Pentagon to try again at training Syrian rebels

[TSwizzle]

(Nobel Peace Prize winner)President Obama has authorized a limited new plan to train and arm rebel fighters to confront Islamic State militants in Syria, relaunching a Pentagon program that was suspended last fall after a series of embarrassing setbacks.

“This is part of our adjustments to the train and equip program built on prior lessons learned,” said Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Baghdad.

LA Times

Madness.

 

[Trausti]

This is necessary, as ISIS's stockpile of US weapons is depleted.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

I recently watched some you tube vidoes of Kurdish women fighters blasting away at some distant ISIL fighters. They had AK-47s and these are not accurate weapons. The technique was to blast away until maybe, by sheer luck, they hit a target. Much shooting, few hits. What is needed here are sniper rifles with good scopes and plenty of ammo to train with. And training in the art of sniping. 500 Winchester .300 Magnums with X32 scopes would soon straighten ISIl right up.

 

[funinspace]

Sheeesh...why is ISIS running out of our weapons? Just from last weekend:

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...apons-bases-from-us-backed-syrian-rebels.html

BEIRUT -- Al-Qaida militants swept through a rebel-held town in northern Syria in a display of dominance Sunday, arresting U.S.-backed fighters and looting weapons stores belonging to the Free Syrian Army.
<snip>
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said Nusra seized anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles, a tank, and other arms from the division, which has received weapons, training, and money from the U.S. government. It said Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa detained 40 fighters from the division.

But our weapons makers will appreciate the spending...

 

[Trausti]

Sheeesh...why is ISIS running out of our weapons? Just from last weekend:

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...apons-bases-from-us-backed-syrian-rebels.html

BEIRUT -- Al-Qaida militants swept through a rebel-held town in northern Syria in a display of dominance Sunday, arresting U.S.-backed fighters and looting weapons stores belonging to the Free Syrian Army.
<snip>
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said Nusra seized anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles, a tank, and other arms from the division, which has received weapons, training, and money from the U.S. government. It said Nusra and Jund al-Aqsa detained 40 fighters from the division.

But our weapons makers will appreciate the spending...

Ugh. We need to limit our involvement to air support for the Kurds. The FSA and other "moderate" rebels are a joke.

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I thought ISIS was defeated. Isn't that why Russia is packing it in?

 

[Valjean]

What rebel fighters? There seem to be more factions everyday, with everybody fighting everybody.
And what's to be accomplished? As soon as one faction's weakened a worse one takes over.

 

[Will Wiley]

So they armed "rebels" to fight Assad. Now they will arm "rebels" to fight ISIS? Yeah right.

the goal has been the same all along, to get rid of Assad, nothing more. ISIS is incidental to them.

 

[whichphilosophy]

(Nobel Peace Prize winner)President Obama has authorized a limited new plan to train and arm rebel fighters to confront Islamic State militants in Syria, relaunching a Pentagon program that was suspended last fall after a series of embarrassing setbacks.

“This is part of our adjustments to the train and equip program built on prior lessons learned,” said Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Baghdad.

LA Times

Madness.

Indeed what lessons learnt. Does ISIS need some reinforcements after the Russions and Kurds have driven them from many of their locations.
Perhaps the real intent is really to remove Assad rather than ISIS.

- - - Updated - - -

(Nobel Peace Prize winner)President Obama has authorized a limited new plan to train and arm rebel fighters to confront Islamic State militants in Syria, relaunching a Pentagon program that was suspended last fall after a series of embarrassing setbacks.

“This is part of our adjustments to the train and equip program built on prior lessons learned,” said Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Baghdad.

LA Times

Madness.

Indeed what lessons learnt. Does ISIS need some reinforcements after the Russions and Kurds have driven them from many of their locations.
Perhaps the real intent is really to remove Assad rather than ISIS.

- - - Updated - - -

(Nobel Peace Prize winner)President Obama has authorized a limited new plan to train and arm rebel fighters to confront Islamic State militants in Syria, relaunching a Pentagon program that was suspended last fall after a series of embarrassing setbacks.

“This is part of our adjustments to the train and equip program built on prior lessons learned,” said Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Baghdad.

LA Times

Madness.

Indeed what lessons learnt. Does ISIS need some reinforcements after the Russions and Kurds have driven them from many of their locations.
Perhaps the real intent is really to remove Assad rather than ISIS.

 

[barbos]

I can't help but think that this stupid idea is a response to a Russian withdrawal. Looks like US administration simply cannot allow Russia to claim credit for any kind of normalization there. They would rather have this mess continue. Unfortunately for American strategists Putin claims that he will go back if necessary.

 

[barbos]

I recently watched some you tube vidoes of Kurdish women fighters blasting away at some distant ISIL fighters. They had AK-47s and these are not accurate weapons. The technique was to blast away until maybe, by sheer luck, they hit a target. Much shooting, few hits. What is needed here are sniper rifles with good scopes and plenty of ammo to train with. And training in the art of sniping. 500 Winchester .300 Magnums with X32 scopes would soon straighten ISIl right up.

