Iraq.

[Musket Man]

I couldnt understand this religious war when I was there and I still dont but I find whats going on there now hard to swallow. The more I findout about it the worst it gets. ISIS appears to be the worst form of terrorist yet, even worse then al qaeda, which they started out as part of. It appears they have been growing and gaining ground in Iraq and Syria for a while now, it just hasnt really made headlines until recently when they took some major citys in Iraq. If ISIS is not stopped it seems like what we did in Iraq was all for not much...

 

[marcusvdk]

ISIs is a very wealthy terrorists group as well. Heard on the news yesterday that they currently have over 2 billion dollars in cash and assets. That gives them way to much power to buy something we don't want them to have

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[Musket Man]

They have stole alot of it from banks they robbed and alot of their weapons have been stolen taken from places they took control of. They do have support from some wealthy ppl as well. Worse yet we had the leader of it in in jail for a while and released him.

 

[Cobbhunts]

Iraq is on the verge of being an "all for nothing" war. And ISIS can not be stopped by a small SF group such as the one that Numnuts is sending over there. It gives me some bad heartburn as well.

And yea....2 bil is a bunch of money that could do some damage for sure, but the most they could by of anything of mass destruction would be a couple to a few. But still, ISIS is a powerful organization. And that 2 bil could very quickly turn into 20 through an active recruiting campaign, and spending/investing what they have banked wisely.

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[Colorado Cowboy]

Shouldn't have been there to start with. They have been killing each other over differences in religious beliefs for 1,000's of years and we expect to put a stop to it? Pure lunacy!

 

[buckbull]

CC is right. Killing each other seems to be their national pastime. They do not value human life at all.

 

[Musket Man]

I think going there was good although it may be hard to understand for alot that havent been there. It all started 9/11 and I think alot more would have happened here by now if we hadnt gone after them over there. Alot of our trouble in Iraq was coming from Syria and we should have took care of that at the same time. It sounds like alot has been going down hill in Iraq for several years but our current president has been looking the other direction. He is holding off on air strikes because "it would make it appear we were taking sides". Is there really a question about what side we are on? Makes me wonder if Obama is part of ISIS the way he is so reluctant to do anything about them. All his talk about a unity government means nothing to ISIS. The only way to stop them is to kill them. You have to fight fire with fire. If they are not stopped over there they will be over here again worse then 9/11. When the ISIS leader was released he told our guys that released him "I'll see you in New York". They have a much bigger agenda then just part of Iraq and Syria. The Levant is a huge part of the middle east that plan to take over if they are not stopped.

 

[jjenness]

Back in 2003 I was part of the group that took over Qaim, which is the city right on the Syrian border next to the Euphrates river. The bloodshed we experienced to secure that border crossing has proven to be all for nothing as now the ISIS has control of that MSR. Ever since I deployed I have always said that you can not win a religious war with military objectives, it just seems like our leaders are having trouble learning this.

 

[Hilltop]

Thank you gentlemen for what you have done and what some of you are still doing. It is very much appreciated! I have strong political beliefs but to me this isn't about that- While I sit at home a raise 2 boys I can sleep well knowing people like you are fighting for people like me. Thanks again

 

[Cobbhunts]

No problem Hilltop!! I wish I could turn back the clock 10-12 years. Because I would do it all over again. And I wouldn't have gotten out the next time around, I would have stayed in longer. My deployment wasn't in Iraq or Afghan, but it was in a place that wasn't very safe and was extremely important to the logistical side of war. Troop/ammo movements and the like. I pre-deployed in December of 2001, and we hit the ground in January of 2002.

Having said that, I can't speak to Iraq like MM or JJ can since they've lived there. But I do know a lot about the ins and outs of both wars, because I'm still involved with them as a civilian. We would have had more contact on our soil had we not "went over there" after 911. By applying this pressure it saved many American lives on US soil. I can assure you guys of that.

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[Dearhunter3450]

These people have been fighting since the dawn of time, there is no question about that !! They have no thought of how much life is worth because most have nothing. I hope we can take control with minimal boots on the ground but am afraid the only way to keep anything in that wonderful region is to occupy it indefinitely.

 

[Musket Man]

Fighting is 1 thing, flat out murdering women and children that are trying to flee the area and executing people is a whole nother thing. I cant hear about people doing these things and not want to go do something about it. I will agree with jj that it cant all be won with the military but with groups like this and in this situation I see no other choice. Right now they are out in the open where we can find them which seems like 1 of the biggest breaks we have had in years.

 

[packmule]

Problem is you can't fight extremist groups with a set of rules in place that you have to follow & come out ahead.

 

[Againstthewind]

I just wanted to echo Hilltop and say thanks to you guys who served/are serving. Good job.

 

[Dearhunter3450]

Fighting is 1 thing, flat out murdering women and children that are trying to flee the area and executing people is a whole nother thing. I cant hear about people doing these things and not want to go do something about it. I will agree with jj that it cant all be won with the military but with groups like this and in this situation I see no other choice. Right now they are out in the open where we can find them which seems like 1 of the biggest breaks we have had in years.

MM you know that is there thing, to kill and make examples of everything. They don't show mercy to anyone or anything however we do. I say let the navy kick the hell out of the ones they can to try and give the police a chance to gain control. I would really hate to see us on ground forever and I still say that's what would have to happen.

 

[Musket Man]

MM you know that is there thing, to kill and make examples of everything. They don't show mercy to anyone or anything however we do. I say let the navy kick the hell out of the ones they can to try and give the police a chance to gain control. I would really hate to see us on ground forever and I still say that's what would have to happen.

I know thats their thing and is most of what makes me want to go after them. I would be trying to reenlist right now if the army was going over there.

Alot of the trouble with the Iraqi army is they dont have good leadership. Its hard to build a new army because you dont have guys that have been in for years to lead all the new guys coming in.

 

[FlaFlatlander]

Have to echo Hilltop. It's because the sacrifices that allot of our people made that allow us be in this great country and enjoy the freedoms we do! God Bless America!

 

[jjenness]

Going over there with military objectives is like looking for your next date at a family reunion, it might get the job done for the day but it just isn't going to work out over the long run.

 

[woodtick]

Worse yet we had the leader of it in in jail for a while and released him.

Why does this not surprise me!!!

 

[Musket Man]

Some people just cant be reasoned with, like ISIS and suicide bombers. I agree alot of the problems in Iraq can and should be dealt with in other ways but right now I think the only solution to the current situation is military action. A year ago other things could have been but I think its way past the point of that now. There have been reports and intel that the Iraq government was having problems and this was going to happen for well over a year and our president and his administration have looked the other way at all of it. Now they are acting surprised that its happening like they had no idea when really they knew all along. It sounds alot like Benghazi when they looked the other way from all the warnings that would happen too.