IRAQ NEEDS HELP (WARNING: GRAPHIC PIX)

[Cheyne]

The killing of children goes against every moral and practical war standard. The Huns, Mongols, Comanche et al. made it a habit to kill the men, rape the women and take the children (that were old enough to look after themselves, not kids in swaddling or diapers) to be raised as Mongols or Comanche or to be their slaves. Taking kids at 5-12 years old can beef up your warrior force relatively quickly-no need to wait for babies to grow.

Killing little kids serves no purpose except to terrorize their parents and ignite the rest of the world.

[Duchess]

This is Major Mariam Al Mansouri, she flies an F-16 and has been bombing ISIS. Go Mariam! She flies for the UAE. I see her name mentioned frequently when I'm creepin' on those I think are terrorists or associated with them. ISIS fear very little but they fear Mariam's bombs, to be killed by a woman is considered a fate worse than death.

[HairOfTheDog]

Some good news --

-The US and Coalition air strikes are reportedly helping Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi military forces to reclaim villages and push out IS forces in Iraq.

-Turkey has agreed to allow Peshmerga forces from Iraq to pass through in order to reinforce Kurdish fighters battling IS for the Syrian town of Kobani at the Turkish border.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/25/world/...?hpt=hp_t1

[HairOfTheDog]

ISIS fear very little but they fear Mariam's bombs, to be killed by a woman is considered a fate worse than death.

The Kurds are a real thorn in the side to IS and have become a key asset to the NATO and multi-national coalitions looking to thwart IS. Kurdish fighters have been instrumental on the ground in pushing back IS in Iraq, with recent airstrike assistance and other support from the US and allies. They joined forces with the Iraqi military when Maliki was still in power (the Kurds considered him an oppressor of their people) in order to fight a mutual enemy (IS).

Over in Syria, the Kurds managed to pretty much avoid being targeted by rebels, terrorists, or the Syrian military during the country's 3+ years of civil war. Instead, the Kurds established some autonomous secular states in the north. Now, IS is at their doors and looking to take over Kobani.

The Kurds are a force to be reckoned with. It was a very big deal, IMO, that Turkey agreed to the US request to let Iraqi Kurds pass through the country to join the Syrian Kurds in fighting IS at the Syrian/Turkish border of Kobani. Turkey and the Kurds are not friends, at all. But, Turkey is a key US ally in the region (and maybe sees the Kurds as essential to keeping IS out of Turkish domain?). Syrian rebel fighters are reportedly now joining the Kurdish fighters near Kobani as well. Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/29/world/...?hpt=hp_c2


Kurdish women fight side by side with men. IS fighters face being killed by women fighters not only from the air, but also in ground combat.

Go, go Kurds.

[Duchess]

I admire their bravery.

There was a rumor floating around cyberspace earlier in the week that ISIS had gotten their hands on one of the women we continue to see in pix, it was said there is video of her beheading but many have come out to deny it's her, they say she is alive, well and still fighting the good fight.

Even senior women there are picking up a weapon and helping to defend. It's incredible to see the pictures of them. They are so old and so ready to fight for their country.

[Maggot]

Turkey sits at their border with tanks and artillery watching as the U.S. bombs them. They are not taking sides but as ISIS does not recognize borders they may end up regretting not getting more involved. This is a problem that Maliki could have avoided if he had allowed the Sunnis to have representation alongside the Shiites. When he slaughtered the protesters it gave rise to Saddams old Batth party. Most of the leaders in ISIS are old officers that were fighting with Saddam.
Saddam may have been a dictator but he kept Iran at bay and Iraq had at least some kind of government. The U.S. should probably have just kept him from Kuwait and we did but we wanted democracy and oil and were just not prepared for what was to come.
Today there is no coalition because no other countries trust us, and I don't blame them. This is not the first time the middle east has shown their blood lust but it is the first time that graphic images and atrocities are recorded and sent out to the world in this way. Cold blooded and with a cause they storm across the region in American tanks and artillery flaunting our failures.

[HairOfTheDog]

Today there is no coalition because no other countries trust us, and I don't blame them.

What do you mean, Mags?

