Chief Tango sends us a link from the Associated Press which reports that unnamed senior DoD officials have told them that special operators are headed to northern Syria to help rebels against the Assad Administration there.
The deployment marks the first time U.S. troops will be working openly on the ground in Syria.
U.S. officials say President Barack Obama ordered the deployment of fewer than 50 commandos to help coalition forces coordinate with the local troops.
One official also says the U.S. will be sending additional aircraft, including F-15 fighters and A-10s to the Incirlik air base in Turkey.
If I’m not mistaken, those are the Syrian rebel folks that the Russian airstrikes seem to be targeting.
Comments
40 responses to “Operators headed to Syria”
No, you’re not mistaken, Jonn, and that is what makes this seem to me to be another dumb-ass mistake by the Obama administration.
This is a horrible idea. Is Obama trying to get our troops bombed along with the Syrian jihadists? Or are our troops being used as human shields to protect the jihadists?
Why are we in an active military engagement in Syria? There is no war authorization bill for that country. We have no national security interest there.
This is all wrong. Why are we serving as Alquedia’s air-force?
I agree with you guys!
I don’t know which is more psychotic. This is almost like O ‘wants’ us to go to war with Russia by putting our guys on the same ground the Russians are carpet bombing. Or that the pentagon and AF keep crying about ‘retire the A10 and buy a plane that doesn’t work’, while they keep sending the A10 to go smash faces.
Where is our national interest?
Where has ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ gone?
Watching our leadership is like playing tic-tac-toe with my five year old!
So now we’re in a full-on proxy war with Russia, with Russian and American boots on the ground, on opposite sides, in the same combat zone?
What could possibly go wrong?
“This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we’ll be lucky to live through it.”
Let’s see – Democrat president who is facing political turmoil at home and is determined not to “lose” a war lest it hurt his domestic agenda, so he escalates it incrementally and ineffectually instead…
Pretty sure I saw this movie once before. 😉
Yeah. And it sucked the Big Wazoo the first time.
And it will suck the Big Wazoo again. You may recall that Vietnam started when Kennedy sent in Green Beret “advisers”. So Kennedy and Johnson did it wrong (Vietnam). Carter did it wrong (Iran). Clinton did it wrong (Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, etc). And so far the Obamster has done it wrong (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria).
Bush got it right in Afghanistan because he sent Special Forces with bombers on station and then followed up with serious ground troops.
I think that Reagan was half wrong – he understood the political angle but I think that he either should not have sent the Marines at all or they should have had a longer leash. Reagan’s handling of Central America was offset by ending the Cold War.
I suppose that there must be something in the water that the Democrats drink.
To pick a nit, Eisenhower sent the SF advisers, not Kennedy. On the other hand, their number never went over about 400 during Ike’s administration, while JFK pumped them up to about 1,200 early on.
It’s a simple rule, really; don’t send in troops to avoid looking stupid or weak. LBJ ramped up the war because he didn’t want to be the guy who “lost Vietnam” to the commies.
My comment self-posted before I was finished with my thought. Imagine the mess we’re going to be in if some of our operators, hell, even one, get killed in a Russian airstrike. Will someone here with a bit more savvy regarding geopolitics please explain to me what the reasoning could possibly be behind this?
It appears to me that our clueless C in C is like a small boy sitting in a closet playing with a box of matches.
Also: So how many countries has our Nobel Peace Prize winner bombed or invaded now? I’m losing track….
Well, let’s see. Off the top of my head . . . there’s Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan (RPA operations), Yemen (RPA), Libya (New Dawn) – and I believe I’ve seen published references to RPA operations in Somalia also. (Not sure if the PRA we reportedly deployed to central Africa were armed or carried out any strike missions.) And there’s probably a few I’ve missed.
I’m surprised he hasn’t started using PSRC yet to deploy larger amounts of ground troops to the latest fun spots like clinton did in the 90s over and over again.
Presidential Select Reserve Call-up: POTUS can mobilize up to 200,000 Reservists to duty under US Code 12304 in order to conduct whatever operations he wants for up to 365 days. (In the 90s it was 270)
Don’t give him any ideas.
