Why did the fabulously equipped Iraqi Army lose to the ISIS thugs? Second Line of Defense blog has an idea. Check this out but read the whole thing...
Seriously?
So the reason why the Iraqi Army folded like a cheap suit is because they didn't have an air dominance enabled ground force?
BULLSHIT!
They were defending and they outnumbered their attackers!
They were better equipped and had heavy armor (M1 Tanks), heavy artillery (M198 Howitzers), armored personnel carriers (Armored Security Vehicles), and a whole slew of MRAPs and Humvees.
The problem wasn't the lack of airpower, the problem is the quality of the Iraqi fighting man. Despite our best efforts to modernize them, they are at heart a primitive society that operates best in tribal settings.
High tech fighters, bombers, transports and helicopters wouldn't have changed the outcome of the fight. We really should let this part of the world burn. Unless we decide to finally cut our losses then we will be involved in perpetual warfare, fighting for people that WILL NOT fight for themselves.
It is not about having an effective fighting force for domestic security or defense of the country.It is about an air dominance enabled ground force versus one that it is not. And when the ISIS were able to aggregate forces, the absence of an air enabled ground force, demonstrated a fundamental fact often forgotten: it is not about airpower versus boots on the ground.Really?
The point of having a military force is its ability to fight and defend the country, not simply to manage domestic affairs to the benefit of the current despot.
And no amount of COIN training or understanding of the current fad of US Army, Human Terrain Mapping will overcome that problem.
Seriously?
So the reason why the Iraqi Army folded like a cheap suit is because they didn't have an air dominance enabled ground force?
BULLSHIT!
They were defending and they outnumbered their attackers!
They were better equipped and had heavy armor (M1 Tanks), heavy artillery (M198 Howitzers), armored personnel carriers (Armored Security Vehicles), and a whole slew of MRAPs and Humvees.
The problem wasn't the lack of airpower, the problem is the quality of the Iraqi fighting man. Despite our best efforts to modernize them, they are at heart a primitive society that operates best in tribal settings.
High tech fighters, bombers, transports and helicopters wouldn't have changed the outcome of the fight. We really should let this part of the world burn. Unless we decide to finally cut our losses then we will be involved in perpetual warfare, fighting for people that WILL NOT fight for themselves.
