Emboldened as they mop up the last Islamic State forces in the city of Tikrit, Iraqi military leaders are already vowing to follow up that operation with a much more ambitious one: marching into the vast Sunni heartland in western Iraq to root out some of the most significant militant strongholds.
Iraqi and American officials say some progress in that region, Anbar Province, will be necessary before a serious effort is mounted to retake the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
But just how that can be accomplished is a source of concern. Despite boasts by the Shiite militias who took the lead in Tikrit that they were ready for Anbar, many Iraqi and American officials say it would be disastrous for a mostly Shiite-led force to begin assaulting towns in the Sunni-dominated area.
WNU Editor: A day before the U.S. was warning that the priority should be advance towards Mosul .... not the other regions of Iraq. Now .... the U.S. is on-board to attack Anbar. I know that wars are always fluid .... but how this war is being planned and executed is starting to even baffle me.
4 comments:
If you can't control them at least keep them fighting, somebody, somewhere, anywhere.
Or just classic military deception?
This is where I hope you are right Hans
If Assad is in trouble, Anbar offers a quicker land supply route to Syria.
The Iraqi government still own part of Ramadi. It might be/should be easier to clear than Mosul. It is also closer to Baghdad (supply hub).
Since the IS still has Fallujah and the government still has to get by it to clear Ramadi, the southern route could be as hard as the northern one.
I would still go south, especially if I was an ethnic a religious bigot and hated the Kurds. the Shia government has treated the Kurds well have they not. They gave them ample weapons to fend of IS have they not?
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