ISIS now controls a supply route from Syria's largest city to Iraq's capital

Business Insider ^ | 5/18 | Jeremy Bender

[Lorianne]

Won what war?
We sided with the Shias and ISLAMIC sect over the Sunnis, another ISLAMIC sect.

Is that the team we are on? We’re fighting for the Shia?

Look I just want an honest answer as to why we should support on sect of ISLAM over another.

[Lorianne]

So we should support Shia ISLAM because Obama supposedly supports Sunni ISLAM?

Either way we are supporting ISLAM.

Maybe that makes sense to some people here.

[SandRat]

Time to make BLOODY HIWAY NUMBER 2?

[treetopsandroofs]

Whatever. You seem to be continuing a conversation I didn’t join.

After 6+ years of the Fraud, I am certain that 1) the POSOTUS will always support this country’s enemies, and 2) about a quarter of FR will find creative ways to either believe or support him.

[Pontiac]

They should be sitting ducks for air power.

We should put the A10 back in to production and run off a couple hundred for dealing with the Islamic threat.

The Warthog is the most effective ground attack aircraft ever. To retire the aircraft without an equivalent replacement is stupid.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

Your questions show that you have little understanding of the situation. In 2006 during the Anbar awakaning we “sided” with the Sunni tribal leaders and ousted the Fedayeen/Al Quada fighters during the surge. The war was won by the time that Obama took office in 2009. In 2011 when it was time to negotiate the renewal of the Status of forces agreement to keep troops in Iraq our Generals recommended that we keep 15,000 troops in Iraq to keep the peace and help stabilize the country. Obama offered Malaki 3,000 troops. The offer was an insult on it’s face. Malaki saw it for what it was, a bogus offer and so he countered with sure and they will be under Iraqi law for the commission of crimes. An offer he knew that Obama could never accept. Obama wanted out, but had to make a weak offer so he could say I tried.

Malaki then allowed the Shiite factions to settle their scores because he needed them for an ally, he no longer had us. Do I have to go on as to how we got here? The Fadayeen/Al Quada faction from 2006 which are just the Baathist military leaders teamed up with the nascent ISIS movement and saw it as a vehicle to take Iraq back. It’s even better for them now because they don’t have to put them or their men on the line as they have murderous, fanatical foreign fighters willing to martyr themselves and do the dirty work for them.

You want to know what team we should be on. We should be on team Iraq as in banding these people together into thinking of themselves as a nation state, not tribal factions. We were on the way to that until the end of 2011. Not all Sunnis are ISIS. For your information, the majority of the people being killed by ISIS are other SUNNIS. Who do you think live in Ramadi? Shia? Who do you think died in Ramadi? Shia?

[Lorianne]

I don’t support anyone committing our military to proxy wars between MUSLIMS.

Got it?

You and the rest of FR can play for team Shia or team Sunni, whichever you prefer. I decline.

[Lorianne]

After 1000+ years of infighting between Sunni and Shia (and various other sect) you think they are going to “band together into thinking of themselves as a nation state, not tribal factions.”

That’s so kumbaya. It would make a nice Coke commercial but not very good foreign policy

[Lorianne]

By the way I got condescendingly scolded by one of you people yesterday because I supposedly didn’t understand that there is no longer an Iraq (something I already knew a while back).

Another poster condescendingly presumed I don’t know history and preceded to tell me all about how Iraq was made up country to begin with, totally arbitrary. Something I already knew

Now yet another of you is telling me we should fight IRAQ a country that no longer exists and was an arbitrary designation to begin with. And I have “little understanding” of the situation?

[Lorianne]

for IRAQ

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"That’s so kumbaya. It would make a nice Coke commercial but not very good foreign policy"

Your ignorance in foreign policy is amazing. That 'Coke commercial" was playing well in 2009 when Obama took over.

Overview of 2009

The money line from the article:

"Large victories by Sunni parties in central and northern Iraq in the next election could lead to a slight reduction in attacks there as happened in Mosul after the al-Hadbaa party took power in 2009. Otherwise Iraq will face increasing stability, but a large terrorist threat at the same time."

Translation, while facing difficulties they were on their way to a stable country. They still needed our help.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

You’re asking me to defend other posters? I wasn’t even on here yesterday. If you’re responding to me, respond to what I said and I won’t ask you to defend someone else either. BTW, you are being sarcastic to me and you complain about someone being condescending to you? If you don’t like it, don’t dish it out.

[GraceG]

[ Why? What difference does it make who controls which highway over there? It’s Sunni vs Shia for over 1000 years.

Which team are we on? ]

We should be on Neither team and start our own team and call it “Team Desert Glass”....

[Lorianne]

Before you claim someone else doesn’t understand the situation declare your allegiances. Are you on team Sunni or team Shia?

My point was that don’t accuse others of not understanding the situation just because you don’t agree with them. It could be that they understand a hell of a lot more than you think.

[Lorianne]

They were never on their way to a stable country. Not under Clinton, not Bush, not under Obama. Never ever. They were only relatively stable under an sadistic iron-fisted dictator.

Not because of what we have done or haven’t done ... but because of who they are. Read history. Lots and lots of history.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

Next stop Baghdad! What do we do it it falls to IS? These IS guys—give them credit—yes they are savages and bloodthirsty but well organized and motivated—They do not mind dying for their cause. They have found a button deep within the Islamic state of mind—a vision of a new Caliphate to rule a new Islamic world of peace and harmony as poisonus as Communisms “World Solicalism”. Fight them now—or fight them later when they have A-bombs.

[Lorianne]

So, if the Shia get the upper hand no worries?

Doesn’t matter who wins, Sunni or Shia. Whoever gets the upper hand in the region they will be against the USA and try to destroy us (see Shia Iran for example).

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Are you on team Sunni or team Shia?"

Perhaps people are being condescending to you because of statements like this. This is real life, not some stupid movie about vampires and werewolves. I also responded to the question by stating I am on team Iraq, in other words helping to build a nation state which is how these people have to start thinking. This is not new ground, this has been done in Germany and Japan. Before that, we did it in the Phillipines. If you would have read what I posted and the article I shared with you, you would understand this. Instead you come up with sophmoric sayings.

Perhaps you are some brilliant well read person with a global understanding of the situation. If so, then it's getting lost in your sophmoric and childish responses.

If you actually care to engage in a real discussion, I'm there to do that. By your responses you have shown to not be willing to do that. You just keep saying the same things over and over no matter how I try to explain it. You don't answer my responses, just repeat what you said previously. It's not a question of whether we support one Muslim sect over another. It's a question of if we want to see the Middle East go up in flames, and possibly nuclear flames eventually.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"They were never on their way to a stable country."

Then you have not studied all of the analysis after 2009. They were all unanimus on one thing, Iraq was on it's way to stability.

[Lorianne]

Pure propaganda