When You Cannot Identify The Enemy, The Enemy Wins!

ISIS Is Not a Terrorist Organization

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By Christopher Ruddy   |   Monday, 16 Nov 2015 04:46 PM

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In Turkey on Monday, President Barack Obama stated that ISIS is not "a traditional military opponent" and labeled it as a "violent extremist group."

His comments cut directly to the heart of why the U.S. has been so ineffectual in defeating this enemy.

If we don't even recognize it for what it is, how can we defeat it?

ISIS is not a terrorist organization. It is indeed a state. It is a "traditional military opponent."

Though ISIS uses unorthodox means and barbaric tactics, it has become a "state" – a state that could have been crippled if not wiped out long ago.

A terrorist group that controls and governs a land mass estimated to be the size of the state of Indiana or larger — and that has all the attributes of the governing body, is a state.

If it acts like a duck, walks like a duck . . .

Why is this such an important distinction for us?

Because a nation state poses a far greater threat to us and has far more resources at its disposal than an ad hoc terrorist group.

The PLO, for instance, long tried to establish control over territory, first in Jordan and later in Lebanon, because it know it could far easily wage war on Israel if it did. Israel recognized this and took steps to insure that never happened.

ISIS now has tax revenue and resources to generate cash. It has training grounds. It has local experts that can help with everything from forging passports to developing chemical and biological weapons. And remember, such weapons can be turned into weapons of mass destruction.

It is a difficult for terrorist organizations to operate without their own territory. It's just a simple fact of life.

We know the 9/11 attacks were organized successfully because Osama bin Laden had the benefit of using Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as its base of operations.

For some reason the president does not see it that way, and views ISIS as just another "violent group" that occupies land wherein he feels they can be "contained."

ISIS is in fact a terrorist group that has taken control of a government in a very strategic part of the Middle East. It used its state as a launch pad, not only in the recent attacks in Paris, but as a strategic hub for operations now in at least six Arab countries.

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The goal of ISIS, apparently, is twofold.

First, it wants to establish a new caliphate.

Second, it wants to do great harm to the United States. One of its websites over the weekend said that the United States will soon get its due, noting that "American blood is the best blood."

I continue to be shocked that not only the president but Congress continues to see ISIS as something of a rogue terror organization, rather than a growing, metastasizing state with far-reaching tentacles.

MSNBC reported Monday that some of the strikes launched by the French in response to the terrorist attacks hit ISIS's oil pumping stations. This is disturbing because it begs the question, after a year of U.S. bombardment: How is it that ISIS is still able to pump oil?

It is also known that ISIS is a Sunni movement backed by Gulf state operators who have been using the extremist group to do their dirty work fighting the Shia-backed Assad regime and Shia-controlled Iraq.

Long ago, the U.S. should have interrupted ISIS's financial ties with the Gulf. We should have been diligent in stanching the flow of cash from the Gulf states, some of whom claim to be allies of ours.

It has been said that in the first six months of U.S. bombing against ISIS, we dropped the same amount of armaments as we did during three days for the battle of Ramadi during the Iraq war.

The Paris attacks confirm we have been fighting ISIS on the periphery.

Now, because of the failure to deal with ISIS, there are growing calls for ground troops and even NATO intervention in Syria.

I am not sure this is the wisest of moves as an initial step.

We should be better supporting the Kurds, the Iraqis, the Jordanians, and even the Egyptians in using their own militaries to decimate and destroy ISIS.

We should be threatening Turkey with losing its NATO status unless it closes its border to ISIS and join with us.

We should back regional powers with NATO air support as they annihilate ISIS, as we cut of their inflows of cash and fighters.

Paris proves that the United States under Obama has been asleep at the switch.

Meanwhile, the vacuum in the Middle East has been filled by Putin's Russia, which has established a very clear axis between itself, Assad's Syria, Iran, and Iraq.

We should be thinking strategically – and use wisdom to destroy ISIS and not platitudes. We definitely need to wipe out ISIS as a state, and we must do it soon.

