Ramadi

[Minimalist]

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/milit.../76443524/

Iraqi troops pushing toward Ramadi outnumber ISIS 10 to 1

I wonder if that will be enough?

[A Raggedly Bohemian Radical]

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/milit.../76443524/

Iraqi troops pushing toward Ramadi outnumber ISIS 10 to 1

I wonder if that will be enough?

If at least 1 out of those 10 Iraqi troops mean to fight ISIS, we will have an even numbers fight.

[Minimalist]

Any day now....I guess.

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/milit.../76684874/

The Islamic State force in Ramadi is estimated to be between 600 and 1,000 fighters, Warren said.

So they outnumber them 10 or 15 to 1 and are pounding the shit out of them from above.  What could the problem be?

And Iraq’s sectarian politics have slowed the operation as the Shiite-run central government in Baghdad and the Shiite-led Iraqi army have been reluctant to provide money and weapons to the Sunni tribal forces that most people agree are needed for a long-term victory in Ramadi, a Sunni city.

Oh, same ole - same ole.

[Minimalist]

Finally....although there still seems to be a snag.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ira...story.html

Iraqi troops close in on Ramadi, retake army headquarters

Bad news for the republicunts.  The last thing they need is ISIS to suffer another defeat after Sinjar.

[Minimalist]

So, nearly two weeks later and they are still "advancing."  ( Ramadi must be the largest city on earth.)

http://www.newsweek.com/ramadi-mosul-ira...ces-407085

American commanders have been hailing the advance of the retrained Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) on Ramadi, the key city where they were easily routed some 18 months ago by marauding fighters of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).  

But what they aren’t saying—and are loath to concede, according to well-informed military sources in Washington—is that the security forces of the Iran-backed regime in Baghdad largely consist of Shiite fighters in league with murderous militias that have slaughtered innocent Sunnis after ousting ISIS militants from Tikrit and other battlegrounds in the past year.

It seems the plan is for the ISIS fighters to die of old age.

[Minimalist]

Another week+ has passed and they did make some progress.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/12/28/...traps.html

Ramadi not 'fully liberated' from ISIS, Iraqi general says

Iraqi government forces scored a major victory when they took control from ISIS of the central government complex in the city of Ramadi on Monday.
But even as one Iraqi military spokesperson unequivically said earlier Monday that Ramadi had been "liberated," the head of Iraqi military operations in Anbar province cautioned against celebrating too early.

"The troops only entered the government complex," Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi said. "We can't say that Ramadi is fully liberated. There are still neighborhoods under their control and there are still pockets of resistance."

If you're wondering this is what "victory" looks like.



I wonder how many billions they will expect us to fork over so they can rebuild it?

[Minimalist]

Some astounding stuff in here.

http://theweek.com/articles/596561/bad-n...eat-ramadi

The bad news about ISIS's defeat in Ramadi

[The Grand Nudger]

Good article, started off on a "wtf?" note, when asking how 150 jihadis might best 6k iraqi police.....that's not so mysterious, I'll take 150 jihadis over 6k patrolmen all day every day. That's just the nature of asymmetric warfare. Picked up after that, though.

[Minimalist]

When people don't want to fight the slightest scare will send them running.



ISIS has it.  The Iraqis don't.

[Minimalist]

Seems like the "victory" announcement was a tad premature.

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/milit.../79170688/

The American-backed Iraqi military is facing “intermittent fighting” in Ramadi but is in control of some significant territory once controlled by the Islamic State group in the Euphrates River valley's Anbar province, U.S. defense officials say.

Maybe they can borrow Bush's banner?