The second wave, 30 minutes later, involved planes striking northern Syria, with targets including ISIS headquarters, training camps and combat vehicles. The third wave, begun shortly after 7 a.m., involved planes targeting ISIS training camps and combat vehicles in eastern Syria, Mayville said.
While the military can’t comment in detail about future plans, the strikes “were only the beginning,” Kirby added. say this strike is only the beginning.
Let’s hope and pray whatever further plans are in store they do the job
I cannot help asking, whether our media and the President’s party members and followers will ask the questions asked of George W. Bush:
Why haven’t you tried diplomacy first and given peace a chance?
Why didn’t you seek wider approval from Congress?
Six nations isn’t a coalition, Mr. President. Why didn’t you work to get more support from other nations in the world?
Isn’t this war really just about oil?
Ed Morrisey of Hot Air highlights a butt covering NYT headline: “On second thought, Bush did pull together a coalition on Iraq.”
Morrisey provides the Bush coalition of nations list:
Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palau, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. Noticeably absent are major powers-France, for example-that were members of the coalition that overturned Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in 1991. …
Other countries have not been named publicly but are likely members of the coalition. They include Israel, as well as several Arab states that are providing bases or other assistance to the war: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt. …
To what extent have non-American and non-British coalition forces joined the war effort?
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, in an op-ed on Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, wrote that the Australian Navy is supporting coalition troops and clearing mines, Polish special forces are defending an oil platform, a Danish submarine is patrolling nearby waters, and “Czech and Slovak special chemical- and biological-weapons response forces” are standing by to respond to bio-warfare attacks.
In addition, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE have sent 8,000 troops to Kuwait in a largely symbolic effort to help defend that country. They do not have a combat role.
What about other coalition members?
Rice wrote that they are providing “supplies, logistical and intelligence support, basing and over-flight rights, and humanitarian and reconstruction aid.”
I’s time to give Gorge W. Bush his due!
High priority…global warming…John Kerry, Secretary of State.