Kobane Update - War on Terror 2

Telegraph: Reports " Isil controls half of Kobane, says rebel leader...More than half of Kobane is now in Isil hands, according to veteren rebel leader, as Kurdish Peshmerga forces arrive in a last-minute bid to defend besieged town "

Lets Get Real:

The news from Kobane does not sound good, to really go after IS the West needs trained Western troops, UK/US special forces who have seen action in IRAQ, and have done house to house combat.   The sending of FSA/Kurdish support troops has the feeling of being done at the moment, with no long term planning by the those that are sending them, it can be postulated that the Oval is waiting for the Mid Terms to be over before sending trained Western troops to Iraq and Syria.  One has to hope otherwise this is going to be a LONG WAR, well in to a new US Administration in 2017.    The IS fighters are tough, they are being paid by IS, the terror group makes money from the selling of black market oil, has that been stopped, NO, it is still going on, thus IS have millions to spend, the West needs to cut the money to IS, starve them of funds, curb their power to pay their terrorist troops.   The West has to win in Syria. 

The IS threat to US Air Strategy - War on Terror 2

The New York Times: Reports " ....Islamic State fighters in Iraq are using advanced surface-to-air missile systems that pose a serious threat to aircraft flown by Iraq and the American-led coalition. "

Lets Get Real:

The above is WHY that US and its allies need ground forces to take down IS who might have the above missile systems, a air strategy alone is doomed to failure, even if you take out IS in Syria and Iraq you need ground forces to take and hold the land, otherwise you take out one group of IS terrorists to see them replaced by other IS terrorists.    The Kobane siege and it is a siege is a classic example that you need trained forces on the ground to match the air war. IF IS can start to take out Western planes the alliance will get smaller with every successful attack on a Western plane.   Thus to prevent losing the ground war the US and its allies should send in special forces, this is the only way that the West can win, and its about winning at the end of the day. 

The Hillary Clinton FACTOR - 2016 Race

Telegraph: Reports " Hillary Clinton's 2008 supporters see a second chance to make history..Six years after their heroine lost to Barack Obama, Clinton voters gear up for a second bid for the White House in the 2016 election "

Lets Get Real:

The Hillary Clinton FACTOR is all that matters to Democrats looking for a nominee in 2016, the question is will SHE run, do Clintons run for public office, of course, its who Bill and Hillary Clinton are, without politics they would a power couple but like many others.    The next question, how badly will the Obama brand damage the Democrats, if the Clinton is the nominee they will look at the polls and use the out going POTUS is really blue States or States with a healthy African American population, if the polls are REALLY BAD for POTUS he will be spending a lot of time stuck in the White House, no one will want to be seen with him while they are running a race, even in VERY blue States.  It blog has stated if the Republicans do not nominate Jeb Bush it will support Hillary Clinton, one would expect a tougher foreign policy from Hillary, if nothing else to show she is not weak like Obama.  This is the perfect time to be a political geek. 

The 2014 Mid Terms and Another Bush Presidency - 2014/16 Race

Guardian: Reports " Republicans looking good in the Senate – and Jeb Bush for president? "

Lets Get Real:

This is not about the Republicans looking good, it is the fact that the US Voter has had enough of President Obama, as the sitting President said, elections have results, or words to that effect.  If President Obama loses the Senate and sees Democrats lose seats in the House will he hear the verdict of his population, or will go on with his ego more important than the Democratic Party and the nation, if it is a sweep and the Oval does not budge or ObamaCare or doing more in Syria and Iraq, then the Republicans should consider their options, they could close down the Government, that is risky, people on the whole like a Government to run the Country's business, so it comes down to the power of the purse, the Republicans should not give ObamaCare $1 dollar, make Obama close down the Government for his namesake.   Also if Oval does not go ALL in Iraq and Syria the Congress should impeach the President.  How would Vice - President Biden like to be President Biden, that would really unsettle the Democratic race.  ELECTIONS HAVE RESULTS.   As for Jeb Bush, that is the only candidate that this blog would support on the Republican side, its a brand name, at least Bush 43 left Iraq in a winning hand, while Obama has lost it to IS.  Can Jeb Bush be the new Ronald Reagan.

The UK Public and Afghanistan - Afghan War

BBC News: Reports " The last UK troops have left Helmand province in Afghanistan, as a poll suggests 68% of the UK public thought the campaign had not been "worthwhile". "

Lets Get Real:

The UK public are not always right, in fact they can be plain daft given the right case, on this they are right, this blog has been negative from the start when it came to Afghanistan, we have know fought four WARS in Afghanistan, and we always leave thinking we will never go back, but we do, the good points, Kabul has changed, civic business has grown, there are schools for all genders in Afghanistan, there are on the whole free elections, fair is up for debate.    On the other hand the Taliban are just around the corner, expect an increase in fighting this year, the Taliban will say it was because they fought that the West left, its good PR for them.   Lets see if the new Afghan Government can stand united, will the army fight or run like in Iraq, and what of the remaining US troops, they can expect to get fired upon more as the Taliban wants them out as they protect the new Afghanistan.   Interesting times ahead in Afghanistan. 

Syria and Iraq Update - War on Terror 2

Telegraph: Reports " West waging a 'CNN war' in Syria as Isil makes gains in Iraq

While American air strikes on the Syrian border town of Kobane play out in front of the world’s media, Isil has made territorial gains in Iraq "

Lets Get Real:

The Kobane section of the WAR is made for TV, the Western reporters can report from Turkey on the air strategy of President Obama, the reporters can not report directly from the war field as they are under threat from ISIS or IS.  It can be argued and has been that IS has made Kobane a strategic important target, the West can not afford to lose it, it would hit Western morale that in a direct fight between IS and the West it lost to IS.   The fact that IS is gaining ground in Iraq is troubling, the Iraqi Army is not ready, the Syrian Free Army being trained by the US will take months, a period of time that the West does not have, thus the call for Western troops in Syria and Iraq.   The New War on Terror 2 is going to be a long WAR, the West just has to take it time, one day there will be Western ground troops, either under President Obama or his successor. 

2014 Mid Terms and POTUS - 2016 Election

Guardian: Reports on the problems faced by President Obama, " But this year there is more than the traditional six-year itch. Crises in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria; hysteria over Ebola; and an obstructionist Republican Congress that is on pace to pass the fewest number of laws in American history, "

Lets Get Real:

The problem is in part the above, but also the fact that President Obama is NO DEAL MAKER, in the shape of LBJ, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, you must at least give the impression that you like the House and the Senate, if you want it all your own way then when you hit the skids in the polls there is no support to back you up.  President Obama was treated like the 2nd coming by some in the media, the problem is that he started to read his own press statements.   President Obama is a Chicago Pol, nothing more or less, the liberal press protected him, when they should have been scathing, only Fox News gave him a hard time, that's the only TV News that POTUS watches, he never mentions ABC, NBC, CBS or MSNBC, as they still treat him as secular God.  They are paternal racist in many respects.   Thus with POTUS at the bottom of the polls his fellow Democrats are looking after their own careers, after all Presidents only get two terms, their power wanes to nothing by the last years of their term.   Thus President Obama is out in many respects, the new play is 2016 and will any one on the Democratic side challenge Hillary Clinton for the nomination, IS there another Obama out there, there is still time for a new contender to the Crown.