Boots on the Ground 06-14-14

   Late release

 

Pentagon orders aircraft carrier to Gulf to add Iraq military option

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an aircraft carrier moved into the Gulf on Saturday, readying it in case Washington decides to pursue a military option after insurgents overwhelmed a string of Iraqi cities this week and threatened Baghdad.

"The order will provide the Commander-in-Chief additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens and interests in Iraq," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The carrier USS George H.W. Bush, moving from the North Arabian Sea, will be accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun, the statement said. It added the ships were expected to complete their transit into the Gulf later on Saturday.

President Barack Obama said on Friday he needed several days to determine how the United States would help Iraq deal with the stunning advance of Islamist militants, who earlier this week seized several major Iraqi cities and appeared to have set their sights on the capital, Baghdad.

But the U.S. leader ruled out sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq, where over 4,000 U.S. soldiers died in the war that followed the 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, and said any intervention would be contingent on Iraqi leaders overcoming their longstanding political and sectarian divisions.

While the United States has already increased its surveillance assistance to Iraq, conducting drone flights at the request of the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Pentagon has also prepared a range of options for Obama to consider, including conducting air strikes.

Any stepped-up U.S. actions would be aimed at helping Iraq counter militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, who are seeking to establish an Islamic caliphate across much of Iraq and Syria

The USS George H.W. Bush is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the largest warships in the world, according to the U.S. Navy. They are powered by two nuclear reactors and can carry a crew of about 6,000.

In addition to fighter jets, helicopters and other aircraft, the ships are equipped with sophisticated anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.

Related : Obama rules OUT sending troops back into combat in Iraq but promises to review military options – including air strikes

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Terrorists Fly American Blackhawk Helicopter in Iraq

 

Really? We left Blackhawks in Iraq? Obama’s incompetence is beyond measure.
Check it out:
After the capture of Mosul by Islamist militants of ISIS rumors spread across social media for days that the Mosul airport contained a fleet of American loaned Blackhawk Helicopters given to security forces by the United States.
Today, the Islamist States of Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”) are confirming with the above image that they have indeed, seized control and have begun to operate at least one of these aircraft.
Iraqi officials are also confirming that at least one Blackhawk is now in the hands of ISIS militants and has already been used to attack military positions of the Maliki government.

Continue Reading on weaselzippers.us ...

In 2007, Romney Predicted Current Events In Iraq So Accurately He Must Have Had A Time Machine

At a campaign event in 2007, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney shared his views on what could happen in Iraq if the situation was not handled with care. He said:

“You could see in the Shia south, the Iranians reaching over and grabbing to take power. You could see in the Sunni northwest, the Al-Qaeda folks taking power and leadership in that area.”

“You could see the unrest among some of the Kurd populations and surrounding countries, perhaps destabilize the border of Turkey. And it’s even possible that you might think a regional conflict in the Middle East may occur.”

Romney’s predictions are so accurate, it’s almost eerie. And here’s why:
1. In the last 48 hours the Iranian government sent 2,000 troops to Iraq to help quell the current insurgency.
2. The Al-Qaeda linked group ISIS composed of Sunni militants have successfully captured the northwestern Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit.
3. The Arab Spring has created unrest in 17 nations with an Islamic majority.
I guess that’s what happens when you gaze into the crystal ball of common sense. You see things as they really are.
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Shocking Video Unearthed Obama Hypocrisy On Iraq Success

Analyst: Fall Of Baghdad Would Make Current Gas Prices ‘Look Like A Bargain’

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Oil industry analysts are warning a brewing civil war between Islamic militants in Iraq could potentially send gas prices soaring here in the Southland.
KNX 1070′s Pete Demetriou reports the price of crude oil has shot up to $107 per barrel – the highest in 10 months – on reports that soldiers with the al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Syria captured two towns in an ethnically mixed province northeast of Baghdad.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped three-tenths of a cent Friday to $4.129, its lowest since April 7, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. While that price is nearly 13 cents more than one year ago, most experts are predicting a relatively tame 7 to 10 cents a gallon increase in the next two weeks as the summer season kicks off.
But any reduction in the flow of Iraqi crude due to the ongoing Islamic insurgency in the northern Iraq cities of Mosul and Tikrit could have worldwide economic consequences, according to oil industry analyst Phill Flynn, who said speculators are watching for the worst-case scenario.
“They think that Baghdad will not fall and that will be a more spirited defense of that city,” Flynn said. “But if it does fall and if the terrorists move further south, the price you’re paying at the pump today is gonna look like a bargain in a couple weeks.”
CBS News reports that a cellphone video from the Kurdish-controlled city of Irbil in northern Iraq showed the Islamic militants putting on a show of force in Mosul, parading vehicles captured from Iraq’s military through the country’s second biggest city.
A fighter using a loudspeaker urged the people to join the militant group “to liberate Baghdad and Jerusalem,” according to CBS News.
President Barack Obama said Friday he is weighing a range of options for countering the violent Islamic insurgency in Iraq, but he warned government leaders in Baghdad the U.S. will not take military action unless they move to address deep-seated political troubles.