These are the current members of the US-led coalition to thwart IS:
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Turkey
Jordan
Egypt
Qatar
Iraqi Kurdistan
Bahrain
United Kingdom
Australia
France
Germany
Canada
The Netherlands
Other nations: State Department officials have also listed Italy, Poland, Denmark, Albania and Croatia as having provided equipment and ammunition in the fight against ISIS. New Zealand, Romania and South Korea were also named for providing humanitarian assistance, with officials noting that South Korea has given some $1.2 million.

More about how each coalition member country is contributing: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/09/world/...n-nations/

[HairOfTheDog]

The Coalition Makes Headway Against IS

By all accounts, the US and coalition efforts are really weakening the Islamic State group in Iraq. IS still has some strongholds and they're far from defeated, but significant victories have been achieved.

IS's founder/top dog Baghdadi is still kickin', but three of his top leaders have been confirmed killed by coalition airstrikes this month.

Supported by air strikes, Iraqi Kurdish fighters this week broke an Islamic State siege of Sinjar mountain in western Iraq, freeing hundreds of Yazidis who had been trapped there for months.

Turkey and Iraq are mending fences since former Iraqi PM Maliki was ousted and Abadi took the helm (they've resolved an oil revenue dispute associated with northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region).

Turkey, a NATO member, has been flooded with Syrian refugees for years and is also the training ground for Syrian fighters and Kurds who are backed by the US and coalition forces to fight IS. Now, Turkey has taken an additional step and pledged to assist Iraq, possibly with arms.

Sadly, an airstrike coalition pilot from Jordan crashed in Syria and is being held captive by IS. The pilot's father has asked for mercy from IS, appealing to them as "fellow Muslims". I don't think mercy is something he's gonna get; his best hope is that Jordan might be open to releasing some prisoners in exchange for the pilot, IMO.

Refs:
http://www.france24.com/en/20141225-turk...nst-group/
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/M...TE?SITE=AP

[HairOfTheDog]

IRAQI MILITIA GIVES RAMADI TO IS



The war of words over the loss of Ramadi, amid other gains by the Islamic State group in recent days, lay bare the fissures among countries that have become allies of convenience against the militants. And as Iraqi troops continue to flee their advance, governments across the world are questioning whether relying on Iraqi troops and militiamen on the ground alone will be enough to stop them.

Criticism of Iraqi military began Sunday, when US Defense Secretary Ash Carter told CNN's "State of the Union" news show that Iraqi forces "vastly outnumbered" the Islamic State group, but still "showed no will to fight" and fled their advance on Ramadi.

On Monday, Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said his government was surprised by Carter's comments.

"Carter was likely given incorrect information because the situation on ground is different," al-Hadithi told The Associated Press. "We should not judge the whole army based on one incident." Al-Hadithi said the Iraqi government believes the fall of Ramadi was due to mismanagement and poor planning by some senior military commanders in charge. However, he did not elaborate, nor has any action been taken against those commanders.

U.S. officials, including Carter, have said Iraqi forces fled the Islamic State advance on Ramadi without fighting back, leaving behind weapons and vehicles for the extremists. So far, the American approach to the conflict has been to launch airstrikes as part of an international coalition it leads, as well as equipping and training Iraqi forces.

Iran has offered advisers, including Soleimani, to direct Shiite militias fighting against the extremists. Iran has said it does not have combat troops fighting in Iraq, though some Revolutionary Guard members have been killed there.

Baghdad has said military preparations are underway to launch a wide-scale counteroffensive in Anbar province, home to Ramadi, involving Iranian-backed Shiite militias. However, that's spark fears of possible sectarian violence in the Sunni province, long the scene of protests and criticism against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/25...35130.html
==========================

The US has been airstriking in support of Iraqi / Kurd ground forces' efforts to reclaim land from IS in Iraq for over 9 months. Some of those efforts have been successful.

There is a multi-country regional coalition supporting Iraq, providing training and humanitarian aid, etc...

And, still, the Iraqi army fled ahead of IS militants arriving in Ramadi and taking over the key city last week (next up, Baghdad?). Jesus Christ.

I freely criticize the US government and military actions when I disagree with them, but the loss of Ramadi is all on the Iraqis, not the US. Sometimes I wonder if some of the losses are planned, to get the US back on the ground in Iraq in order to fight IS on behalf of the Iraqi Shiites. "Better to lose American lives than Iraqi ones" kinda thinking? I hope not.

