Posted on 10/27/2014 11:47:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Kurdish struggle to hold on to Syrian border town isn't all good news
Coming back after two weeks away, it’s surprising that the Syrian town of Kobani hasn’t fallen to the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria. Pentagon officials were predicting earlier this month that ISIS fighters would overrun the town, near the Turkish border, by mid-October, followed by widespread slaughters among the conquered population.
That hasn’t happened. And while that’s obviously good news in the short term for the city’s 200,000 largely-Kurdish residents, it’s tougher to handicap what it means for the long-term U.S.-led effort to “degrade and destroy” ISIS.
Earlier this month, U.S. military officers were speaking of ISIS’s “momentum,” and how its string of military successes over the past year meant that quickly halting its advance would likely prove difficult if not impossible. Yet, as far as Kobani is concerned, that seems to be what is taking place.
But that raises the stakes for the U.S. and its allies. Having smothered ISIS’s momentum, an eventual ISIS victory in the battle for Kobani would be a more devastating defeat for the U.S. military than an earlier collapse of the town.
There are concerns that the focus on saving Kobani is giving ISIS free reign elsewhere in its self-declared caliphate—that the U.S., in essence, could end up winning the battle while losing the war.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Lots of handwringing there.....Simple solution, unleash the Kracken...Do a real “Shock and Awe” on them....crush them and laugh over their smoldering ruins. Unfortunately, we have leadership in this country that is both incompetent and indecisive.
What this means, is that we now have time to send in our War On Poverty Army.
“Draw EBT Cards! Charge!!!”
Yessss!!! I get my information from TIME!!
I think I need the get my teeth cleaned.
This reasoning is something along the lines of let the Nazis take England. They’re going to take it anyway and if we delay them they’re going to be really mad when they do take it. How about fighting and winning against ISIS? Did that crazy thought ever cross anyone’s mind at Time?
ISIS is losing elsewhere too...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3219902/posts
As I noted when the “ISIS crisis” started, this is an excellent opportunity to have Muslim scumbags kill each other en masse for years to come. Too bad we have no actual strategic thinkers in positions of power. If we did we would be looking for ways to keep them killing each other for as long as possible.
> But that raises the stakes for the U.S. and its allies. Having smothered ISIS’s momentum, an eventual ISIS victory in the battle for Kobani would be a more devastating defeat for the U.S. military than an earlier collapse of the town.
The US military is barely a presence so no — but loss of the town would mean a devastating defeat for the Kurds, as well as for long term US prospects in the region.
Guess who won’t be getting US support?
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