Yep, my bad. I realized that after I posted it since the NSA and IRS are watching apparently. (According to today’s news, the IRS is potentially watching spenders? So why not, vets too?)
Think the key word here is openly. I would chuckle at the thought of the combined OPCEN to establish and deconflict restricted fire and no fire areas with Vlad and Qassim if our troops lives weren’t on the line.
That situation could be made a lot more simple — we should work with the Russians instead of against them, and clean out that viper’s nest.
Fact of the matter is we are pseudo allies with the Russians and the Iranians whether we admit it or not.
So how soon till the “Obama lied and Casey died” protests?
For I seemed to remember this:
https://youtu.be/B-lL40c6n_0
The press chief will be “explaining” what he actually meant when he said “no boots on ground” he didn’t really mean “no boots on ground”.
With the way things are going I wouldn’t be surprised if he signs an executive order to require sneakers, flip flops, or even high heels be worn in Syria so he can say “there weren’t really any boots on ground there, only other types of non-boot footwear.”
Ah so just like the “love your doc keep your doc”, “workplace violence”, “protests about a film”, “rebuild American prestige”, “Rouge agents of an office”, etc sort of spin? Then when it can’t be maintain the facade the rule switches to the shock of no one now? Gotcha.
Sounds to me like he’s continuing to play into Putin’s hand yet again.
And the first “commando” who gets killed by a Russian bombing will cause what with this administration?
“I’ll take ‘Ineffectual wailing and gnashing of teeth’ for $500, Alex.”
Congratulations, you’ve hit the first daily double.
What is the presstitute’s statement that it was not a combat death?
The hitting of that hospital keeps ringing in my ears. The early explanation was that the info rec’d was bad from observers on the ground and a DOJ investigation was ordered by the Scrotum Shaver. These operators will now be forward observers is my guess, charged with verifying air targets. But who knows? Not me. Certainly not His Holiness. What I do know in my heart of hearts is that Vlad gave his approval, probably subject to approval for all missions and the Scrotum Shaver said, “Will do!”.
Put me in the camp that thinks thus: If you can’t teach your trainees to do a simple fucking jumping jack, it is unlikely you can teach them to report a grid.
I have seen this shit in reverse where the ANA would be given a good grid and then we would watch them try to go to it. It was like watching the freakin keystone cops.
And by the way, I have seen reports that another Doctors Without Borders Hospital was hit too, by the Saudis in Yemen I guess.
Continuing prayers for the troops. I don’t even want to imagine thier ROE 🙁
And A-10’s, too? I thought those couldn’t fight and survive on a modern battlefield environment!
Seriously, how much half-assed BS is this administration going to pull, and how many good people are going to die as a result?
Well we will see how they do when the Putins modern air defense systems begin to light those A-10s up and when the first “Syrian terrorist” launches a missile that kills someone. While the Putins claim it wasn’t them, but the calls and video sure shows Putin Soldiers
OTOH the F-35’s will be either be down for maintenance or the cost of the platform will keep them from getting within missile-shot of any potential enemy, which will preserve their “zero combat losses” record. 😉
Well, that might be the case – after their fire-control software is “ready” in 2019 or after. Until then, I doubt they’ll perform missions ISO ground combat at all.
Somebody please tell me how this could possibly end well.
” . . . and a miracle occurs. The end.”
I’m sure L. Taylor will be along any minute now, once he finishes his homework.
https://youtu.be/frAEmhqdLFs
Is the answer you are looking for. The current administration will be dumfounded that Beale and Flyingdales would disappear and be shocked that the codes are needed in a timely fashion. Either that or the last thing they see is the bright light of the instant sunshine.
Some HIND pROn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCuLQ_sc-C4
And I am sure we are only there to support the moderates…..
Just so we get it straight here…..
Iraq: Combat Zone
Kuwait: Combat Zone
Libya: Not Combat Zone
Syria: Not Combat Zone
I’m really feeling my age now. When I heard the magic number 50 the first thing I thought of was El Salvador. How quaint all that seems now.
Hey, guys, chill. Those Russkis are JV. Nothing to worry about.
Nope. Nothing to worry about ay-tall.