Mosul has fallen

[mrjarrell]

LOL

 

[mrjarrell]

IS is still gaining ground in Anbar, despite losing Tikrit.

ISIL fighters make gains in Iraq's Anbar province

 

[ArcadiaGP]

ISIS killed at least 200 Yazidis near Mosul Friday, Iraqi MP Habib al-Tarfi tells CNN.

 

[T.Lex]

Islamic State crisis: Militants seize Ramadi stronghold - BBC News

Ramadi is in bad shape, with Daesh taking over the main gov't buildings.

 

[Thor]

The whole ME is in bad shape. Now that O has achieved his lack of progress with Iran, Saudi Arabia has said that it will match them in enrichment...and a host of others who think they can afford it are jumping on the nuklar band wagon. SA could just by some from Pakistan. Good job...this will not end well.

 

[mrjarrell]

The last Iraqi special forces have been driven from Ramadi. Looks like the capitol of Anbar is now in IS hands.

ISIL overruns last Iraqi holdout in Ramadi

 

[ArcadiaGP]

ISIS takes key Iraqi city of Ramadi: What happens next? - CNN.com

500 killed and 8,000 fled as Ramadi fell to Islamic State, spokesman for governor of Iraq's Anbar province says

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Unconfirmed reports: ISIS are now making advances towards Habbaniya military base where ISF & Hashd are currently stationed.

 

[T.Lex]

IS-held Ramadi: Shia militias gather near Iraqi city - BBC News

Confirmed by the Beeb.

But IS militants had also advanced from Ramadi to the outskirts of the town of al-Khalidiyah, near the Habbaniyah base, an IS statement and witnesses said.

Also, this important, but relatively subtle issue:

Now he and the largely Sunni provincial council have had to do what they didn't want - to call in the Iranian-backed Shia militias who were instrumental on the ground in recapturing Tikrit.

So the Sunni Daesh has captured a majority Sunni province, against the wishes of the Sunni provinicial council, which has now called in Shia militias to help in the defense/recapture of Ramadi.

This could turn out either really badly (Sunni v. Shia civil war) or really well (Sunnis and Shia united against Daesh).

 

[mrjarrell]

The fall of Ramadi is showing the failure of the Iraqi governments plans to defeat IS, (if what they are currently doing could be called a plan). My guess is they're holding out till the US steps in and takes over on the ground, (which would be an almost certainty if certain republicans won the '16 election. Or possibly Hillary, as hawkish as she is). Whatever, they are failing to hold IS and are losing ground, despite US air attacks. Things are not looking good for them.

Fall of Ramadi reflects failure of Iraq's strategy against ISIS, analysts say - The Washington Post

 

[KellyinAvon]

ISIS takes ancient city of Palmyra

NOT the one in Harrison County.


ISIS takes ancient city of Palmyra | WashingtonExaminer.com

 

[printcraft]

ISIS takes ancient city of Palmyra

NOT the one in Harrison County.


ISIS takes ancient city of Palmyra | WashingtonExaminer.com

How long before these **** eaters destroy more world history?

I'll guess 2 weeks tops.

 

[T.Lex]

How long before these **** eaters destroy more world history?

I'll guess 2 weeks tops.

I'll take the under.

In other news, the Financial Times has a good, albeit a bit long, article on the failure of Obama's Iraq policy.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/cd18389c-ffcd-11e4-bc30-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3anapYaDT

“We’re still trying to piece together exactly what happened there, but it is not a Mosul collapse and disintegration of units,” said a senior State department official, trying to put a brave face on the situation.” General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was less polite. The Iraqi forces, he said, were “not driven out of Ramadi, they drove out of Ramadi.”

At one time, I thought Iraq would be better off being split into 3 separate countries, or at least semi-autonomous regions. At this point, it looks like it might be a variation of 2 countries with other countries (Iran) getting chunks for themselves or 4 separate countries or 2 countries and a no-mans-land between.

 

[1DOWN4UP]

Iraq is now a total lost cause. To bad that we didn't pump those wells dry.

 

[D-Ric902]

I really think most of the Mid East has gotten to the point where it's real easy
let them fight
fight the winner
Pump your own oil

 

[T.Lex]

As noted in another thread, Daesh has momentum and is arguably close to defining the boundaries of its caliphate.
Islamic State 'seizes key Syria-Iraq border crossing' - BBC News

...militants have seized the last Syrian government-controlled border crossing between Syria and Iraq, a Syria monitoring group says.
...
The seizure of al-Tanf, in Syria's Homs province, enables IS to link up its positions in east-central Syria more directly with the ground they hold in Iraq's western Anbar province....

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Pentagon slams Iraqi forces for 'failing to fight' in Ramadi

 

[T.Lex]

Islamic State suicide bombings kill troops in Iraq's Anbar - BBC News

Suicide counterattack in Anbar.

The spokesman said the operation would be called "Labayk ya Hussein" ("At your service, O Hussein") - a reference to one of the most revered imams of Shia Islam.
A US defence department spokesman said the choice of name for a military campaign taking place in a predominantly Sunni Muslim province was "unhelpful".

 

[PistolBob]

We've been training the Iraqi defense forces for 15 years. There are obvious failures in the training. ISIS/ISIL is willing to trade a few of their guys for lots of Iraqi defense forces via the suicide bombs...obvioously Iraqi defense forces are not willing to meet that challenge head on. These are not a very brave people...they obviously lack conviction.

So does the world just give up on Iraq and let ISIS/ISIL take over or what?

WHAT is the world waiting on?

 

[jamil]

We've been training the Iraqi defense forces for 15 years. There are obvious failures in the training. ISIS/ISIL is willing to trade a few of their guys for lots of Iraqi defense forces via the suicide bombs...obvioously Iraqi defense forces are not willing to meet that challenge head on. These are not a very brave people...they obviously lack conviction.

So does the world just give up on Iraq and let ISIS/ISIL take over or what?

WHAT is the world waiting on?

Think of it from their perspective. They've been fighting ISIS for a long time. Many haven't been paid for a long time. It's becoming about more than just which side they're fighting for.