Thursday, October 30, 2014

How Much Help From Jordan is Iraq Asking For?

Iraq wants more help against ISIL from Jordan. I'm still hoping for ground troops to open a western front in Anbar.

No doubt:

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi called for greater cooperation with Jordan in the battle against the Islamic State jihadist group, as he held talks Sunday in Amman, state media reported.

Jordan, which borders Iraq's Anbar province, much of which has been overrun by IS, is one of several countries taking part in US-led air strikes against the jihadist group that began in Iraq but has since been expanded to Syria.

Air strikes are nice. But Jordanian participation in an air campaign has diplomatic value only given that we have the ability to ramp up an air campaign purely with our own resources if we so choose.

Given the reluctance of the Obama administration to provide ground troops to focus and exploit our air power (and I think our nation wouldn't sustain support for such a commitment, so I agree with the Obama administration but not its reasoning), we could use Jordanian ground forces to open a western front in Anbar when we finally get the Iraqis moving on the eastern front of Anbar.

I wonder what the Jordanians told the Iraqis?