Comments on: Islamic State in retreat in Iraq?

By: Phill O

Phill O — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:41:59 +0000

The USA might be finding it harder to fight global terrorist groups as other countries move to a liberal base. Canada has now moved to the left as had Australia, two of the US’s best allies for war. The only thing that could help is that the Obama administration hard ball Truedeaux. Fat chance! My biggest fear is that Israel will be left to it’s own defenses solely. Antisemitism is strong on the left. Considering the wish of the left to legislate opposition to the CO2 model, we could be seeing a rise in leftist Fascism. My only hope is that the GOP nominates a truly conservative candidate. Even then, the going will be very tough. The number of elected officials with a Muslim tendency has grown significantly here.

By: wodun

wodun — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 19:52:29 +0000

It is good news that the long promised offensive to retake these towns is finally underway but it isn’t going to be quick because of all the time ISIS has had to boobytrap everything. Notice the Afghans launched a counteroffensive in Kunduz before the Taliban had time to plant IEDs everywhere.

Also, ISIS losing territory shouldn’t be viewed as success per se. They expand and contract as a strategy. So if Ramadi is retaken without Iraq losing some other city and they begin to take on Mosul, we could be a little more confident speaking of success.

What this shows is that the fate of Iraq is not predetermined, that the military is part of the solution, and that aiding Iraq isn’t a waste. It would have been nice if the USA played a bigger role as I worry about what Iran has planned for Iraq.

By: Maurice

Maurice — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 16:24:31 +0000

And the band on the titanic played until the list became too much. Proves little.
Right now, IS is concentrating around Deir-Ezzoz to kill off the easternmost vestige of the syrian regime. If that town of 200,000 falls, 20,000 hardened fighters are released and the entire balance can change. The all-but-in-name independent kurdish area has hit steady state, and other than small areas around the Yezidi region isn’t likely to want to extend its already overextended front lines.
Unless the iraqi golden brigade/division/whatever they call it today can pull a miracle out of the hat, the road to mosul is not about to open. If Tikrit was the proving ground, then the only working strategy the Iraqi regime has is to create depopulated buffer zones around destroyed cities in the Sunni-majority areas and hope their irregular proxies won’t turn their weaponry to the green zone in Bagdad any time soon.