Anyway, I do not want to see the US send ground troops to Iraq or Syria or Libya or Yemen... I want IS thwarted in a huge way, but Iraqis and Shiites (and fellow peaceful Sunnis) in all of the IS-infected countries need to want it more than anyone else and be willing to fight against IS for THEIR countries. The US and coalition countries should continue assisting and supporting, but the locals need to fight IMO.

Hopefully, Ramadi will be reclaimed, the momentum will shift away from IS again, and Baghdad won't be seized by IS.

[Duchess]

Whatta clusterfuck we caused by invading that country. Jesus Christ.

[Maggot]

We should have stayed and left at least a base there. Strategically its an ideal country to have a presence in. Leaving people there would have been a good idea but politically it was not. The right thing would have been to stay and continue trying to turn cowards into soldiers. Now Iran will take over and begin a new crusade. I wonder if Iran will join forces with ISIS in the future.

[Midwest Spy]

We should have stayed and left at least a base there. Strategically its an ideal country to have a presence in. Leaving people there would have been a good idea but politically it was not. The right thing would have been to stay and continue trying to turn cowards into soldiers. Now Iran will take over and begin a new crusade. I wonder if Iran will join forces with ISIS in the future.

Ironically, Iran will turn out to be a huge ally when it comes to battling ISIS.

Iran is Shia, and ISIS is Sunni.

[username]

The right thing would have been to stay and continue trying to turn cowards into soldiers.

Thirteen years spent there (and I think I recalled reading a few months ago that we still had, or sent again, some number of troops to train) and they turned and bailed on the situation. I don't think they give a fuck and/or they're cowards that CAN'T be turned in to soldiers. It's insane considering what Daesh does to these communities, and the people living there, when they take over.

[HairOfTheDog]

Australians Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar -- IS Jihadists (now banned from Australia under threat of arrest for terrorism and possible war crimes).
The Australian government considers Australians who've joined IS in Syria and Iraq to be one of Australia's biggest threats when/if they return home. I don't blame them. Sharrouf just tweeted a photo of his 7 year-old son holding up the head of a Syrian, with the caption, "that's my boy". Whatta guy.

I didn't repost the very graphic photos attached the original comment; they remain posted upthread.

It's being reported the Sharrouf and Elomar were killed getting into their car in Mosul, Iraq.

The Australian government is working to officially confirm the deaths.

Too bad their kids were brought into such a hateful, violent lifestyle and mindset by the two murderous snap-happy dipshits.

Elomar's (31) wife is the 14-year-old daughter of Sharrouf. Sharrouf's wife Tara Nettleton is said to have wanted to get herself and their children out of IS and return to Australia last year. Her request was denied.

Maybe there will be some hope for their families if the decapitation-loving IS jihadists are in fact dead? But, even if they really want out of IS, where do they go? I understand why Australia doesn't want to take the family members back. If I was Nettleton, I think I'd try to turn myself in to Australian authorities by agreeing to face prosecution/prison, and give my minor kids a chance at a life without me back home. But, I'm not her.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/23/asia/a...index.html

[HairOfTheDog]

Taking Back Ramadi



A senior Iraqi politician says Iraqi forces are likely to retake Ramadi from Islamic of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters within "three or four days", as fierce fighting for the key city continued.

Jaber al-Jaberi, an MP from Anbar province, told Al Jazeera that while the progress of Iraqi forces has been slow, it has been "well organised" between the counterterrorism forces, comprising Iraqi army soldiers, tribal fighters and local police.

"There is a big fight now in the downtown of Ramadi," Jaberi said on Wednesday afternoon, after Iraqi intelligence estimated that only 300 ISIL fighters were left in the city.

"[Iraqi forces] are fighting in this moment to retake the government building in the centre of Ramadi ... We hope in three or four days, maybe, Ramadi will be liberated from [ISIL]."

Air strikes from a US-led coalition struck areas close to the centre of Ramadi on Wednesday, killing at least 20 ISIL fighters, military sources said.

Ramadi, about 120km from the capital Baghdad, was captured by ISIL in May, but Iraqi forces have since managed to claw back some territory.

Story: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/ir...30888.html

[HairOfTheDog]

Taliban in Afghanistan

Meanwhile, Afghanistan is experiencing more Taliban turmoil than it has in some time.

Military reinforcements have arrived in the Afghan district of Sangin to support police and soldiers besieged by Taliban militants, the Helmand deputy governor has told the BBC.

Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar also said that military planes had dropped food supplies to government positions in Sangin. He said the (Afghan) army was "now taking the fight to the Taliban".

Civilians have been fleeing the town amid continuing bitter fighting.

A spokesman for the Taliban said it has taken full control of Sangin district, but Afghan acting defence minister Masoon Stanekzai said fighting in Sangin was "ongoing".

Also this week, a suicide bombing near Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan killed six U.S. troops and wounded two other Americans and an interpreter. RIP. The victims have been identified: http://news.yahoo.com/york-city-detectiv...20630.html#

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was the largest attack on foreign troops in Afghanistan since August.

It happened at around 1.30 p.m. local time in the vicinity of Bagram, the largest U.S. military facility in Afghanistan, according to U.S. Army Brig. Gen William Shoffner.

Mohammad Asim Asim, governor of Parwan province, where Bagram is located, said the bomber rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into a combined NATO-Afghan foot patrol as it moved through a village close to the base, which is 28 miles north of Kabul.

Taliban fighters, sometimes working with other insurgent groups like the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, have managed to overrun many districts across the country this year, as well as staging a three-day takeover of the major northern city of Kunduz. They rarely hold territory for more than a few hours or days, but the impact on the morale of Afghan forces is substantial.

The war has intensified since the announcement in late July that the founder and leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been dead for more than two years. His deputy, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, succeeded him, causing internal ructions and delaying the likelihood that a peace dialogue with the Afghan government, halted after the announcement of Mullah Omar's death, will restart in the foreseeable future.

The Pentagon released a report last week warning that the security situation in Afghanistan would deteriorate as a "resilient Taliban-led insurgency remains an enduring threat to U.S., coalition, and Afghan forces, as well as to the Afghan people."

The U.S. now has about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan, some of which are involved in counterterrorism missions. With NATO contributions, there are about 13,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Refs:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35166136
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/12/21/...vince.html

[HairOfTheDog]

Awesome news.

Two years after ISIS took over many IRAQI cities, the terrorist group now holds only the second largest city, Mosul.

It's being reported that the retrained/reorganized Iraqi military under the new PM and central government, the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and the U.S./Western Europe/Middle Eastern coalition will together have pushed ISIS out of Iraq completely when the current battle in Mosul concludes (expected to be imminent).

ISIS is reportedly taking a beating in Syria as well. Hopefully, they'll be completely de-powered there soon too. Then, the Syrian Rebel leaders, the U.S., Israel, Western Europe, Jordan, the Kurds.....can try to figure out what to do about President Assad who is viewed more favorably by Syrian loyalists, Russia, Iran, China...

[Midwest Spy]

How do you really ensure that they're done and can't re-form?

Execution for all?

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't have the answers to those questions, MS. You can't execute ideology, discontent, greed and power-hungriness.

But, I do think governments can help to minimize and manage it from enveloping the country. I hope Iraq's new government is committed and successful in more fairly representing all of its citizens, regardless as to whether they're Shiite, Sunni, Kurd, Christian, etc... It won't be easy to hammer out negotiations and peace plans between them, but the rational and peaceful leaders and followers of all religious sects may well be more motivated to compromise for the good of the whole after spending two years watching ISIS kill and trample over everybody.

It's being reported that the Iraqi army now facing the final showdown with ISIS in Mosul is comprised of both Shia and Sunni Muslims and all other religions. That's a good thing; it should primarily be Iraqis going toe-to-toe with terrorists to reclaim their own lands and freedom (with allies strongly supporting the effort). I'm glad the U.S. has not forcefully gone into the country with tens of thousands of boots of on the ground. It's too bad so many Iraqis have died there over the last two years, but I believe it's better long-term strategy to help countries learn to better defend themselves than to occupy countries by force for years on end under the premise that it's for their own good (only to be resented for it later).

[Duchess]

I wasn't sure where to put this so...

This is incredible!

Crushing a record previously held by a British sniper, a Canadian special forces member now holds the title title for the longest confirmed kill. Measured at 3,450 meters, or approximately 2.2 miles, the member of the Joint Task Force 2 killed an Islamic State insurgent in Iraq using a McMillan TAC-50 rifle. For obvious reasons, officials are not releasing the name of the soldier, but say that the shot was “confirmed by video and other data”.



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