I've watched a lot of videos, they all fight like that, ISIS, syrian army, the rest of groups. To be fair, I saw a video of american soldiers using automatic grenade launcher the same way, basically wasting the ammo.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So they armed "rebels" to fight Assad. Now they will arm "rebels" to fight ISIS? Yeah right.

Did the US really arm the Syrian rebels with much of anything? Much of the ISIS American weapons were taken from Iraq.

the goal has been the same all along, to get rid of Assad, nothing more. ISIS is incidental to them.

I think the US wants to get rid of Assad, but understand there is no good path.

 

[Valjean]

Indeed what lessons learnt. Does ISIS need some reinforcements after the Russions and Kurds have driven them from many of their locations.
Perhaps the real intent is really to remove Assad rather than ISIS.

Russia is pro Assad, though. It sees the Assad regime as the only stabilizing force in the region, and opposes ISIS because it threatens the regime.
The US, on the other hand, just wants to remove Assad and, apparently, expects some unnamed opposition group to step into the power vacuum and run things smoothly.
This worked so well in neighboring Iraq, you see.

 

[funinspace]

Indeed what lessons learnt. Does ISIS need some reinforcements after the Russions and Kurds have driven them from many of their locations.
Perhaps the real intent is really to remove Assad rather than ISIS.

Russia is pro Assad, though. It sees the Assad regime as the only stabilizing force in the region, and opposes ISIS because it threatens the regime.
The US, on the other hand, just wants to remove Assad and, apparently, expects some unnamed opposition group to step into the power vacuum and run things smoothly.
This worked so well in neighboring Iraq, you see.

It also has done wonders for some long forgotten geographic area that used to be called Libya...

 

[whichphilosophy]

I recently watched some you tube vidoes of Kurdish women fighters blasting away at some distant ISIL fighters. They had AK-47s and these are not accurate weapons. The technique was to blast away until maybe, by sheer luck, they hit a target. Much shooting, few hits. What is needed here are sniper rifles with good scopes and plenty of ammo to train with. And training in the art of sniping. 500 Winchester .300 Magnums with X32 scopes would soon straighten ISIl right up.

I've watched a lot of videos, they all fight like that, ISIS, syrian army, the rest of groups. To be fair, I saw a video of american soldiers using automatic grenade launcher the same way, basically wasting the ammo.

This is possibly because they cannot always see the enemy.

- - - Updated - - -

Russia is pro Assad, though. It sees the Assad regime as the only stabilizing force in the region, and opposes ISIS because it threatens the regime.
The US, on the other hand, just wants to remove Assad and, apparently, expects some unnamed opposition group to step into the power vacuum and run things smoothly.
This worked so well in neighboring Iraq, you see.

It also has done wonders for some long forgotten geographic area that used to be called Libya...

Iraq is also a bit of a dog's dinner too.

 

[whichphilosophy]

Did the US really arm the Syrian rebels with much of anything? Much of the ISIS American weapons were taken from Iraq.

the goal has been the same all along, to get rid of Assad, nothing more. ISIS is incidental to them.

I think the US wants to get rid of Assad, but understand there is no good path.

Recently it dropped 50 tons on ammunition to them. Hopefully they will fit the guns they already have and ISIS does't overrun some of their positions.
However Russia claims it has destroyed most of ISIS heavy weaponry. Perhaps some ISIS troops will join the refugees from Syria as Europe has its doors open and waiting.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...s-to-new-syrian-rebel-coalition-a6692126.html

I'm in the Philippines and the server has crashed (or is working but is offline as the DNS Helpless desk tells me) So I can't read the this particular one.

 

[whichphilosophy]

Indeed what lessons learnt. Does ISIS need some reinforcements after the Russions and Kurds have driven them from many of their locations.
Perhaps the real intent is really to remove Assad rather than ISIS.

Russia is pro Assad, though. It sees the Assad regime as the only stabilizing force in the region, and opposes ISIS because it threatens the regime.
The US, on the other hand, just wants to remove Assad and, apparently, expects some unnamed opposition group to step into the power vacuum and run things smoothly.
This worked so well in neighboring Iraq, you see.

And Libya has at least two governments, where the local towns are run by conflicting local war lords. NATO did their bit for this country.

 

[J842P]

I recently watched some you tube vidoes of Kurdish women fighters blasting away at some distant ISIL fighters. They had AK-47s and these are not accurate weapons. The technique was to blast away until maybe, by sheer luck, they hit a target. Much shooting, few hits. What is needed here are sniper rifles with good scopes and plenty of ammo to train with. And training in the art of sniping. 500 Winchester .300 Magnums with X32 scopes would soon straighten ISIl right up.

That's typical of firefights. While a few snipers in a team are good, you can't have everyone be a sniper or your asking to be overrun.