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Having had to request and frequently justify force requirements for combat and noncombat missions, I know that terms like "mission creep" and "boots on the ground" in connection with America's intervention in Iraq are frustratingly ill-defined and usually improperly used by those who have likely never had to plan or execute a military operation.

As neither of these terms come from military doctrine, as a former commander I'd like to try to clarify what I think they mean ... and what they don't mean.

Commanders are given missions. In the most recent situation in Iraq, a team of 300-plus military members -- of all ranks, and likely of many specialties -- were sent to Baghdad and Irbil to "assess" the situation facing the Iraqi Security Forces' ability to blunt ISIS.…  Seguir leyendo »

President Obama's decision to target militants from ISIS -- which is now calling itself the "Islamic State" or "IS" -- operating in Iraq comes as a huge relief to the Iranians. Officials in Tehran have been panic stricken since ISIS forces overran the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on June 10.

All political factions in Tehran would like to see ISIS suffer and its latest advances rolled back. At the same time, contradictory statements made in Tehran make it clear that the Iranian authorities are divided about the implications of the American military's return to Iraq.

The moderates, the group of people associated with President Hassan Rouhani's presidential administration, are nudging toward an open admission that American military operations in Iraq compliment Tehran's policy goals.…  Seguir leyendo »

As a former U.S. brigade commander of several thousand coalition forces during surge operations in Iraq, it is difficult to watch this country fall apart.

When I came home in 2007 after 15 months in Diyala province, I answered questions about what we accomplished there by explaining that we sowed stability and the seeds of self-governance in an Arab country that holds significant strategic interest for the U.S.

Now, as the U.S. commits to targeted airstrikes on top of the troops we sent last month to shore up the weakened country, I question everything. Were the losses my command suffered in the volatile Diyala province in 2006-07 worth it?…  Seguir leyendo »