Photograph: Guardian
Humiliated Kurdish Leaders Order Counter-Strike Against Advancing Islamic State Fighters -- The Telegraph
Questions asked about Kurdish Peshmerga troops after extremist militants execute lightening strike and send thousands fleeing for their lives.
Kurdish leaders ordered a major counter-offensive against Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq yesterday after being humiliated by a lightning Jihadist surge into their supposedly “safe” areas.
Tens of thousands of members of the region’s patchwork of minority groups were said to be in flight in the deserts and mountains of the region after Islamic State rebels swept into towns held by Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga.
The Kurdish regional government, which is almost completely autonomous from the central authorities in Baghdad, seemed to be caught unawares by the strike. They ordered reinforcements to the front lines near the captured towns of Zumar and Sinjar, while for the first time fighters from the separate Kurdish forces who operate in neighbouring Syria and Turkey also crossed the border to help.
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More News On Kurdish Leaders And Baghdad Agreeing To Cooperate To Defeat Advancing Islamic State Militants
Kurds Plan Counter-Offensive Against Islamic State - Reports -- RIA Novosti
Iraq gov't backs Kurds, as Kurdish forces retake town from insurgents -- APA
Turkish PKK militants urge all Kurds to fight Islamic State -- Reuters
Isis advances puncture Kurdistan self-confidence -- Financial Times
ISIS Advances on Two Fronts -- Slate
Iraq orders air force to help Kurds fight IS -- Al Jazeera
Iraqi Prime Minister Orders Air Force to Help Kurds Fight ISIS -- NBC
Iraq Air Force Backs Kurds Against Jihadists, Scores Flee -- AFP
Iraq offers Kurds air support in north -- Deutsche Welle
Maliki Sends Iraqi Air Force to Help Kurds Combat ISIS -- The Wire
My Comment: These Kurdish forces did not even fire a shot .... they just fled when the militants showed up. This defeat is a major set-back for Kurds who dream of an independent state. If they are dependent on Baghdad and the West for their security .... they will never be positioned to run a country let alone an autonomous region in Iraq.
1 comment:
I read that you can all but make an AK47 in the jungle. A lot of the pieces are stampings. Using stamping is a cheap way to manufacture. Supposedly, the Viet Cong were able to manufacture some AK47 in their jungle sanctuaries. If there is a will there is a way. Are the Kurds building any arms manufacturing capability? They should not rely on the U.S.
If for some reason the Kurds become a going concern the Brazilians will sell them equipment they cannot manufacture. It would be better than relying on a feckless nation.
The Kurds have to build their own arms industry (or at least significant parts of it) along with their economy if they want to survive.
ISIS sells oil to Assad, while fighting Assad. I think the Kurds should try to sell oil to Assad. Maybe it won't work. Maybe it will work only a little while before Iraq or Iran complain. Whatever cash they get will be sorely needed even though they sell the oil at a discount.
A one time cash infusion would buy some badly needed equipment to counter the technicals with their Dashikas.See how tough ISIS is without their technicals.
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