U.S. Condemns Mosul Attack, Calls Iraq Situation 'Extremely Serious' -- Reuters
(Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday condemned the seizure of the Iraqi city of Mosul by Sunni Islamist insurgents and said it supported "a strong, coordinated response to push back against this aggression," offering assistance to the government of Iraq.
"The United States is deeply concerned about the events that have transpired in Mosul over the last 48 hours where elements of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL) have taken over significant parts of the city. The situation remains extremely serious," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Psaki added that senior U.S. officials in both Washington and Baghdad were tracking events closely in coordination with Iraqi's Shi'ite-led government as well as Iraqi leaders from across the political spectrum including the Kurds.
Read more ....
Update #1: The U.S. is sending more heavy-duty weapons to Iraq… but is it too late? -- Dan Lamothe, Washington Post
Update #2: As Mosul Falls To ISIS Militants, Doubts Over US-Trained Iraqi Security Forces -- Christian Science Monitor
My Comment: The U.S. is so behind on what is happening in Iraq that I just do not know where I can begin. Intelligence failure? Political failure? US State Department failure? U.S. military failure? White House failure? No one saw this coming?
5 comments:
I think we will see a response by USG quite soon.
We must distinguish between whether anyone in the U.S. Government (a) saw this coming, and (b) bestirred themselves to do anything about it. I think the answer to (a) is yes, and to (b) is no.
The Obama Administration has made it as clear as possible that the U.S. is not going to intervene with American military forces pretty much anywhere, especially not in Iraq. For better or worse, if Iraqis don't want to be ruled by ISIS or their religious allies, then they cannot ask the U.S. to send forces to fight for them.
While the U.S. Administration might send more equipment, the failure of the Iraqi soldiers to fight in Mosul raises questions about whether additional equipment will affect the outcome.
I think that the fall of Mosul marks the commencement of a full scale civil/religious war between the Shiite majority and the Sunni minority. Thousands of terrified people have already fled Mosul. Soon reports of be-headings, tortures, and the like that ISIS has inflicted in Syria will begin to emerge from Mosul. Imagine being a Shiite, let alone a Christian, in Mosul tonight.
I don't think that Iraq's Shiites will contemplate barbaric rule by ISIS with equanimity. They have nowhere to flee. If they want to live, they will have to fight ISIS eventually.
Even with the U.S. off the field, Iraq is not alone. Iran will not view the emergence of the ultimate extreme Sunni ISIS theocracy on its borders with equanimity either. Iran is heavily involved in Syria to prevent a Sunni insurgency from overthrowing Iran's Alawite cousins. Iran will intervene, massively if necessary, to prevent an ISIS victory in Iraq.
I think that the best model for what is happening in Syria and Iraq in 2014 is the Thirty Years War c. 1618-1648 in what is now Germany. That was a religious war between German Catholics and Protestants, on which was superimposed a struggle among regional rulers/warlords within Germany, on which was superimposed interventions by nations that were Germany's neighbors, for various reasons. As in Germany then, all the ingredients for a long conflict are present: lots of young men, lots of weapons, lots of money, and intense religious fervour.
Did the U.S. government see this happening .... if I did with my limited resources .... I have to assume that some in the intelligence community and in the White House also saw this coming .... and made the decision to stay out of this fight hoping that the Maliki government would gain the upper hand.
As to your other point about the U.S. becoming involved .... I sincerely hope that you are right Publius .... that we stay out of the Iraq civil war and that they sort it out amongst themselves. My biggest fear is that Iraq will become like Afghanistan pre-9/11. Safe havens for Islamic radical groups who are primarily fighting against other Muslims .... but within this mix a few groups who will be focused on striking against us .... and at a scale that may match 9/11. What should we then do? This is a question that I think will be haunting future western governments ... and probably longer than 30 years.
If the Middle East has a Muslim 30 years war, I would say this is a good thing, if they come out the other side with an Age of Reason/The Enlightenment.
But that is not a sure thing.
I would rather stay out and let the mullahs for the bleeding. maybe they bleed enough for the mullahs to be overthrown by the people and the Green Revolution can finally succeed.
I certainly do hope that we give the Iraqis no equipment that they do not pay for. They seem to have a good track record of letting it be captured or destroyed. So why let out tax payers funds be wasted. but that is too much to hope for. Obama makes all the wrong moves.
Again I concur with Publius. To add to the Iran, Iraq, and Syria line of thought, the fall of Iraq would put Sunni extremists directly on Iran's supply lines to Syria. I think this and the fall of the Shia government would as Publius says bring Iran in country with large military forces.
I also think we should be working with Israel in every possible way to help them be ready for the coming fight that I see on the horizon.
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