FLASHBACK—Obama: ‘We’re Leaving Behind a Sovereign, Stable and Self-Reliant Iraq’

(CNSNews.com) - When President Barack Obama removed the last U.S. forces from Iraq in December 2011, he announced that—as he had planned—the U.S. was leaving behind a “sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government.”
It was a "moment of success," he said.
On Feb. 27, 2009, a little more than a month after his first inauguration, Obama gave a speech at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina that the White House entitled, “Responsibly Ending the War in Iraq.”
Obama said then that his strategy was based on the “achievable goal” of a “sovereign, stable and self-reliant” Iraq--and that he intended to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, as had been envisioned in the Status of Forces agreement negotiated by the Bush Administration.
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Vets watch as insurgents undo sacrifices in Iraq

Marine Sgt. Colin Archipley's unit suffered heavy casualties in the savage house-to-house fighting against insurgents holed up in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004.

Nearly a decade later, he watched in frustration from his organic farm north of San Diego as an al-Qaida splinter group seized control of Fallujah, Mosul and other Iraqi cities that Lima Company and other units risked so much to protect.

Iraq's opportunity "was squandered," he said. "I'm not sure what else we could have done."

At VFW halls, kitchen tables and rehabilitation clinics around the country, this week's stunning advance into Mosul left many U.S. veterans reflecting with bitterness and sadness on the sacrifices of a war that lasted for more than eight years and killed nearly 4,500 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

"In many ways, it just feels like a waste — a waste of many lives, a waste of many years," retired Army Col. Barry Johnson said from his home in Potlatch, Idaho.

On the broad stage of Middle East affairs, the unraveling highlights the resilience of extremists and the risks of weakened central authority. It also raises wider questions about the future of Afghanistan after international forces withdraw later this year and about the growing influence of militant Islamic factions among Syrian rebels.

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So much for 'dead broke': The Clintons made $12 MILLION in year they left White House and are the RICHEST living former first family (see how much all the US Presidents were worth)

• Hillary Clinton was asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer in an interview that aired on Monday night why she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, were charging organizations outrageous fees to have them speak
• Hillary told her it was because they were 'dead broke' and in debt when they left the White House
• But the Clintons haven't been in debt for many years, according to financial disclosure statements
• In their first year out of the White House they made $12.3 million
• Their overall net worth is approximately $100 million
• Bill is one of the 10 richest presidents in American history

Bill and Hillary Clinton weren't 'dead broke' for very long at all after leaving the White House, it was revealed Thursday.

The Washington power couple has made more than $155 million since 2001, according to financial disclosure statements, making them richest, living first family in America.

In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer that aired on Monday night, Hillary Clinton said that she and her husband were charging $200,000 on average for speeches because they were seeped in debt when they came out of the White House.

'We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt,' Clinton said. 'We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea's education.'

'You know, it was not easy.'

Hillary was swiftly attacked as 'out of touch' after the comment, and on Tuesday morning she explained that she and Bill had racked up 'something like $12 million' in legal fees by the end of Bill's presidency.

'Bill and I were obviously blessed. We worked hard for everything we got in our lives and we have continued to work hard. And we've been blessed in the last 14 years,' Clinton told Good Morning America host Robin Roberts.

The financial 'struggles' the Clintons faced at the end of Bill's second term more than a decade ago are but a distant memory, however.

In the first year Bill was out of office, the Clinton's made $12.3 million.

In 2004 Bill locked down an unheard of $15 million advance for his autobiography My Life, and, as of last year, he had made $106 million off of speeches.

His net worth as of last February was $55 million, and he has continued to make money off of speeches since.'
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