Mosul has fallen

[T.Lex]

Well, looks like the Kurds are going to have some oil.
BBC News - Iraq conflict: Kurds 'recapture oilfields from IS'

Good for them!

 

[mrjarrell]

Looks like some of the IS fighters are looking at ways to weaponise plague to use as a WMD. Under the conditions most of these guys work under that would probably not work as intended.

https://news.vice.com/article/seize...-research-into-weaponizing-the-bubonic-plague

 

[jamil]

Looks like some of the IS fighters are looking at ways to weaponise plague to use as a WMD. Under the conditions most of these guys work under that would probably not work as intended.

https://news.vice.com/article/seize...-research-into-weaponizing-the-bubonic-plague

Eh, they can always make the more expendable infidels make the stuff.

 

[mrjarrell]

Vice is still in the region and is now on the ground in Kirkuk with the PKK. Their women fighters are kinda hot.

[video=youtube_share;-S0u_CttB0I]http://youtu.be/-S0u_CttB0I[/video]

 

[KG1]

Looks like a much needed coalition of Iraqi security forces along with Shiite militiamen and Kurdish fighters have a major offensive in the works to fight to reclaim towns that are under siege.

Iraq begins major operation to free jihadist-besieged town

 

[mrjarrell]

Well, the Saudi king has thrown in his 2 cents worth and he is, as usual, looking for someone else to do the dirty work while he and his people sit behind their walls and American insured safety. They have an army and air force and they should be stepping up to the plate to do their part. We're long past the point where we should be their proxy army. This is a regional problem and the Saudis should be deeply involved.

Saudi king warns West will be jihadists' next target

 

[KG1]

Well, the Saudi king has thrown in his 2 cents worth and he is, as usual, looking for someone else to do the dirty work while he and his people sit behind their walls and American insured safety. They have an army and air force and they should be stepping up to the plate to do their part. We're long past the point where we should be their proxy army. This is a regional problem and the Saudis should be deeply involved.
Saudi king warns West will be jihadists' next target

Lack of action would be "unacceptable" in the face of the phenomenon, King Abdullah said.

Good advice King. Get on it.

 

[zippy23]

I didn't get into Fallujah, but I was there when that all went down. Had quite a few friends there and Mosul and Me in Baghdad during their bloodiest days.

Everyone says the US went for Oil, yet NO US Oil Company even submitted a Bid on the Iraq oil fields. China was the big winner on those bids.

I was there with boots on the ground, I saw it for what it was, saw mummified bodies in mass graves beyond what you could count.

As a guy who lost friends, and invested myself in Iraq, this news really boils my blood because we saw it coming when the pull outs were announced.

Exactly, i'm tired of hearing "its all about the oil." WHAT OIL? we didnt get any, we sure did take out bad guy which we should have done LONG AGO and established a great presence in the middle east, thats all gone now, and look at the region? holy crap. I guess we should just leave, let the terrorists gain huge ground, get their own islamic state, fight for the dominant position in islamic terrorism(NOW HAPPENING), then they can take over oil rigs, cities, etc....start generating money......uh oh, yeah we shouldnt have been there in the first place right???

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

Exactly, i'm tired of hearing "its all about the oil." WHAT OIL? we didnt get any

Then you probably don't understand all the ways to make money off it . Companies like Haliburten made a literal mint thanks to guberment contracts / US taxpayers working with the various petroleum products .

 

[ZombieApocolypse]

Then you probably don't understand all the ways to make money off it . Companies like Haliburten made a literal mint thanks to guberment contracts / US taxpayers working with the various petroleum products .

Not to mention what the war did for the petroldollar.

What good is the Kurdish oil if they cant sell it?

 

[mrjarrell]

The inhabitants of a besieged Iraqi town have said they'd rather commit suicide than be taken over by IS. They're prepared to kill their families, and themselves, rather than be under the control of IS. Man alive. That's tough.

Iraqi minority vows death before IS capture

 

[jamil]

The inhabitants of a besieged Iraqi town have said they'd rather commit suicide than be taken over by IS. They're prepared to kill their families, and themselves, rather than be under the control of IS. Man alive. That's tough.

Iraqi minority vows death before IS capture

Just. Wow. Makes me think our first-world problems are pretty trivial.

"All the women will kill themselves – either shoot themselves or use kerosene and burn themselves to death," said Fatima Qassim, a beauty salon owner from Amerli.
​

 

[mrjarrell]

Looks as if we won't have to worry about a mass suicide, now. The Iraqi army has finally gotten their collective **** together and it looks as if they've broken the siege, (with a little help from US aircraft).

BBC News - Iraqi forces 'reach besieged Amerli'

 

[KG1]

Looks as if we won't have to worry about a mass suicide, now. The Iraqi army has finally gotten their collective **** together and it looks as if they've broken the siege, (with a little help from US aircraft).

BBC News - Iraqi forces 'reach besieged Amerli'

The weapon that the Iraqi's lack most is the confidence needed to fight the IS. Maybe this will spark that confidence.

They need all factions to get on board in a concerted effort as well. Iraqi regular Army, Shiite militiamen and Kurdish fighters.

They must comprise of the boots on the ground along with air and logistical support from other sources.

This is what we must encourage and support short of placing our own boots on the ground.

 

[mrjarrell]

Looks like the IS has been selling women captives to their fighters. This is truly disgusting.

Iraq crisis: Dozens of Yazidi women sold into marriage by Islamic State militants, activist group says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

[IndyDave1776]

Looks like the IS has been selling women captives to their fighters. This is truly disgusting.

Iraq crisis: Dozens of Yazidi women sold into marriage by Islamic State militants, activist group says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Disgusting but highly unsurprising given that this has been part of the SOP since circa AD 700.

 

[1911ly]

We can't begin to imagine what life is like for people there. We can freely travel from one end of this country to the other. Our kids get to decide there own future's (good or bad) Our daughters can get a education and we raise our boys to treat women like people not animals (most of us do anyway). They are hundreds of years away from what we would consider normalcy. If they are lucky.

 

[jamil]

We can't begin to imagine what life is like for people there. We can freely travel from one end of this country to the other. Our kids get to decide there own future's (good or bad) Our daughters can get a education and we raise our boys to treat women like people not animals (most of us do anyway). They are hundreds of years away from what we would consider normalcy. If they are lucky.

They're a thousand years behind. I'm thinking they [don't] care to catch up with us.

 

[1911ly]

They're a thousand years behind. I'm thinking they care to catch up with us.

I hope they do. I wish them well!

 

[jamil]

I hope they do. I wish them well!

Heh, meant to say "they don't care to catch up with us".