Featured Boots On The Ground

We both knew that the statement by the administration that there would be "no boots on the ground" was a lie. I don't know why they bother to tell that lie. I would also bet there are special ops troops scattered around Iraq as well.

Some things just can't be done from 15000 feet in the air.

 

Interesting article about how the U.S. had to send Green Berets to break up the black market in air-lifted food and water that developed in Iraq after the first Gulf War. I bet Obama will have to do this as well, perhaps this was what the soldiers in the OP were doing.


President Obama more than likely will have to put more U.S. troops on the ground if his effort to provide humanitarian aid to the Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq is truly to succeed.

I say that having watched a similar U.S.-led effort to airdrop food, tents and medical supplies to Iraqi Kurds driven into the same northern mountains by Saddam Hussein’s military in the wake of Desert Storm in 1991.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/270821001.html

 

Ahhhh....they are probably Force Recon Marines my friend.

 

To be fair to everyone involved the phrase "boots on the ground" is usually understood in the context of combat fighting.

 

Exactly. I appreciate you saying that. When I hear boots on the ground I am thinking of what we were doing the last eleven years. There are still hundreds of service men and women in Iraq to this day. I have friends that have been there the last 11 months. Intel specialists and some from the special forces community are going to be there for awhile. We have known that. It would be naive to believe that we just up and left without leaving behind people to finalize the demilitarization of our FOB's. Boots on the ground to me indicates an occupying force in combat. The news has already reported that we were going to send advisors, logistics specialists and some overall security to assist in the evacuation and aid to those cutoff on the mountain range. This isn't some gotcha moment. It is a response to a horrific situation that I fully support.

 

No. "Boots on the ground" does not mean an "occupying" force It means armed combat troops able to defend themselves or participate in offensive operations. Any Marine meets those qualifications if they are armed. I can't see them being deployed anywhere in Iraq without weapons.

 

That would definitely be sending the cream of the crop. :thumbs:

Regardless of the type, I would bet my last dollar that special ops troops are on the ground in Iraq right now.

 

Well of course. I think when we are talking about putting boots back on the ground in the context of this thread we are talking about reoccupying Iraq. I certainly think that you and I would agree that isn't what is about to happen here.

 

On this we can agree. There has been a SOCOM and SF presence there since 2003. That is unlikely to change in the near future.

 

That's right and our troops are wearing flip-flops right now for political reasons.

 

I'm not sure I even know what this means.

 

:laugh: Well, if they wore boots, Obama would once again be proven a liar.

Can't have that , can we?

 

Well of course they are armed. It is a mandatory requirement for all deploying personnel except for Chaplains. It was made very clear that we require a presence to monitor the embassy as we are still very much using it. Specialists, advisors and security will always be a requirement in just about any area of the world we consider a hotspot. When asked about going "boots to the ground" they were obviously not talking about embassy security, the logisticians doing the demilitarizing of our former FOB's or tactical advisors. They were talking about committing an active unit to resume combat operations against the IS. The answer was no.

 

You may be right and you have nothing to apologize for. The term most likely means something different to others across branches of services. To be honest I don't really care what it means as long as the correct action is taken. Whatever boots are on the ground right now I don't have a problem with. If we decide to reopen a FOB and drop in a division to fight the IS then that is something I want to avoid.

 

Obama said the war in Iraq was wrong and that he was going to end it. Now he is starting a war. Let's see, a Democrat presided over WW I, another Democrat over WW II, another Democrat over Korea, and yet again another Democrat over Vietnam. I guess that 0bam@ is starting another Democrat war.

 

World War I and II just another democratic war? :laugh: Goodness gracious.

Answer this for me. Are you opposed to what has happened the past week? It has seriously gotten to the point where people have stopped caring about the issues of the world. All they are interested in are how these issues can fuel their partiasan line. It is extremely sad. There was a real world need for intervention this past week and it was aptly applied.