U.S. to Begin 'Direct Action on the Ground' in Iraq, Syria

[DaveFagan]

They weren't considered illegal prior to the UN, they were declaration of wars against the country itself.

Why did we declare war against Libya, Iraq, and Syria? Did Congress do that?

 

[DaveFagan]

The UN is a joke. They value national sovereignty over human rights. They have no true power. In short...who care what they want? Basically they are like an operator for countries who need to communicate.

Right! UN is a joke. If we want to kill a bunch of people, we should just go ahead and do it, eh?

 

[CanadaJohn]

If I understand the US constitution correctly, the President of the United States has the authority, unto himself, as Commander in Chief, to deploy troops anywhere in the world in order to protect the security of America and its citizens and as long as he doesn't declare it's a war, he doesn't require Congressional approval to do it.

No wonder Obama was so ready to agree to lifting the sequestration restrictions on military expenditures under the new deal with Congress.

 

[Shadowless]

I voted "other" because I am not sure if it is illegal, although I know that we shouldn't be militarily involved at all.

 

[American]

Why did we declare war against Libya, Iraq, and Syria? Did Congress do that?

I don't understand your question.

 

[WCH]

I'd rather carpet bomb the ME with tactical nukes than send another single American soldier there to die or be maimed.

We don't need anything they have.

 

[DaveFagan]

I'd rather carpet bomb the ME with tactical nukes than send another single American soldier there to die or be maimed.

We don't need anything they have.

I see what you mean. We've only been killing hundreds of thousands when we could and should be killing millions at a time. I might add that we may not have been invited to the MidEast. but, bottom line, that is where the OIL lies, eh? Is it legal then?

 

[HowardBThiname]

Is the USA gov't action Internationally illegal in these matters?

When it comes to the United States, international law does not supersede our own laws.

Obama is the President of Americans and his loyalty must be first and foremost to Americans. If the UN goes along - fine, but if it is in the best interest of Americans to do something the UN is opposed to - Obama must put America first.

George W. Bush has congressional permission to go to war in Iraq.

Obama did not have congressional permission to bomb Libya but he did so anyway, which violated the War Powers Resolution.

In Syria - we have a real mess. Much bigger than the Iraq mess, and compliments of this Administration. When the "freedom fighters" who were really terrorists challenged Assad in 2011, guess who started funding them? Obama and other Western allies.

The problem is - Syria, like Libya and Egypt are not ready for our type of government. We need to quit forcing them to evolve quicker than is natural.

But, we've been the Syria conflict from the start so boots on the ground, which is what they're doing, isn't anything new. Plus, Obama got funding from Congress to aid the rebel fighters, so he just might be able to go to war there legally. What the UN does or does not want is irrelevant.

My opinion? We need to get out of there. Now. With Russia and Iran both siding now with Assad, we could be in for a long proxy war that makes Vietnam look like a cat fight. Obama badly wants to overthrow Assad, but that could come at too high a price. We don't need a war against Russia.

 

[HowardBThiname]

I see what you mean. We've only been killing hundreds of thousands when we could and should be killing millions at a time. I might add that we may not have been invited to the MidEast. but, bottom line, that is where the OIL lies, eh? Is it legal then?

The oil isn't really a factor anymore. Have you noticed the price at the pump? Way down. That's because we cut our imports and we've bolstered our own production. We basically showed OPEC that they could take their blackmailing ways elsewhere. We weren't going to play by their rules anymore.

 

[DaveFagan]

The oil isn't really a factor anymore. Have you noticed the price at the pump? Way down. That's because we cut our imports and we've bolstered our own production. We basically showed OPEC that they could take their blackmailing ways elsewhere. We weren't going to play by their rules anymore.

The LOCAL USA petro problem is solved. Controlling the flow of Petro to Europe to keep them under our thumb is the Economic Spectrum of Full Spectrum Dominance. Oil and Gas pipelines are Geo-Political pressure points to maintain dominance. That's why we have scumbag allies like the Saudis.

