Reuters: Iraqi offensive on Tikrit on hold for second day
(Reuters) - Iraqi forces and mainly Shi'ite militia battling to wrest full control of the city of Tikrit from Islamic State militants paused their offensive for a second day on Saturday as they awaited reinforcements.
A source in the local military command center told Reuters military commanders had "reached a decision to halt the operation until a suitable, carefully set plan is in place" to break into central Tikrit.
The source, speaking by phone from near Tikrit, said the Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias known as Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) were waiting for reinforcements from "well-trained forces". He did not give a timeline for the arrival of the reinforcements.
WNU Editor: Iraqi officials were boasting this past Monday that they had seized the center of the city and they were on the verge of taking the rest of the city .... now we know that these claims were not only completely wrong, but the offensive itself has been stalled with the excuse that they are waiting for reinforcements. That is why I am skeptical of new Iraqi claims that Tikrit will be liberated within 72 hours .... it took U.S forces a long time to conquer this territory, and they had better intelligence, firepower, and the equipment to do so .... I doubt that a few thousand Iraqi soldiers with Shiite militias backed by Iran would accomplish the same goal in a shorter time. My prediction .... the Islamic State will eventually be defeated in this battle .... the question that remains is .... how long will it take and how much of Tikrit will be destroyed when the fighting is finally over.
More News On The Battle For Tikrit
Iraqi offensive to dislodge ISIS from Tikrit appears to stall -- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iraq remains steadfast as Tikrit battle reportedly stalls -- CCTV
Report: Iraqi forces hope to take Tikrit within 72 hours -- USA Today
Iraqi forces to recapture Tikrit 'within 72 hours' -- Al Jazeera
Iraqi forces ’72 hours’ away from centre of ISIL-held Tikrit -- Euronews
Iraqi forces vow to liberate Tikrit within 72 hours -- Al Arabiya/AFP
Battle For Tikrit: Shia Militia Leader Claims City Would Be 'Liberated' In 3 Days -- IBTimes
Iraqi forces 'hope to take Tikrit from IS in a week' -- BBC
Analysis: The Battle for Tikrit Intensifies -- Stratfor
2 comments:
Rules of engagement for Americans would be no or minimal civilian casualties.....That's a huge difference in war and definitely not a tactical advantage in war.
Phil,
I think you are quite right about these rules of engagement. With the rules of engagement as they are it is going to all but impossible for American forces to contribute anything of value here.
As far as "tactics" it's bad but I think it goes beyond that. It is also bad "strategy." With the rules of engagement our forces are put under they would have negative utility in assisting anyone in a fight. As such, no one is going to trust us nor will they want to work with us!!
The options would be either of the following. 1.)Change the rules of engagement allowing our forces to engage the enemy. 2.)Redeploy all of our forces in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world to positions along our borders and off our coasts that make sense for our national security needs.
Unfortunately from continuing fruitless and arguably stupid and perhaps even criminally stupid nation building efforts around the world our forces are now worn down to the point that even basic national defense could be a problem. As such, if we choose option 1 all we are likely to end up with is allot of dead Americans as our forces impale themselves on ISIS or Iranian fighters all the while failing to halt the advances of either group. As such, option 1 appears to be the best option.
Either way I agree with you. A war policy that seeks minimal or no civilian casualties is definitely not a tactical advantage. At least I've never seen anyone win a war who worried about such things. Our enemies definitely don't.
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