Iraqi forces backed by tribal militias during battle to retake a village from the Islamic State on the eastern bank of the river Tigris, Iraq December 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Dominic Evans, Maher Chmaytelli and Patrick Markey, Reuters: How Iran closed the Mosul 'horseshoe' and changed Iraq war
In the early days of the assault on Islamic State in Mosul, Iran successfully pressed Iraq to change its battle plan and seal off the city, an intervention which has since shaped the tortuous course of the conflict, sources briefed on the plan say.
The original campaign strategy called for Iraqi forces to close in around Mosul in a horseshoe formation, blocking three fronts but leaving open the fourth - to the west of the city leading to Islamic State territory in neighboring Syria.
That model, used to recapture several Iraqi cities from the ultra-hardline militants in the last two years, would have left fighters and civilians a clear route of escape and could have made the Mosul battle quicker and simpler.
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WNU Editor: The siege of Mosul is now underway. This strategy will make the battle for Mosul bloodier, create higher civilian casualties, and take longer to finish. But for Iran .... I guess fighting and destroying the Islamic State in Mosul is preferable than fighting them in Syria .... and the added bonus is that this battle will be primarily done by Iraqi forces and militias rather than Iranian forces and volunteers .... and all backed by U.S. air power.
15 comments:
Iraq as it is now is essentially an Iranian puppet. Unfortunately no one in a position of leadership has asked "do we really want to help Iran soldify it's control over Iraq? Would it be better to stay out of this while bitter enemies of ours tear each other apart?"
Yes!!
The US "Plan", was to allow ISIS to flee from Iraq to Syria, allow them to set up another Caliphinate in Deir Ezzor, where they could be continued to be used to attack Syria, control the area of the Quatar Turkey Pipeline, kill the Iran, Iraq, Syria pipeline, and continue to allow the US to use ISIS as a means to pressure and threaten current and future Iraqi Governments.
"The reason, the president added, "that we did not just start taking a bunch of airstrikes all across Iraq as soon as ISIL came in was because that would have taken the pressure off of [Prime Minister Nuri Kamal] al-Maliki."
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/09/opinion/president-obama-thomas-l-friedman-iraq-and-world-affairs.html
I'm pretty sure ISIS has anti aircraft weapons and they are well camaflouged. As such, a bunch of willy nilly airstrikes were never and are never going to defeat this enemy. This is a very tough enemy. Of course Obama thought they were a JV team. He knows not what he's talking about.
ISIS has not shot down a single Coelition aircraft,
And the US never bothered to bomb ISIS oil convoys for years, until Russia humiliated them into it.
Al Maliki was a puppet of Iran. As such, there'd have been no good reason to take the pressure off of him in the unlikely event America actually could have. As stated previously here and elsewhere, the best approach seems to be to get out of the way while America's bitter enemies tear each other apart.
Ultimately Iran is going to win. Let's not allow it to be to easy for them. If they suffer losses bere, perhaps they will be to busy trying to recover giving America a chance to build up it's defenses allowing America a fighting chance to defend itself against Iran.
One has to know where the oil convoys are to bomb them. Also, these convoys will probably utilize large numbers of "human shields." If large numbers of civilians are killed this ooens up US leaders and military personnel to war crimes tribunals. Hence tbeir is some degree of reluctance to engage in certain activities.
The Russians don't seem to need to worry about this. At the time, Russian support may have been secured meaning the threat of a war crimes tribunal had been abated.
Just because a US aircraft hasn't been shot down doesn't mean they haven't tried or aren't capable. It simply means they haven't succeeded yet. I have it on good authority that US aircraft take counermeasures in war zones and against ISIS. Frankly we've been extremely blessed so far.
The US did not want a "stooge." Even if it did, no one would perform such a function. To do so would carry huge costs with no upside benefit. The easiest path to advancement and the least rusk to one's life and tbe welfare of their families is opposition to the US. To be to close to the US would be aproblem for pretty much everyone in the middle east.
This is a puppet of Iran. As stated, get out of the way while bitter enemies tear each other apart. Use the time to properly build up our forces and deploy them properly. Maybe we would have a fighting chance to defend America.
LMAO,
https://consortiumnews.com/2015/12/07/the-incredible-shrinking-president/
Jay,
Thanks for the link. I'm reviewing this. Whether the authors intended to or not it does illustrate the complexity of this situation. They do seem to ignore the fact that America faces existential threats on multiple fronts. American actions need to be evaluated in this context.
It's easy to admire and even envy the Russians, Iranians, Syrians, and "Palestinians." They just let fly. No need to worry about any of these things. They need not worry about the pesky media or the UN. There will never be war crimes tribunals, loss of money, or loss of adavancement for them no matter what they do.
LMAO.
Jay,
Not quite sure what is so funny. Of vourse as a Canadian you may not be able to fully appreciate the challenges Americans face nor fully grasp just how blessed and privledged you are. From the American perspective, yours appears a life of ease and comfort that most Americans are under no delusion that they will ever have. Most Americans would tell Canadians to appreciate he bountiful blessings you have. None of us will EVER measure up to you nor could we ever hope to.
Be himble!! As a Canadian you may think your life of privledge and ease will last forever, NOTHING lasts forever.
LMAO
As stated, not quite sure what is so funny. Please clarify.
B Poster
cul-de-sac people do not know how good they got it.
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