Iraq's Army

 

 

"The slaughterhouse in Iraq continues to grow, as the world continues to watch and do nothing..."

Question: What is a bigger waste of taxpayer money than building a bridge to nowhere? Answer: Giving any US supplied equipment or funding to the Iraqi Army. And I am using the term "army" very loosely.

As most have heard by now, the town of Ramadi in the Anwar Provence of Iraq fell yesterday. Not much of a battle really. The United States had just supplied them with more top notch equipment and fighting vehicles a few days prior. When the battle started, the Iraqi Army dropped their weapons and fled. Some were immediately captured and killed. ISIL then took ownership of all the stuff we had just given to the Iraqi Army.

So what ever happened to the million man Iraqi army some of the world feared for so long? Quite simply, some of what is left of it has reconstituted. Reconstituted within the ISIL ranks. Now we have skilled, seasoned (and bloodthirsty) fighters on one side fighting for ISIL, and a bunch of untrained, unmotivated troops fighting for the Iraqi Army. I can't say I blame anyone for wanting to run away from ISIL. They are as vicious and cruel and one could imagine. Only a highly skilled army could take care of ISIL.

Why should we care if Ramadi fell? First off, reports from the region are more than gruesome. Being a survivor is not a very good fate once ISIL takes over. There are mass murders, rapes, theft, and so on. It is ethnic cleansing with a religious twist. Next, Ramadi is a stepping stone to the grand prize - Baghdad. And when Baghdad falls, it is game over. The dominos will be lined up. Next with be Syria, then Libya then more. It will be bad beyond belief.

General Hayden was on the news today. I like him, and I respect him. He was very clear with his message. Doing nothing will be a disaster. The irony of this disaster is simply this - if our President, our nation had the will right now, we could go in and clean house. ISIL is very good at killing innocents or ill-trained armies. They would not do well against United States forces. Going in right now would cost United States more treasure and blood. Doing nothing would also cost United States treasure and blood, only the battle would be much closer - maybe even here.

Here we sit, between the devil and the deep blue sea. All choices are bad. I do know this - the savior of liberty, freedom and millions of people during in WW II, is now absent. As evil roams the land and grows everyday, the one nation who could stop it, chooses not to. Just like in Rwanda in 1994, our choice is to once again be a spectator. A spectator to what is becoming one of the goriest chapters of modern history. As innocent blood continues to flow like rivers in the Middle East, we are focused on getting our cabins open for the Memorial Day weekend.

One of my favorite lines from the movie Pearl Harbor was when a British officer asked an young American pilot why he was so anxious to help out since he was flying with the RAF as a volunteer. His response was short - he just wanted to matter. Many of us want to matter right now. In the midst of this modern day mass genocide, it would be nice to matter.