 

[Sherman123]

404 - Page Not Found Carter: U.S. to Begin 'Direct Action on the Ground' in Iraq, Syria"Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday that the U.S. will begin "direct action on the ground" against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria, aiming to intensify pressure on the militants as progress against them remains elusive. "http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iraq-we-didnt-ask-u-s-ground-operations-n452756Iraq: We Didn't Ask for U.S. Ground Operations"The Iraqi government said Wednesday it didn't ask for — and doesn't need — the "direct action on the ground" promised by the Pentagon. The revelation came a day after Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the U.S. may carry out more unilateral ground raids"Since the UN, Iraq and Syria have not authorized or requested this action, does it constitute an illegal invasion?Does the fact we devastated Libya without UN or Libyan authorization establish a precedent for this action?Does the fact we devastated Iraq without UN or Iraqi authorization establish a precedent for this action?Could these actions be War Crimes?Hundreds of thousands dead in Libya, hundreds of thousands dead in Iraq, hundreds of thousands dead in Syria, and it's all OK?Has anyone noticed that these sand boxes sit on OIL?If wars cost trillions of dollars, are they just another cost of doing business?Who's the business?Is the USA gov't action Internationally illegal in these matters?

Fantastic! I'm glad we're finally becoming more involved.

 

[DaveFagan]

The oil isn't really a factor anymore. Have you noticed the price at the pump? Way down. That's because we cut our imports and we've bolstered our own production. We basically showed OPEC that they could take their blackmailing ways elsewhere. We weren't going to play by their rules anymore.

The price is down because the Saudis won't cut production to enforce OPEC desired quotas. Perhaps as a favor to USA military interests to hurt the Russian OIL industry. If the Saudis cut production by 20%, a big price rise will happen. All I'm saying is that I think the Saudis are in the driver's seat as regards OIL pricing. Damn shame.

 

[DaveFagan]

Reviewing the posts of those who do not think it is "illegal" reveals that they think the USA should be able to unilaterally do whatever it wants. They do not believe in the UN. They do not approve of diplomacy. They think the USA has plenty of right to attack even though not one of the three Nations mentioned made one provocative move against the USA. They seem to think it is OK if we support good ISIS "rebels" that are as common as hen's teeth or frog hairs. Cut and dried. We are a WAR Nation with lots of WAR cheerleaders, no just cause required.

 

[US Conservative]

Weve had boots on the ground there for months.

When Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Tuesday that the U.S. would begin "direct action" against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq, it sounded like a new mission for U.S. forces in a country where the president has repeatedly insisted Americans would not be engaged in combat operations.

But America's special operations forces have been engaging in these kinds of missions for several months, particularly in the Kurdish-controlled provinces in northern Iraq. And the special operations forces have already built up an extensive infrastructure to support these activities. This casts doubt on the official Pentagon statements that last week’s raid was “a unique circumstance.”
New U.S. Combat Mission in Iraq Is Not New - Bloomberg View

 

[ecofarm]

I see! Fund the Islamic fundies with one hand and fight them (or pretend to) with the other?

CT section is down the hall.

 

[HowardBThiname]

The price is down because the Saudis won't cut production to enforce OPEC desired quotas. Perhaps as a favor to USA military interests to hurt the Russian OIL industry. If the Saudis cut production by 20%, a big price rise will happen. All I'm saying is that I think the Saudis are in the driver's seat as regards OIL pricing. Damn shame.

I agree - the Saudis are in the driver's seat in a number of ways. OPEC, as a whole, is running a glut to force US drilling companies to shutter their wells by pumping so much oil that the price per barrel is at an all-time low. So far, US companies have held on - but it's only by a thread. We are the ones that put billions of dollars into the hands of Middle Eastern dictators. Europe needs OPEC oil - we don't.

We created those cavemen in designer jeans.

