easyt65
Diamond Member
- Aug 4, 2015
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"A U.S.-led coalition began advancing on Mosul Monday morning, aiming to take the Iraqi city back from the Islamic State. But in addition to normal security concerns, the coalition fears they might face chemical weapons during their incursion.
A Pentagon spokesman said last month that ISIS is “dead set” on using chemical weapons, and that forces should expect their use during the Mosul attack. In preparation, the U.S. provided Iraqi security forces with 40,000 gas masks. But Kurdish peshmerga forces are still trying to equip themselves, and have asked the UK for help.
At least some of the chemical weapons in ISIS’s possession come from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s undeclared stockpile, making this the latest catastrophic consequence of Obama’s failed foreign policy in Syria.
The peshmerga claim ISIS has already used chemical weapons on them at least 19 times. And they’re not alone—according to the U.S. intelligence community, ISIS has been using chemicals like mustard and chlorine agents in Iraq and Syria since the first half of 2015. It’s no surprise that an organization like ISIS, with so little respect for human life, would be willing to engage in chemical warfare. But how did they acquire these weapons in the first place?
It All Began With Obama’s ‘Red Line’
ISIS is making some of its chemical weapons itself. These are largely thought to be unsophisticated and non-lethal. The U.S. still considers them to be a high priority, and bombed an ISIS chemical weapons plant in Iraq last month.
But according to a British chemical weapons expert, ISIS has access to as much as 100 tons of Assad’s undeclared stockpile. And these are lethal.
There has long been concern that ISIS and other jihadist groups would come across Syrian caches of chemical weapons. In August, a former Syrian jihadi fighter confirmed this fear when he told Foreign Policy Magazine that he helped attack a regime base holding chemical weapons. Led by the Nusra Front, which later split to create ISIS, the jihadists were surprised to find a stockpile of chlorine, sarin, and mustard gas.
ISIS’s possession of Syrian chemical weapons is just the latest unintended consequence of President Barack Obama’s disastrous “red line” in Syria. In 2013, Obama said that if Assad used chemical weapons, the U.S. would take military action. But when Assad used chemicals to horrifying effect, Obama did nothing. Instead, the Obama administration allowed Russia to negotiate the handover of “all” Syria’s chemical weapons for destruction. Obviously, Assad wasn’t completely forthright.
Foreign Policy FAIL.
Obama’s Blunders Will Have Severe Consequences
Obama has also trusted and negotiated with bad actors without acknowledging the risks involved. Since day one, Obama’s modus operandi has been “diplomacy at all costs.” This was how he wanted to shape his legacy: by brokering deals no one else could. But Obama has used diplomacy without the threat of force, and negotiated with states that ought not to be trusted. This kind of diplomacy leads to deals in name only.
Since day one, Obama’s modus operandi has been ‘diplomacy at all costs.’
Take the Iran nuclear deal. It relies on Iranian inspectors to report honestly about the goings-on inside Iranian nuclear facilities. No outside inspectors are permitted entry. In exchange for these “inspections,” the U.S. has loosened sanctions, delivered hundreds of millions to Tehran in shady cash payments, and generally tiptoed around the Islamic Republic, encouraging its reemergence as a regional power. In fact, Obama reportedly backed down from the red line in Syria in order not to jeopardize the Iran deal."
Thanks To Obama, ISIS Now Has Chemical Weapons
A Pentagon spokesman said last month that ISIS is “dead set” on using chemical weapons, and that forces should expect their use during the Mosul attack. In preparation, the U.S. provided Iraqi security forces with 40,000 gas masks. But Kurdish peshmerga forces are still trying to equip themselves, and have asked the UK for help.
At least some of the chemical weapons in ISIS’s possession come from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s undeclared stockpile, making this the latest catastrophic consequence of Obama’s failed foreign policy in Syria.
The peshmerga claim ISIS has already used chemical weapons on them at least 19 times. And they’re not alone—according to the U.S. intelligence community, ISIS has been using chemicals like mustard and chlorine agents in Iraq and Syria since the first half of 2015. It’s no surprise that an organization like ISIS, with so little respect for human life, would be willing to engage in chemical warfare. But how did they acquire these weapons in the first place?
It All Began With Obama’s ‘Red Line’
ISIS is making some of its chemical weapons itself. These are largely thought to be unsophisticated and non-lethal. The U.S. still considers them to be a high priority, and bombed an ISIS chemical weapons plant in Iraq last month.
But according to a British chemical weapons expert, ISIS has access to as much as 100 tons of Assad’s undeclared stockpile. And these are lethal.
There has long been concern that ISIS and other jihadist groups would come across Syrian caches of chemical weapons. In August, a former Syrian jihadi fighter confirmed this fear when he told Foreign Policy Magazine that he helped attack a regime base holding chemical weapons. Led by the Nusra Front, which later split to create ISIS, the jihadists were surprised to find a stockpile of chlorine, sarin, and mustard gas.
ISIS’s possession of Syrian chemical weapons is just the latest unintended consequence of President Barack Obama’s disastrous “red line” in Syria. In 2013, Obama said that if Assad used chemical weapons, the U.S. would take military action. But when Assad used chemicals to horrifying effect, Obama did nothing. Instead, the Obama administration allowed Russia to negotiate the handover of “all” Syria’s chemical weapons for destruction. Obviously, Assad wasn’t completely forthright.
Foreign Policy FAIL.
Obama’s Blunders Will Have Severe Consequences
Obama has also trusted and negotiated with bad actors without acknowledging the risks involved. Since day one, Obama’s modus operandi has been “diplomacy at all costs.” This was how he wanted to shape his legacy: by brokering deals no one else could. But Obama has used diplomacy without the threat of force, and negotiated with states that ought not to be trusted. This kind of diplomacy leads to deals in name only.
Since day one, Obama’s modus operandi has been ‘diplomacy at all costs.’
Take the Iran nuclear deal. It relies on Iranian inspectors to report honestly about the goings-on inside Iranian nuclear facilities. No outside inspectors are permitted entry. In exchange for these “inspections,” the U.S. has loosened sanctions, delivered hundreds of millions to Tehran in shady cash payments, and generally tiptoed around the Islamic Republic, encouraging its reemergence as a regional power. In fact, Obama reportedly backed down from the red line in Syria in order not to jeopardize the Iran deal."
Thanks To Obama, ISIS Now Has Chemical Weapons
