"Baghdazi"

Update: It was inevitable that the US would become engaged in Iraq again to prevent ISIS from toppling what remains of the Baghdad government. Carrier aircraft from the George H.W. Bush struck artillery units attacking Kurdish troops near Erbil today. Help for Iraq included humanitarian air drops of food and medical supplies. The administration became alarmed when ISIS succeeded in defeat Kurdish troops and seized a strategic dam on the Tigris.  Kurdish officials pointed out they were outgunned by the militants who are making effective use of American weapons left behind by retreating Iraqi security forces. The Mosul dam is the country's largest providing electricity for Mosul and controls water supply for a large area of northern Iraq. The dam could be used as a weapon, unleashing a 65 foot tidal wave down the Tigris River if it is breached. Undoubtably the dam is more valuable to ISIS as a means of generating revenue from water and electricity sales. The US spent $30m refurbishing the Mosul dam. Militants are also fighting to capture the second-largest Haditha dam in Anbar Province; it is still under control of government forces. There are US troops on the ground in training and security functions, but it will not be long before they begin fighting a war against ISIS if it continues to make progress towards overthrowing the US supported central government. Those readers old enough to remember Vietnam will recall that this is exactly how American soldiers got mired in another civl war, far away and not so long ago.

28.07.14 Yes, readers we are witnessing the end of American Empire in the Middle East; not that it was ever firmly established there. A decade and more of fighting has revealed just how out-of-bounds the neocons and warmongers were when they drove the United States onto the road of dubious global hegemony based on oil-fueled military might. The latest writing on the wall: US persons are fleeing the shores of Tripoli as fighting between rival factions in the Libyan capital renders it too dangerous for them to remain. Marines protected the convoys of fleeing hacks on the ground while F-16s flew shotgun in the sky. Two US warships were stationed offshore to support the marine force if necessary. The Tripoli airport has been shut down by fierce combat between the two most powerful militias of the many contending for the spoils of what once was a developing nation with an intact infrastructure if not a completely rational national leader. So the evacuation on Saturday proceed overland to Tunisia, a five hour drive.

The phrase "civil war" is applied with alarming frequency to Central Asia. The de facto Islamic State in Iraq is expelling Christians from it's territory a few highway exits away from the hapless central government in Baghdad. The group formerly known as ISIS may be planning a hit-and-run offensive on Baghdad itself according to US military experts.  Ukraine is fighting desperately against Russian-armed separatists to hang on to two populous eastern provinces; that war has claimed its first international casualties in the shoot down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17*. Hamas and Israel are again engaged in their favorite pastime of killing each other (1000+ Gazans dead). Syria's full-blown civil war is in its third year with no end in sight. Even the once defeated Taliban is re-asserting its military power in Afghanistan as US forces leave that zone. Now, Libya is descending into the chaos amid continuous violence since NATO assisted Benghazi rebels in overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi. Libya has no noticeable national security force remaining, leaving the country subject to whichever rebel militia is strong enough to hold it. One group with ties to Al-Qaeda (Ansar al-Sharia) managed to attack and kill the American ambassador/resident CIA agent in 2012.

American political influence in the region has been radically reduced despite expenditure of tens of billions of dollars and several thousand lives. Disregarding the reflexive support of dependent Israel floating in a sea of hostile Mohammedans and NATO member Turkey only the tiny, rich oil sheikdom of Qatar is unequivocally in the US camp. Secretary Kerry put a brave face on the retreat to Tunis by claiming a willingness to re-establish formal relations on a "permanent basis" after the situation stabilizes. That is not going to be soon since entire cities like Derna are considered "no-go zones" by the US military. After the ouster of it's nationalist dictator, Libya was slated to become a safe haven for corporatists syphoning natural resources to the West. With the departure of the last symbols of American power, Libya is only safe for jihadists. Or as one insulting American exploiter in country put it, Libya has become "scumbag Woodstock"--from America, with love.

*One slight problem to pinning this tragic mistake on Russia.  Both sides in the Ukrainian civil war possess Buk mobile surface-to-air missiles.  The Pentagon claims it has a missile radar track originating in rebel held territory.