You're also right about wanting to make it hard on Russia, which is another place we messed and we shouldn't have. The US and the EU were behind the overthrow of Ukraine's duly-elected president and Russia busted us doing it by recording Victoria Nuland's phone call during the Russian Olympics. Our meddling set the stage for the Crimea to secede from Ukraine and now we're all butt hurt over it and we've just about restarted the Cold War.

This meddling now, though, in Syria, is dangerous. People who denounce the Iraq War might not realize that Syria has already suffered double the casualties since 2011. It's a bloodbath there and we made it happen by funding the rebels/terrorists. We gave ISIS the weapons they now have, which means we gave them the power they now have.

It was a massive mistake but that's what Obama's done since day one in office - make mistakes in the Middle East.

I'm not sure any candidate running on either side will change that, though.

You are right to want us to stay out of the fray in Syria but we're in too deeply already it appears. As I said before - this has all the makings of another Vietnam.

This is mission creep. This is only the beginning. Our President, the guy they awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, is as big a warlord as any of them. Talk about mistaken expectations, huh?

 

[DaveFagan]

CT section is down the hall.

No CT here. The CIA has spent a billion dollars training Islamic Fundies in Jordan and sends them to Syria where they mysteriously merge with jabhat al Nusra/al Qeda. Nobody in their right mind would refer to al Qeda as "moderates." ISIS/ISIL, al Qeda, Nusra all seem to have very nice US made weapons. They probably get them from Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia gets them from us. Has that nasty Syria been attacking the USA, or not? What's the provocation that requires war?

 

[DaveFagan]

Weve had boots on the ground there for months.

When Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Tuesday that the U.S. would begin "direct action" against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq, it sounded like a new mission for U.S. forces in a country where the president has repeatedly insisted Americans would not be engaged in combat operations.

But America's special operations forces have been engaging in these kinds of missions for several months, particularly in the Kurdish-controlled provinces in northern Iraq. And the special operations forces have already built up an extensive infrastructure to support these activities. This casts doubt on the official Pentagon statements that last week’s raid was “a unique circumstance.”
New U.S. Combat Mission in Iraq Is Not New - Bloomberg View

Hot dam y'all, ah swar. You mean the gov't has been lying to us. Again!

 

[braindrain]

Are you saying it is OK to invade any Nation you want to? No UN ok. No National request. No Congressional authorization. We have been funding IS through the Pentagon to the acknowledged tune of $500 million and another $1 billion through the CIA. With that kind of money, you would think someone would be on our side. ISIS/ISIL has wound up with our money and our weapons and it is just a big coinky-dink, eh?

Got any thing to back up your claims.

It's funny how you do all this complaining about the US doing what you consider illegal but were all supportive of Russia invading Ukraine. In fact I can't remember a single time you had anything to say that wasn't negative towards the US or favorable towards Russia. Rather interesting.

 

[le bouffon]

I'd rather carpet bomb the ME with tactical nukes than send another single American soldier there to die or be maimed.

We don't need anything they have.

You do realize that many countries in the Middle East are fighting ISIS, right?

 

[DaveFagan]

Got any thing to back up your claims.

It's funny how you do all this complaining about the US doing what you consider illegal but were all supportive of Russia invading Ukraine. In fact I can't remember a single time you had anything to say that wasn't negative towards the US or favorable towards Russia. Rather interesting.

US Backing for ?Moderate? Syrian Rebels: Long Reported, Continually Forgotten
"That the US is arming and training Syrian rebels has been well-documented for over two years, yet Western media have historically suffered from a strange collective amnesia when reporting this fact. As Ian Sinclair noted last September in the Huffington Post ".......
"In mid-2012, the most influential newspaper in the world reported the US was helping to arm the rebels–a fact confirmed by subsequent stories in the New York Times itself, as well as numerous reports in other mainstream news outlets around the world."..........
"The Guardian story cited the Pentagon in acknowledging that “a small group of US special forces and military planners had been to Jordan during the summer to help…train selected rebel fighters.”

