Obama's lack luster war with the JV

Michael Fumento:

As Iraqis fight to repel ISIS forces in Ramadi, the Obama administration is deeming this vital city expendable.

In so doing, the White House shows it understands nothing about the value of Ramadi or even its own capacity to defend it. There’s no better example of US incompetence in dealing with these mad jihadis.

Why isn’t this key western Iraqi city, the capital of Anbar Province, high on our priority list?

According to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey, it’s because President Obama would rather place the emphasis on defending an Anbar refinery, to protect the oil supplies.

As if we couldn’t do both — and then some.

For the past eight months, the administration has settled for little more than jabs when it could have landed flurries of punishing roundhouse blows. According to the latest 24-hour Defense Department report, US forces launched just 36 airstrikes against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria.

That’s actually much more than normal. But it nevertheless is the equivalent of fighter-bombers from the offshore US carrier making just one sortie a day, though each of these planes can fly several daily.

And that doesn’t count the vast numbers of ground-based F-16s, F-15s, F-22s, A-10s, B-1 heavy bombers, helicopters and Reaper and Predator drones we have in the area, or the aircraft of 11 other coalition nations. The day before, there were only 13 airstrikes, fewer than a single Reaper can launch on one mission.

Cruise missiles are also in theater. Plus, B-52 and B-2 bombers can strike from anywhere in the world.
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It seems clear that Obama is allowing the military to do the minimum necessary to keep Iraq from falling completely to ISIL.   It is back to LBJ style control of the use of force that prolongs a war and winds up causing greater casualties and suffering.