AFP: US-led raids 'destroy IS bridges' on Syria-Iraq border
Beirut (AFP) - US-led coalition air strikes destroyed early Friday two key bridges used by the Islamic State group on the Syrian side of the Iraqi border, a monitoring group said.
The Pentagon confirmed strikes in the area, and a senior US officer said they will have a "profound impact" on IS abilities to carry out operations in the neighbouring and strategically important Iraqi province of Anbar.
The coalition "destroyed two bridges between the Syrian city of Albu Kamal and the Iraqi border," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"These bridges are strategically important for IS's movements between Albu Kamal and Iraq," he said.
The jihadists seized Albu Kamal and the nearby border crossing in July 2014, linking their territory in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor to areas they control in Iraq's western Anbar province.
The two bridges leading out of Albu Kamal -- one to the east, and one to the southeast -- were IS's "main routes to the Iraqi border," Abdel Rahman said.
WNU Editor: These bridges should have been taken out over a year ago .... to say that I find this incomprehensible is an understatement. I am sure that U.S. intelligence and the Pentagon were aware on how important these bridges were to the Islamic State war machine .... and I am also sure that they warned the White House that these targets should be taken out. I can only assume that this lack of action and/or urgency is reflective of the overall reluctance/fear/worry of escalation/lackadaisical/etc. approach to warfare by this White House ... especially since Day One they have made it clear that they do not want to be involved in another Middle Eastern war. Unfortunately .... I fear that this is one of those situations where we may not want war .... but war wants us .... and this conflict against the Islamic State is only beginning.
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One only needs to work for the federal government in Washington for a short time to understand how the obvious is overlooked or actively ignored. Gaining power or achieving a powerful position only comes from working the system and gathering friends who bring you up and along. These people look and sound like their mentors or political friends. By the time they reach high-level decision-making positions they are co-opted and understand that to keep their position they need to go along to get along. Military leaders are no different. Meritocracy becomes a theoretical construct. Historical lessons are lost by those few who still study their meaning.
Common sense and a moral compass are often problematic character flaws in D.C. The rise of the oligarchs in the U.S. has only made conditions more difficult to get positive actions done in real time. I think that the average American now understands that their voices matter little and learned studies confirm their suspicion. One can walk the hallways of government and hear the powerful briefly discuss how their actions affect the little people. The first time I heard such a discussion I was struck dumb.
Massive bureaucracies that look inward to control rather than externally to protect lose sight of their constitutional mission. The military downsizes as external threats increase. Nuclear expenditures increase as warfighter equipment is provided by citizen donations. As warfare increases around the globe we are told that we are living in a time where war is claiming fewer casualties than in many other recent decades. Does one wonder why the national interest is being so poorly served by the NCA?
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