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It's worth noting that the US Air Force knows exactly where all of the command posts are for ISIS but due to situations beyond their control (political, civilia

It's worth noting that the US Air Force knows exactly where all of the command posts are for ISIS but due to situations beyond their control (political, civilian populations etc.), they cannot engage. These media stories are cute, but are a mere snapshot into a very complicated world of engagement.

hippo8 11y ago
Genuinely interested to know why, isn't the US and the rest of the civilized world at war with these pieces of shit? So why not end it asap? The US managed to take out bin-laden when they got the chance. So why not the isis? These shits are even worse.
- pjc50 11y ago
  It costs money and it's basically going to be like fighting the Somalis or the Viet Cong or indeed the Iraq/Afghanistan occupations; they're so decentralised that air bombing is ineffective, and they have enough local support that a ground campaign will be grinding.
- fixermark 11y ago
  It's complicated. For starters, the sovereign nations surrounding / occupied by this rebel government don't want to be seen as needing help to maintain their sovereignty (that kind of weakness encourages the next ISIS to try their hand at regime change).
- tanderson92 11y ago
  > The US managed to take out bin-laden when they got the chance. Only if you take everything the White House tells you at face value, which is not a wise course of action these days.
- mason240 11y ago
  In this specific case, it's largely because sending troops back into Iraq would an admission that it was a mistake for President Obama to pull out of Iraq before their military was completely ready.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    Yeah, because training them from 2003 to 2012 to the tune of $25 billion plus didn't make them a competent army, so another 3 years would clearly have gotten the job done. In reality, President Bush is an utter moron responsible for the largest foreign policy debacle in the last 50 years. He upset the jenga tower that is middle east politics and we're going to be living through knock-on effects for a long time. In particular, Iraq isn't a single country; it's 3 countries held together by military force papering over long running ethnic/religious/tribal feuds. Plus oil. Also, when Paul Bremer dismissed much of the iraqi military, one of his generals essentially founded Isis [1]. More idiocy courtesy of George Bush. [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3028529/Saddam-Hussein-s-revenge-grave-ISIS-s-land-grab-Middle-East-orchestrated-former-Iraqi-dictator-s-generals.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3028529/Saddam-Husse...
remarkEon 11y ago
It's probably more accurate to say that the DoD has a reasonable level of confidence for the location of most of the ISIS command posts. The "situations beyond their control" would also include those confidence intervals. These things are dynamic and complex, like you pointed out. As such, it's unwise to declare absolutes about things like this in warfare.
- josefresco 11y ago
  You're right - I won't edit my post but I agree. I went overboard to contrast the article which might make it appear as though the US military lacks this intelligence.

hippo8 11y ago

Genuinely interested to know why, isn't the US and the rest of the civilized world at war with these pieces of shit? So why not end it asap? The US managed to take out bin-laden when they got the chance. So why not the isis? These shits are even worse.

pjc50 11y ago
It costs money and it's basically going to be like fighting the Somalis or the Viet Cong or indeed the Iraq/Afghanistan occupations; they're so decentralised that air bombing is ineffective, and they have enough local support that a ground campaign will be grinding.
fixermark 11y ago
It's complicated. For starters, the sovereign nations surrounding / occupied by this rebel government don't want to be seen as needing help to maintain their sovereignty (that kind of weakness encourages the next ISIS to try their hand at regime change).
tanderson92 11y ago
> The US managed to take out bin-laden when they got the chance. Only if you take everything the White House tells you at face value, which is not a wise course of action these days.
mason240 11y ago
In this specific case, it's largely because sending troops back into Iraq would an admission that it was a mistake for President Obama to pull out of Iraq before their military was completely ready.
- x0x0 11y ago
  Yeah, because training them from 2003 to 2012 to the tune of $25 billion plus didn't make them a competent army, so another 3 years would clearly have gotten the job done. In reality, President Bush is an utter moron responsible for the largest foreign policy debacle in the last 50 years. He upset the jenga tower that is middle east politics and we're going to be living through knock-on effects for a long time. In particular, Iraq isn't a single country; it's 3 countries held together by military force papering over long running ethnic/religious/tribal feuds. Plus oil. Also, when Paul Bremer dismissed much of the iraqi military, one of his generals essentially founded Isis [1]. More idiocy courtesy of George Bush. [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3028529/Saddam-Hussein-s-revenge-grave-ISIS-s-land-grab-Middle-East-orchestrated-former-Iraqi-dictator-s-generals.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3028529/Saddam-Husse...

remarkEon 11y ago

It's probably more accurate to say that the DoD has a reasonable level of confidence for the location of most of the ISIS command posts. The "situations beyond their control" would also include those confidence intervals. These things are dynamic and complex, like you pointed out. As such, it's unwise to declare absolutes about things like this in warfare.

josefresco 11y ago
You're right - I won't edit my post but I agree. I went overboard to contrast the article which might make it appear as though the US military lacks this intelligence.