Rich Clabaugh/Staff
What Would An Actual Battle For Baghdad Look Like? -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor
Islamic State militants and supporters are close at hand, but so too are Shiite fighters defending their homes and family.
There's been a lot of hand-wringing and armchair quarterbacking lately over whether Baghdad is in imminent danger from the forces of the so-called Islamic State. The short answer? The city appears mostly safe for now. But that doesn't mean circumstances won't change. And if they do, the tactical situation could evolve with lightning speed.
As it stands, Baghdad is far from a safe place. On Thursday IS fighters carried out at least four car-bombings and a mortar attack across the city that claimed at least 36 lives.
The car-bombings of Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad obviously have value to IS in instilling fear and fueling the impression that the central government can't keep civilians safe. But they also serve to enrage Shiite soldiers and the Shiite militias along with them, something that has frequently led to atrocities targeting Sunni Arabs during Iraq's 11-year-old war. And that can lead to more sympathy and recruits for the IS army of Sunni jihadists.
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My Comment: A grim analysis. Read it all.
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