Ramadi

[Thumpalumpacus]

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



ISIS has it.  The Iraqis don't.

You don't like homespun redneck wisdom, but as Pa Thump used to say, "It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

[Minimalist]

Why do all our allies turn out to be dogs?

[Thumpalumpacus]

Probably a result of wishful thinking at work in the corridors of power.

[account_inactive]

Why do all our allies turn out to be dogs?

Because our leaders are clowns.

[Minimalist]

Seems that the "liberation" claims were a tad premature.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/is...47827.html

ISIL shelling kills more Iraqi soldiers in Ramadi

[Minimalist]

It's a good thing they won.  I wonder what the casualty rate would be if they lost?

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/is...23515.html

ISIL suicide car bombers hit Iraqi forces near Ramadi

In series of attacks, ISIL fighters kill at least 27 Iraqi soldiers and wound 16 more west of strategic city, army says.

Probably time for them to build an Arc de Triomphe.

[The Valkyrie]

Why do all our allies turn out to be dogs?

Wait!

What??

[Minimalist]

Some "victory."

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/milit.../81859636/

Islamic State militants are mounting frequent guerrilla warfare-style attacks around a strategically important Iraqi city that U.S. military officials declared “clear” of enemy forces only five weeks ago.
The militant group, alternatively known as ISIS or ISIL, has not seized any new territory in and around Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. But an unknown number of militants maintain a presence in the area and regularly conduct attacks, exposing the Iraqi army's inability to keep the area secure.
“It’s a manpower thing. The Iraqis have enough forces to launch these big offenses, but when they go on to the next fight, ISIS comes back. It’s exactly what the Americans used to do before the surge [in 2007], the same kind of problem,” said Joel Wing, an Iraq analyst and author of the blog Musings on Iraq.

[The Grand Nudger]

They finally got their head out of their asses and realized they'd put themselves in the same position of weakness they'd previously exploited. Better to be in the brush than the buildings. There's really only one place you can corner a determined enemy and declare a lasting victory. The grave.

[Minimalist]

The buildings are easier to target, for sure.  Of course, most of them are blasted to bits at this point.