http://patriotaction.net/profiles/blogs/breaking-reports-claim-isis-just-captured-al-asad-air-base-where (http://patriotaction.net/profiles/blogs/breaking-reports-claim-isis-just-captured-al-asad-air-base-where)
BREAKING: Reports Claim ISIS Just Captured al-Asad Air Base Where 300 U.S. Marines Could Be Trapped
:cursing:
Marines
Published February 12, 2015FoxNews.com
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Report: ISIS takes control of Iraqi town near key air base
Islamic State fighters reportedly seized most of a western Iraqi town on Thursday, in fighting taking place mere miles from an air base where hundreds of U.S. Marines are training Iraqis.
Reuters, quoting local officials, reported Thursday that ISIS militants had overrun much of the town of al-Baghdadi. One local Iraqi official told Reuters that, "Ninety percent of al-Baghdadi district has fallen under the control of the insurgents."
A Defense Department spokeswoman confirmed to Fox News that "heavy fighting" took place in that area on Thursday, but referred questions about the status of the town to the Iraq government.
"There was no direct attack on the Al Asad air base," the spokeswoman assured, while acknowledging reports of "ineffective indirect fire in the vicinity of the base."
Reuters had reported that, according to unnamed officials, a group of insurgents did attack the well-fortified base but failed to break in.
The Al Asad air base is where 320 U.S. Marines are stationed training Iraqi forces. It is a mere 13-minute drive from al-Baghdadi to the base.
"It bears watching," retired Col. Thomas Lynch, a National Defense University fellow, told Fox News, regarding the reports out of Iraq.
But he stressed that for the fighters to pose a threat to the base, they'd have to get through the perimeter. While "it's not impossible," Lynch said, to do it they would have to amass a large number of fighters – which would make them "vulnerable" to airstrikes.
The area in Anbar Province has long been a hot zone of fighting as ISIS looks to hold and expand its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria. In January, the Pentagon first confirmed that U.S. troops at the Al Asad base had been coming under regular mortar fire.
To date, those attacks have been described as ineffective. A senior U.S. official told Fox News the base receives "low-scale" indirect fire from time to time.
"We continue to support efforts by Iraqi Security Forces, working in conjunction with tribal fighters, directed against ISIL in the province," the DOD spokeswoman said Thursday.
According to Reuters, militants attacked the town of al-Baghdadi from two directions before advancing inward.
The development comes as the U.S.-led coalition continues to launch airstrikes against ISIS, with Jordan taking on a greater role following the brutal execution of a captured Jordanian pilot at ISIS' hands.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/02/12/isis-on-doorstep-fighters-reportedly-seize-iraqi-town-near-base-holding-us/ (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/02/12/isis-on-doorstep-fighters-reportedly-seize-iraqi-town-near-base-holding-us/)
Obama and Biden defense department "very mindful of trying to mitigate the risk to civilians every time we operate."
http://ux.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/01/06/mortars-at-al-asad/21346269/ (http://ux.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2015/01/06/mortars-at-al-asad/21346269/)
I have no clue what our strategy is. Doesn't sound like Obama does either. Aren't the providences separated by miles of desert? Why can't they cut them off and surround them? Can this be done with just aircraft?
Quote from: Dori on February 13, 2015, 10:28:57 AM
I have no clue what our strategy is. Doesn't sound like Obama does either. Aren't the providences separated by miles of desert? Why can't they cut them off and surround them? Can this be done with just aircraft?
The American public does not believe Obama has a strategy either. Fox has poll that shows 73% of Americans do not believe Obama has a strategy. That does not bode well for democrats going into 2016.
BTW, Obama is playing golf in Palm Springs, CA this weekend.
Quote from: supsalemgr on February 13, 2015, 01:07:05 PM
BTW, Obama is playing golf in Palm Springs, CA this weekend.
Golf comes after he attends another one of those fundraisers for the communists.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-13/in-san-francisco-obama-is-fundraising-for-his-successor-and-his-legacy (http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-02-13/in-san-francisco-obama-is-fundraising-for-his-successor-and-his-legacy)
Opinion on Obama's ISIS plan.
BY: Matthew Continetti
February 13, 2015 5:00 am
http://freebeacon.com/columns/dont-authorize-obamas-war/ (http://freebeacon.com/columns/dont-authorize-obamas-war/)
Our ISIS problem is a consequence of the American failure to respond effectively to our almost four-years-old Syrian problem. ISIS is less the Syrian dictator's opponent than his unconventional ally, and as long as Assad remains in power so will the sectarian and political furies that gave rise to ISIS at the beginning of the war. And yet it is impossible to believe that Obama will uproot the weed responsible for some 300,000 dead, millions of refugees, use of WMD, and the Caliphate so long as his strategic goals are détente with Iran and a franchising of Middle East "security" to the mullahs.
Over the weekend the newscasters kept referring to ISIS as having 200,000 members now. Not long ago, it was around 50,000. How did their number jump so fast?
Quote from: Dori on February 16, 2015, 04:49:20 PM
Over the weekend the newscasters kept referring to ISIS as having 200,000 members now. Not long ago, it was around 50,000. How did their number jump so fast?
It's a peaceful cult. :rolleyes: (https://conservativepoliticalforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.army.ca%2Fforums%2FSmileys%2FArmyca%2Fsarcasm.gif&hash=429f4baaebfbe7d9fa0163040d18e6a394ae7097)