A tank of Iraqi security forces is seen in the town of al-Alam March 10, 2015. Iraqi troops and militias drove Islamic State insurgents out of al-Alam on Tuesday, clearing a final hurdle before a planned assault on Saddam Hussein's home city of Tikrit in their biggest offensive yet against the ultra-radical group. Credit: Reuters/Thaier Al-Sudani
Tim Lister, CNN: Battle for Tikrit: Despite billions in aid, Iraqi army relies on militia, and Iran
(CNN)The campaign to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, involves a curious mixture of Iraqi forces -- the army and air force, federal police, powerful Shia militia as well as Sunni tribal fighters.
It's a cast of about 30,000 fighters with an opaque command structure. And that makes it tough to be precise about numbers -- but by several estimates only one-third of those fighters are from the regular army.
WNU Editor: A sobering assessment on the Iraqi army. Read it all.
1 comment:
I would argue with the „sober” word. I do not think that the article above has any connection to really. The fighting against IS is going well. There are a lot of possibilities which the Allies (let’s just call „anti-IS” ) forces can exploit. But why do I so against the article’s meaning?
Compare the 20’s Russia with the current situation may be good, I do not learned too much in details about how the things went after the First WW in Russia. But likely I spent my time and focused on Syria during the last 3 years. The article said about how the sides could cooperate, but you just can’t talk about any possible cooperation if the sides just hate each others (thats why they are at war). Ask the Turkey to help the Kurds or the Syrian Army to work together with the Rebels is like asking the Azov Battalion to work together with Chechen volunteers of DNR. They would even die, than work together. But the confrontation between the sides are highlighted in Ukraine, while no one really count on it in the ME.
There was an interesting list of scenarios just 2 years ago or so about how the Syrian conflict could end, and it’s really show how bad the possibilities are. Yes you can call Assad as a brutal murderer who make peoples join to the IS (I find this sentence ridiculios, not a fact), but who would replace he? The country just would fall appart as local brigades and militias has the weapons and will to decide their own life, no matter what the new government think. Lybia failed already, and in the case if Assad would go, Syria would fail even harder and bloodier. If you count on who would won if Assad leave, there is the west with minor political win, and there is the IS with huge military and territorial win, which would even stronger them. Anyone who think FSA (or formedly called FSA, because it’s not really exist anymore) aka. the remained rebels would be ready to beat IS just not watching this conflict. Some rebels may would have the will, but the rest would join to them instead of fighting (I look at the Al-Nushra like groups). The lack of prooper training in the rebels is general, and more likely hurt the „moderated” ones.
Even if we just step throught the impossible cooperation, why would it be that great? The whole scenario just made on to „let’s send just 200.000 troops against IS, whos are not ours and we will see if it’s work out or not”. In the military view, it’s clear that IS loosing the war, and this trend not going to change any soon in Syria and Iraq. Even the current , very divided anti-IS forces can defeat them.
It’s said and highlighted that IS is well trained and well equipped, rich, have tens of thousand of troops and whatnot. While in reallity. IS is in trouble, and their leaders know this. The announcment from Boko Haram, the new „breachead” in Lybia are made to create a safer ehaven for them, we will see it it’s gona work or not. The fronts in Syria and Iraq probably will hold another 1,5 or 2 year, but with retreats one after another and with defeate at the end. Tikrit gonna fall soon, but it’s not really a victory for anti-IS forces, it’s just one battle where IS not participated with real power. I expect a counter-step from IS, and for them it’s would be ideal to make i non the Falujah- Baghdad line, because there is the weakpoint of the Iraqian Army.
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