'Toontime: The Real Meaning of Useless

More: Washington, DC has almost zero credibility in the world, so no one including US Person really believed the Current Occupant when he said no American ground troops would be involved in fighting to save the Shia government of Nouri al-Maliki. Besides the zero credibility factor, a large part of the world is distracted by the World Cup soccer tournament hosted by Brazil where the poor live in cardboard boxes. As the zealous fighters of ISIS and their Sunni allies close in on Baghdad, alarm bells have gone off at the Pentagon and Langley. The prospect of Sunni fundamentalists controlling Iraq is just too terrible for Washington's security apparatus to contemplate. Two hundred and fifty combat ready troops will be posted to protect American assets including the hugely expensive US embassy located in the fortified "green zone". This decision was taken after the American trained and equipped Iraq army again proved it is no match for the "danger men" of ISIS when the terror group took the northern city of Tal Afar. Of course the decision to re-deploy combat personnel is the beginning of the slippery slope to full US reengagement if the Iraqis cannot get their act together, and Americans begin suffering casualties of war.

Secretary Kerry already has hinted that drones may be used to slow down what until now has been an unstoppable offensive by Sunni militants lead by the ISIS jihadis. The Baghdad government, with its back to the wall, granted US troops legal immunity in Iraq.  This was a sticking point in the negotiations to leave behind a significant US military presence. However, the British has already indicated they will bow out of the reoccurring nightmare of Iraq. Iran may take their place as the junior partner to US forces. General Soleimani, commander of Iran's elite Quds Force has consulting in Baghdad with Maliki's government. Beyond irony, in a mind bending twist of fate, US soldiers may find themselves fighting along Iranian personnel who only a few years ago were fighting against them; their common enemy being a Sunni terrorist organization supported and financed by a supposed US ally in the region, Saudi Arabia.

ISIS has managed to connect with its fighters in northern Syria from across the border in Iraq. It now controls major border crossing points. The al-Qaeda splinter group is using captured American vehicles to aid its ground advances. Humvees were used to capture several villages outside the town of Azaz close to the Turkish border. They were supplied to ISIS fighters in Syria from Iraq according to a British-based group observing the Syrian civil war. ISSI is also fighting some of its Sunni allies in Iraq. Members of the Naqshbandi Army, composed of former ruling Baath party members clashed with ISIS in Hawija for the third consecutive day.

credit: Bill Day
Wackydoodle axes: What kind of toothpaste does he use?

20.06.14 Give the Current Occupant credit for not reacting militarily to the inevitable in Iraq. The usefull idiot that got us into Iraq under false pretenses should shoulder the entire blame for what is occurring now. His invasion was unnecessary and even reckless given Saddam Hussein's unwillingness to tolerate foreign jihadists on his soil. The only thing the Charlatan achieved by invading Iraq was creating a power vacuum that could be displaced by militant Sunnis intent on recreating the Caliphate from map lines drawn in the desert dust. Iraq is caught up in an apparently endless, sectarian tit for tat. It was a catastrophic policy mistake to mire the United States in Iraq's disfunction by forcefully deposing Hussein--a mistake motivated by oil politics and fear of Iran. President 41st stopped at the Iraqi border for good reason. The best that can be done now is put paid in full to the entire debacle and reach a modus vivendi with regional power Iran.

On the road to Baghdad, ISIS is fighting for control of the huge Baiji oil refinery and the Tal Afar airport. Thought to number 10,000 fighters, ISIS grew out of an Al-Qaeda organization in Iraq and is led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Abu Bakr is deliberately obscure. Only two photos of him are authenticated [one below], and unlike other prominent al Qaeda leaders he does not appear in video messages. Reportedly he addresses his commanders wearing a mask earning him the nickname, "the invisible sheikh." Far from a romantic poseur, Abu Bakr's battlefield organization is ruthlessly effective. The US has posted a $10m reward for information leading to his capture or death. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has emerged as the true heir of Osama Bin Laden and the leading foe of the "Great Satan".