Any student of history knows that, if a defensive force learns it will be attacked, it will dig trenches deeper. By the time the first skirmishers engage, artillery will be zeroed in on the main roads and sniper nests will litter the area. On Thursday, an anonymous U.S. Central Command official told a group of Washington reporters that before Ramadan (which starts June 17) a force of 25,000 fighters made up of the Iraqi Army and the Kurdish Peshmerga will attack ISIL at the city of Mosul. While it might work out well to have these jihadis gather in one spot, this is a bad move. Not only does this endanger the lives of the soldiers actually fighting ISIL, the Obama administration announced this plan for selfish political reasons. Barack Obama needs to justify his proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force to defeat ISIL and save the world all without a single boot on the ground. This announcement also reframes Obama as a tough actor on the world stage when it comes to national security. Yet his performance over the last few months show that he’s anything but. However, let’s waltz on to Mosul, where 25,000 fighters will march into the muzzles of the waiting ISIL fighters. Announcing D-Day two months ahead of time. Brilliant. More…