Yesterday, President Obama took a strong position on net neutrality by supporting calls to regulate the internet more like a utility. Less than 24 hours later, FCC head Tom Wheeler indicated that he would break from the president's proposed plan, moving in a new direction intended to pacify huge internet providers such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon.

The Washington Post reports that Wheeler told a group of internet companies — including Google, Yahoo, and Etsy — that he favored a more "nuanced" solution than that laid out by Obama. Wheeler's plan would acquiesce to some of the president's demands, but would also kowtow to the demands of huge internet providers.



WHEELER WAS A LOBBYIST FOR WIRELESS COMPANIES LIKE VERIZON

The Washington Post says that Wheeler now thinks Obama's plan — something of a hail mary attempt to get young and tech-savvy voters energized to vote for the Democrats — is too simplistic. But there have been worries about Wheeler's corporate focus since he was appointed FCC head in 2013. Wheeler spent many years as a lobbyist for large telecom companies — while working in Washington for The Wireless Association, America's main wireless lobbying group, Wheeler supported limiting net neutrality policies and argued that the FCC should leave big businesses to do what they wanted in the space. President Obama originally stated that he would not hire lobbyists to his administration, but quickly broke that promise.

According to four sources, Wheeler was reportedly "visibly frustrated" during the meeting, telling attendees that "what you want is what everyone wants: an open internet that doesn't affect your business." Wheeler, a Democrat, said he had to work out how to "split the baby" to keep both sides happy, but also repeatedly stated that he did not answer directly to the US government. Sources report the FCC head repeated "I am an independent agency" multiple times during the meeting.

Subsequent events have taken the American military force into Libya (1981, 1986, 1989, 2011), Lebanon (1983), Kuwait (1991), Iraq (1991-2011, 2014-), Somalia (1992-1993, 2007-), Bosnia (1995), Saudi Arabia (1991, 1996), Afghanistan (1998, 2001-), Sudan (1998), Kosovo (1999), Yemen (2000, 2002-), Pakistan (2004-) and now Syria.

Few of these adventures have ended well, starting with the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 299 Marines and French servicemen, through Libya, which has descended into chaos since the U.S. intervened there in 2011 and now in Iraq and Syria, where the war begun by President George W. Bush for the stated purpose of finding (ultimately non-existent) weapons of mass destruction has spawned the Islamic State’s capture of vast amounts of territory in those countries.

“Want to measure what America’s war for the Middle East has accomplished through its first 13 iterations? The Islamic State has to rank prominently on any list of achievements,” Bacevich wrote. “If Iraq possessed minimally effective security forces, Islamic State militants wouldn’t have a chance. But the Iraqi army we created won’t fight, in considerable measure because the Iraqi government we created doesn’t govern.”

And now, how will Obama’s requested use of force end? Probably not well, according to Bacevich. “Obama’s bet—the same bet made by each of his predecessors, going back to Carter—is that the skillful application of U.S. military might can somehow provide a way out of this dilemma. They were wrong, and so is he.”

ISSA: Iraqis should fight for their country. There's no question at all. They've been trained and they should do it.

The fact is the Kurds are willing to do it. I have no doubt whatsoever that the Kurds will fight. And all they need is our air support and our technical know how and they will do it.

When it comes to the Sunni-Shia divide that the Maliki government created, it makes it very, very hard to put together the kind of military units that they should have. That remains to be seen of whether or not the substantial portion of that 800,000 people we trained are willing to fight.

The fact is by the time they started fleeing, we were down to a quarter of a million. And when I met with the government they said, well, we have about 8,000 who will fight. I think they have to do better.

http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/week-transcript-rep-darrell-issa-sen-elect-cory/story?id=26778694

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said his decision to double the number of U.S. military advisers in Iraq marked a new phase in the campaign against Islamic State and was not an indication his strategy in the region had failed.

Obama, in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" broadcast on Sunday, said the first phase was getting an Iraqi government in place that was inclusive and credible.

He said sending in 1,500 additional American troops also signified a shift from a defensive strategy to an offensive one. The decision was announced on Friday.

"The air strikes have been very effective in degrading ISIL's capabilities and slowing the advance that they were making," Obama said, according to a CBS transcript. "Now what we need is ground troops, Iraqi ground troops, that can start pushing them back."

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-calls-u-troop-boost-iraq-phase-cbs-153507197.html

WASHINGTON — President Obama has authorized the deployment of an additional 1,500 American troops to Iraq in the coming months, the Defense Department said on Friday, a move that will double the number of those sent to advise and assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the battle against the Islamic State.

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In addition, the White House Budget Office said it would ask Congress for $5.6 billion for overseas contingency operations, including $1.6 billion to train and equip Iraqi troops.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/world/middleeast/us-to-send-1500-more-troops-to-iraq.html?_r=2

By Reissa Su | November 6, 2014 7:06 PM EST

The birthplace of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has been identified as Camp Bucca, a detention centre run by the United States during the Iraq war. In a report by the Washington Post, March 2009 may have been the beginning of ISIS when it released hundreds of detainees who were some of most radical fighters in the Iraq War. The sprawling detention centre in the southern town of Garma has released its prisoners of war. Many families had rejoiced as their sons, brothers and fathers were finally coming home to them after many years.

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Mahmoud's fears about the prisoners of Camp Bucca may have come true. Reports said the camp represents the "opening chapter" in the historic rise of ISIS. Many of its leaders, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, were imprisoned in the camp and possibly met one another there. Based on the accounts of former prison commanders, soldiers and analysts, Camp Bucca may have provided the environment for the radicalisation and collaboration of prisoners that has helped shape the development of ISIS.

Soufan Group, a terrorist research organisation, said all the nine members of ISIS' top command had been imprisoned in Camp Bucca. Aside from Baghdadi, who reportedly spent five years in the camp, his number two man, Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, and senior leader, Haji Bakr, now dead, also came from Camp Bucca.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/571953/20141106/isis-islamic-state-camp-bucca.htm