US order of battle vs. ISIS (infographic)

Graphic is via The Guardian, read the accompanying article here.

They're under estimating the forces available.  If an airplane goes down during a humanitarian air drop you can bet that MV-22's (SPMAGTF-CR...a trap mission is what they're probably best designed for) or MH-47G's (with the size of the aircrew of C-17's plus the needed shooters to provide security, I'd almost bet they were choice but I don't know) are around waiting to pick them up.  I'd guess that they're flying racetracks during every mission waiting to go in as fast as possible.

Oh and don't forget those 300 Special Forces advisors, or the 200+ FAST Marines probably wanting a piece of the action.

Boots on the ground in Iraq?  THEY'RE ALREADY THERE!  

Ukrainian Rebel Leader calls for cease fire?!

Thanks for the link Joe.

What tank is this?  If I didn't know better I'd think it was an IS3!

via Yahoo

"We're afraid of the Ukrainian army, which is firing on the city, and of the rebels of the Donetsk People's Republic, who are robbing and killing civilians," said Dmitry Andronov, a 47-year-old resident.
Zakharchenko's statement that the city was surrounded came hours after the rebels' top commander said Ukrainian forces had seized a key town, Krasnyi Luch, effectively cutting Donetsk and nearby territory off from the rest of the rebel-held east.

Read the entire story by following the link.

Israel attacks Hamas locations in Gaza and the UN yells war crimes from the roof tops, the US SecState says that its intolerable, and moralist in Europe talk about the humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile....in Europe the Ukrainian govt is shelling a city, cutting off its inhabitants and no one says a thing.  

This is far from over.  Remember the R2P doctrine?  The Ukrainian govt can legally be called into question for shelling civilians AND starving a city.

I hope they aren't celebrating in Kiev.  They've given the Russians the perfect, legal excuse to send an armored column with food and water to rescue the inhabitants of that city.

Poland launches "Operation Raven" in response to Ukrainian crisis...

Major thanks to Jonathan for the link.

via Defense Aerospace.

The Polish Defence ministry has said that it is considering bids from 10 manufacturers of modern combat-ready helicopters, in an accelerated procedure after the outbreak of civil war in eastern Ukraine.
Although not naming the companies, the Defence ministry has said in a statement that the bidding process involves “foreign and domestic companies offering both ready-made helicopters and components for assembly”.
The ministry's 'Operation Raven' is aimed at replacing Poland's ageing Mi-24 fleet of helicopters.
American-made Apache AH-64E aircraft, the European Eurocopter / Airbus Tiger helicopter or the British-Italian Agusta AW129 Mongoose are thought to be among the top runners in the bidding process.

I've always been a fan of the AW129 and wondered why it doesn't get more orders.  Having said that they will buy AH-64Es...no amount of European bribery will change that. 

F/A-18 strike against ISIS targets (video)

ARABIAN GULF (Aug. 8, 2014) Two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets assigned to Carrier Air Wing 8 embarked on USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) struck Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant targets near Erbil, Iraq. The F/A-18s dropped 500 pound laser-guided bombs against ISIL artillery targets. Bush is operating in the Arabian Gulf on a scheduled deployment to U.S. 5th Fleet. The president has authorized U.S. Central Command to conduct military operations in support of humanitarian aid deliveries and targeted airstrikes in Iraq to protect U.S. personnel and interests, in response to activities conducted by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists.(U.S. Navy video/Released)

NOTE:  Do you see those secondary explosions?  This truck must have been filled with ammo!  

Three proposed uniform changes

Read about it here...

The last time the Marine Corps did one of these surveys, it was about whether or not to stop rolling sleeves.  Marines wanted to continue rolling sleeves, Amos said no--we're going Army---and it took 3 years for the decision to finally reflect Marine Corps tradition.

One thing that has me curious.  Why are uniforms designed to provide concealment suddenly turned into a seasonal item?  If you're stationed at 29 Palms does it ever make sense to wear tropical camo?  If you're in Okinawa during the Summer does it make sense to wear desert?

It has begun. The US is launching airstrikes at ISIS.

Read the story here.

My take?  This won't improve his standing with the American people.  Ask yourself a basic political question.  Do they believe that seeing US forces in combat will instill a rally around the flag moment?

You bet your ass they do!  The problem?  The American people are tired of the issues in the Middle East, Africa and now Europe.  They definitely don't want to get dragged into another Tar Baby situation with the idiots that inhabit those lands.

No one is fooled.

These are civil wars and by definition are not our business.

This will end badly for Obama.  Once again he has miscalculated.

You want to fight ISIS in Iraq?

American foreign policy is on crack.

Why do I say that?

Simple.  Look at the map above.  The red area is the land that ISIS now controls.  We stood by and watched while this group spread like cancer through the region and now...when they trap and threaten to kill an obscure people that I've never heard of...now they decide that its time to act?

Way too little.  Much too late.

Lets have some plain talk.  The Middle East is experiencing a regional war that has hybrid aspects.  The administration has been paralyzed by analysis and when they finally decide to act they chose badly.

Sometimes you have to let a fire burn itself out...attempts at controlling it are futile and will only get firefighters killed or injured.  Its past time to let the Middle East burn.