Labour Civil War - Post 2015 Election

Daily Mail: Reports " Labour faces 'extinction' as a political force unless it chooses the right leader to succeed Ed Miliband, former Downing Street spin chief Alastair Campbell warned this morning.  "

Lets Get Real:

AC is right on this issue, at this rate the Labour Party is heading for defeat in the 2020 General Election, it needs to crack the South, but the problem for Labour is that the South wants Labour to be tough on welfare, while the North will be getting more power from London and Scotland is just a disaster area.    The next Labour Leader has to be in the mold of Tony Blair, that means being good on the telly and looking  normal, in other words not easy for Labour.   Of the candidates running for the Labour leadership this blog would vote if it was a Labour member for Liz Kendall, she comes across as centre right, the question is will the trade unions accept another Blair type candidate, that is a open question. 

The Labour Civil War - Posts 2015 Election

BBC News: Reports " John Prescott to David Miliband: Shut up "

Lets Get Real:

Lord Prescott is a elder statesman of the Labour Party, he was Deputy PM during the Blair years, but on this issue he WRONG.   The Labour Party needs more Blair candidates, the problem with using that term is that next you have to deal with the issue of Iraq, its odd that Blair gets the blame for Iraq while Bush 43 has been under the radar and his approval ratings have gone up.   The Labour Party has to accept that Tony Blair won three elections, he knows a thing about getting the trust of the UK voter, something the modern Labour Party has lost.   The next leader of Labour needs to be on the centre right, or even right wing, that is the only way that Labour will win the next general election in 2020. 

US Bases in Iraq to increase - The New War on Terror

The New York Times: Reports " U.S. Weighing More Military Bases in Iraq to Fight ISIS, Top General Says  "

Lets Get Real:

Thus we are seeing the same mistake that the US did in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, this gradual approach will not work when fighting ISs, they have proven they are ruthless and smart, they used the natural elements of  a sandstorm over Ramadi to push into the town and take it right under the eyes of the US.   The US should send in ten thousand troops in to Iraq to fight IS, not just train the new Iraqi Army.     The new Iraqi Army will bolt when they come under pressure from IS, as has been seen IS kills any threat, there is no Geneva Convention for IS.   The US will  only get the support of Sunni soldiers when it places US troops at the side of Sunni Soldiers.    The Oval is trying to thrown the problem down the road, as noted by this blog, history does not take orders from leaders. 

Democrats and Vietnam, Sorry Iraq - New War on Terror

CNN - Politics: Reports " With Iraq troop boost, Dems see parallels to Vietnam in Obama's Iraq plans "

Lets Get Real:

The political Gods are tough SOB's, when they pay you back for your folly it comes back to what made you famous the first time, in the case of President Obama it was Iraq, now he is sending troops back in to Iraq, the Democrats recall that is how Vietnam started, and if it grows to more troops Democrats  are worried that they will have to defend the policy in 2020, also HRC will have to support the policy, she was Obama's first Secretary of State, thus the decision to remove troops in 2011 happened on her watch.   The Democrats are right to be concerned, is Iraq fated to become another Vietnam. 

The Miliband Brothers AT War - Post 2015 Election

Telegraph: Reports " David Miliband: Ed Miliband victory would have defied laws of political gravity...Former foreign secretary says his worst fears were confirmed when his brother led Labour to a devastating general election defeat  "

Lets Get Real:

This must not be nice reading for Ed Miliband, the only way " Red " Ed could win after beating his brother for the Labour leadership was to become PM, that dream is now over, and Ed could see his brother within a few years getting the Labour Leadership, even PM.   This would show that the old line that those that strike down a leader never get the job themselves to be true, what ever made Ed think he could be a real contender for PM, that what happens when you are in the London left wing bubble.   The press feed your ego that your the one, the one thing that will not happen is that Ed will not get a job in a new David Miliband Administration, might get the job of Governor of Elba!

Up Close and Personal with IS - New War on Terror

Guardian: Reports " The extra troops are heading for Anbar province to block Isis advances from Ramadi to Baghdad and to try to resurrect a US strategy employed from 2006 of arming and training an alliance of Sunni tribes to fight al-Qaida, which was dubbed the “Anbar Awakening”.  "

Lets Get Rea:

The Sunni tribes will only take part if they think this time the US will stay, for that to happen they will want to see boots on the ground.   These soldiers should be there to fight  IS not just train the Iraqi forces.   The question is can President Obama do a Bush 43 without US combat troops there to help the Iraqi forces should they get in to trouble.   As noted my previous post it can be argued that President Obama is following the Vietnam case for more troops leading to more troops.   The President might want to throw the issue down the road but history has a way of not doing what its told, thus expect more troops for Iraq, at the of the day the US could have thousands of combat troops in Iraq, history repeats itself all the time. 

Is Iraq the NEW NEW Vietnam - New War on Terror

BBC News: Reports " The US is to send up to 450 military advisers to Iraq to help train local forces fighting Islamic State, the White House says.  "

Lets Get Real:

This another move to push the issue down the road, in fact Obama wants the next President to deal with this issue, the President has failed to learn the lessons of the Iraq war between 2003-11 and the Vietnam War.   In 2007 President Bush pushed a policy of a surge in Iraq after the previous three years of havoc in Iraq, the surge worked and then President Obama removed the troops in 2011 when he should have left around ten thousand to deal with Iraq's security problems.   Thus in 2015 President Obama is following US policy in Southern Vietnam, the increase of military advisers will lead to ground troops sooner or later.   Obama should have sent back in another ten thousand troops to take on IS and remove the threat from the Middle East, instead the Oval is playing politics.