Two days later, Reuters (3/10/13) cited a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel (3/10/13), “quoting what it said were participants and organizers,” that “Americans are training Syrian anti-government fighters in Jordan”:.........
"Even political puff pieces let this trope go unchallenged, as in Politico‘s “Marco Rubio Sharpens Commander-in-Chief Pitch” (2/20/15), which said Rubio

was right, he said, when he warned the US to immediately arm moderate Syrian rebels two years ago–before the radicals in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant began beheading hostages and declaring a caliphate.

But this is the exact opposite of reality: Rubio was “warning” the US ought to do something he, as a member of Congress, very well knew they’ve already had been doing for some time. And, of course, Politico makes no mention of the CIA’s ongoing operation of arming and training Syrian rebels, allowing this nonsensical talking point to go unchallenged.
"

I reccommend that you read the entire article. I do support Russia in Ukraine and Syria. The USA initiated coup in Ukraine has bankrupted that Nation, its' pensioners, its' labor force, and now the IMF wants permission to loan to Nations in default on sovereign obligations, specifically Ukriane. The USA has sure helped them, eh?

In Syria the USA just destroyed the Power Plant for Alleppo. Now there is no water in Alleppo. Cholera will follow, lots of misery. Syria had a share agreement with the rebels holding the plant and didn't destroy it to save its' citizens. The USA is inflicting its' peculiar brand of warfare on the citizens of Alleppo. We did the same thing in Iraq and how did that work for us. These wars are about energy and hegemony, not freedom, liberty, democracy or justice. That, and they turn a very tidy profit for the Military Industrial Corpora;te Complex, don't ya' know. Apparently you don't!

 

[cpwill]

404 - Page Not Found Carter: U.S. to Begin 'Direct Action on the Ground' in Iraq, Syria"Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday that the U.S. will begin "direct action on the ground" against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria, aiming to intensify pressure on the militants as progress against them remains elusive. "http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iraq-we-didnt-ask-u-s-ground-operations-n452756Iraq: We Didn't Ask for U.S. Ground Operations"The Iraqi government said Wednesday it didn't ask for — and doesn't need — the "direct action on the ground" promised by the Pentagon. The revelation came a day after Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the U.S. may carry out more unilateral ground raids"Since the UN, Iraq and Syria have not authorized or requested this action, does it constitute an illegal invasion?Does the fact we devastated Libya without UN or Libyan authorization establish a precedent for this action?Does the fact we devastated Iraq without UN or Iraqi authorization establish a precedent for this action?Could these actions be War Crimes?Hundreds of thousands dead in Libya, hundreds of thousands dead in Iraq, hundreds of thousands dead in Syria, and it's all OK?Has anyone noticed that these sand boxes sit on OIL?If wars cost trillions of dollars, are they just another cost of doing business?Who's the business?Is the USA gov't action Internationally illegal in these matters?

It reminds me a bit of President Carter, going into office with naïve expectations about how if he was just nice to others, the world would right itself, and then having those dreams crushed, and ending up more hawkish at the end of his administration than he'd been at the beginning.


Anywho, no, it's not illegal to kill ISIL, although we need a new AUMF.

 

[Ikari]

**** the UN, all he needs in my book is a declaration of war from Congress. You saw how getting UN approval went last time, it made zero difference in the criticism received. They have terrorists running terrorism committees and human rights violators running human rights committees. It's a ****ing clown show.

If Congress actually declared war, then yes. But they won't, and we've already done this song and dance before. Didn't turn out well. Less we actually have a plan this time that can work, we're not going to do anything positive this time either.

Time to learn that our interventionism backfires most of the time.

 

[American]

If Congress actually declared war, then yes. But they won't, and we've already done this song and dance before. Didn't turn out well. Less we actually have a plan this time that can work, we're not going to do anything positive this time either.

Time to learn that our interventionism backfires most of the time.

There's no doubt they'll be coming over here, and a conventional military approach won't work on US soil. These guys have funding too.

 

[blackjack50]

National sovereignty and human rights come hand in hand.

I wish that there the case...China?