Guest post by Joe Hoft
(Reuters)
On Friday, the world press celebrated good news coming out of Iraq. Timed perfectly for the 4th of July weekend in the US, it was reported that the Iraqi government had taken back the city of Fallujah from ISIS. Hollie McKay at FOX News reported that, “The long-awaited liberation of Fallujah this week came with minimal damage to the city’s infrastructure.”
This indeed is good news for the Obama Administration which would like this reported during the holiday weekend since the city was occupied for two years by ISIS and now it is free. However there are a couple items not reported by the press.
Obama is Not Committed to Destroying ISIS.
A chart in the FOX News article shows the number of airstrikes on ISIS in Iraq and Syria since April. The highest number of airstrikes in one day per the chart is 36; however Russia is launching twice as many airstrikes as the US against ISIS in Syria.
When compared to the 1991 Iraq War, the current US effort is lacking. In the 1991 War in Iraq the US dropped a daily average of 6,163 bombs in Iraq. Under Obama, the US is dropping on average 43 bombs per day.
Obama’s Noncommittal is Iran’s Opportunity to Take over Iraq.
The FOX News article reported that, “The Fallujah operation was carried out by Iraq’s elite counterterrorism troops, Iraqi federal police, Anbar provincial police and an umbrella group of government- sanctioned militia fighters — mostly Shiites — who are known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.”
However, what is not noted by the press is that the ‘Popular Mobilization Forces’ are based in Iraq but assisted by Iran’s Quds Forces, the paramilitary wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC-QF). (Note that the Reuters video above shows fighters hanging a poster of what appears to be a Shia Ayatollah, possibly the leader of Iran, on a bridge in Fallujah.)
Because Obama is not committed to destroying ISIS, the US is supporting Iran in its takeover of Iraq.
It is very unclear what Obama’s policy is in the Middle East. Over the past 8 years there are multiple examples where Obama supported radical Islam terrorist related organizations in various countries. Obama was on the same side as Al Qaeda when bombing Gaddafi and his forces in Libya. The Al Qaeda flag was even seen at the attack of the US Embassy in Benghazi. Obama also sided with the terrorist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, even providing them with $1.5 billion in aid, and then taking it away after they were overthrown.
The only policy that seems to fit Obama’s actions around the world is – Do the opposite of what is best for the US.