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Obama's Strategy Is Guaranteed To Lose. Everyone Knows That Except Him. What Is His Game Plan? Why Does He Want ISIS To Win?

Armed Services Chairman: ‘No Way Around It; American Boots Will Be Standing on Sand’

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BRIDGET JOHNSON

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September 11, 2014 - 1:21 pm

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Warning that the ISIS threat is the same “if not worse” than the threat faced by America from al-Qaeda on Sept. 10, 2001, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) argued this morning that the “minimalist approach” outlined by President Obama would not work.

McKeon traveled last week through the Middle East, meeting with ministers and heads of state.

“I listened, and I asked questions. They gave me blunt answers and some hard truths,” he said. “Our allies are on the front lines of terrorism.There is a genuine sense among the leaders I talked with that America is disengaging from the region and concerns about American credibility, at a time when credibility counts.”

“Our relationships with these allies in the region are at a tipping point. What is also notable is that these allies are ready to bear the burden of the fight.  They know their very existence, and stability in the region, depends on defeating ISIL.”

The chairman said the strategy needs to be “one that pins ISIL down and knocks them out.”

“The president has said the threat is not imminent to the homeland. Well, exactly when does the threat become imminent? Why wait until it does?” McKeon said. “We must have a comprehensive strategy that stops any plot against US citizens or our interests now.”

A “go-slow strategy” just gives ISIS ”space to thrive and grow and blend with the population” as 500 foreign fighters a month come to join their ranks and the terror group rakes in $85 million a month from oil revenue alone.

“Soon all that will be left is a cowering population unable to resist the caliphate,” McKeon said. “…We have to get into those Sunni villages with Special Operations Forces to rebuild relationships. Because if the moderate Sunnis slip through our fingers, they’re gone – and with them, our chances for success. We have to reconnect the intelligence links and security forces’ capabilities that were lost when we left Iraq.”

He added that the strategy can’t focus on Iraq first and must encircle the caliphate. “Any strategy that allows ISIL to squirt out into Jordan, Lebanon, or Turkey will only make the fight more difficult,” he said. “A coalition force, empowered by the Americans, could do just that. And once they are encircled and eliminated, we need that territory held by those friendlies. This is the only way to get this done and done right.”

Obama has “finally started” building that coalition, McKeon said.

“The Kurds, the Iraqis, the Turks, the Emeratis, and the Jordanians all have military capability. They all want to knock ISIL on its back. They need our help, they want our help, and we owe them our help,” he said. “Ignoring their pleas is a quick way to end up friendless with little, if any, U.S. influence left in the region. Let’s not forget that our allies around the world are watching and wondering if they can ever trust the U.S. again.”

“The president needs an A-team of diplomats and soldiers on the ground, ushering every player towards the same purpose – not just this week, but on a sustained basis…. We’re holding the starter pistol; the time to pull the trigger was yesterday.”

McKeon called it a “red herring” to assume that “boots on the ground” means a large occupying force. “In fact the best way to ensure that we never have to drop an entire maneuver Corps into Iraq is to be smart about using the right boots on the ground today,” he continued. “The president may not admit it, but he has already made this distinction. He has inserted Special Forces, trainers, advisors, and security forces. This is the right decision. But more can be done.”

“This will take troops. It will not take divisions. But there’s no way around it; American boots will be standing on sand. Americans will be shot at, and they will be shooting back. There’s simply no other way to do this.”

The chairman cautioned that “wars are not won by counterterrorism alone – the 1990s proved as much.”

“The president wants to use a light footprint now in hopes that he doesn’t need a heavy footprint later. This approach was not terribly successful in Libya, which has fallen into chaos. It has short-term benefits, though. It will be cheaper in blood and treasure –for now,” he said. “I want our coalition to go all-in now, so that we do not risk having to use enormously more blood and treasure later. I would much rather fight ISIL in Iraq and Syria today than fight them in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Kurdistan tomorrow. Fortune favors the bold.”