This is how he doubles down on his dicked-up foreign policy.
From Fox News.
The Obama administration is reportedly considering sending up to 100 special forces troops to advise and train Iraqi troops who are fighting a desperate battle against Al Qaeda-inspired Sunni Muslim insurgents in that country’s north and west.
The Associated Press, citing three U.S. officials, reported early Tuesday that the White House was weighing the option. It’s not clear how quickly the special forces could arrive in Iraq. It’s also unknown whether they would remain in Baghdad or be sent to the nation’s north, where the Sunni Muslim insurgency Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has captured large swaths of territory ringing Baghdad, the capital of the Shiite-led government.
The troops would fall under the authority of the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad and would not be authorized to engage in combat, another U.S. official said. Their mission would be “non-operational training” of both regular and counterterrorism units, which the military has in the past interpreted to mean training on military bases, the official said.
The White House would not confirm that special operations forces were under consideration. But National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said that while Obama would not send troops back into combat, “He has asked his national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraqi security forces.”
Meanwhile, 170 armed troops have arrived in Baghdad to “provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy,” according to a White House statement. About 100 additional forces are being put on standby, most likely in Kuwait, and could be used for airfield management, security and logistics support, officials said.
Obama says the forces, which are entering Iraq with the consent of the nation’s government, are equipped for combat and will remain until the security situation becomes such that they are no longer needed.
Our part in the Iraq war ended officially in 2011, when Obama decided that it was okay to cut and run without a stabilization force in place to ensure that Al Qaeda wouldn’t use the opportunity to re-enter the country. There were serious questions about Iraq’s security. Well, three years later Iraq’s armed forces forgot every bit of training they received, and Al Qaeda has reared its ugly head.
According to Obama, Al Qeada was as dead as Bin Laden.
If you won’t defeat the country you invade and make sure there’s no longer a threat from within or from outside, then don’t bother with sending ‘security’ forces to put a band-aid on the fuck up.
Speaking of fuckups, Obama says the Al Qaeda takeover in Iraq proves his delusional foreign policy is right:
While the White House is focusing on the awesome magic of Obama’s first Tumblr and the meme they’re desperately trying to push, the First Kid had to take some time out to address a serious issue caused by the time he tried to pretend that Iraq was no longer a problem because he decided to ignore it.
Obama is finally springing into action after years of ignoring Al Qaeda’s rise in Iraq after his botched withdrawal. And he’s considering all options.
Like the option to do nothing. Or roll out a hashtag. Or credit himself for his foresight in claiming that the disaster caused by his policy of pretending Al Qaeda in Iraq no longer existed.
But first his team is trying to figure out how to help. They’re still trying to figure out how to help Ukraine. And they’re still wondering whether they can do anything for Pompei after the volcano went off:
“We’re not going to be able to be everywhere all the time, but what we can do is to make sure that we are consistently helping to finance, train, advise military forces with partner countries, including Iraq, that have the capacity to maintain their own security. And that is a long and laborious process, but it’s one that we need to get started.
“That’s part of what the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund that I am going to be calling for Congress to help finance is all about, giving us the capacity to extend our reach without sending U.S. troops to play Whac-A-Mole wherever there ends up being a problem in a particular country. That’s going to be more effective.”
Spin your fail. Deny Al Qaeda still exists in Iraq. Pretend everything is hunky dory. Run with it.
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