Iraq: Out of the desert into Mosul (closed)

[OUTLAW 09]

This is an interesting three paragraphs concerning the high desertion rates of the Iraqi Army---the second paragraph is the key I think---the comment that the soldier is tired and he is tired because he has been fighting "armies" for so long.

"One soldier named Mohamed, who would only give his first name because deserters face a possible death sentence, told the newspaper that eight of his comrades had been killed recently when a mortar shell struck their Humvee.

"I felt like I was fighting armies, not an army," said Mohamed, 24. "I’m tired," he said, referring to the U.S. invasion and the years of sectarian strife between the Sunnis and Shiites. "Everyone is tired."

The Iraqi government has attempted to play down the crisis by saying soldiers are "missing" and not deserters, while other officials have claimed that soldiers had not returned from leave because the roads leading to the battlefields were dangerous, the Times said."

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Ira...#ixzz34MO31gbL

[OUTLAW 09]

This article by The Daily Beast while good on why ISIS is winning brings up an interesting comment that might clash with many "positive" views of the "success of the surge".

Namely there is in the article a comment indicating that just maybe the surge did not remove ISIS at all from Mosul.

If that was then in fact an accurate comment then just what did the surge achieve against originally QRJB, then AQI, and now ISIS?

That is in itself an interesting thought as it would go totally against the COIN narrative.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...verything.html

[OUTLAW 09]

Appears that Iran is now offering their assistance.

Iran offered neighboring Iraq support against terrorism Wednesday, as Baghdad battled a jihadist offensive that has seized the country's second city and is moving toward the capital.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that "while condemning the murder of Iraqi citizens, Iran offers its support to the government and people of Iraq against terrorism," AFP reports.

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_0...errorism-5398/

So in the last 24 hours both Iran and Russia have offered "assistance".

[JWing]

This article by The Daily Beast while good on why ISIS is winning brings up an interesting comment that might clash with many "positive" views of the "success of the surge".

Namely there is in the article a comment indicating that just maybe the surge did not remove ISIS at all from Mosul.

If that was then in fact an accurate comment then just what did the surge achieve against originally QRJB, then AQI, and now ISIS?

That is in itself an interesting thought as it would go totally against the COIN narrative.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...verything.html

Mosul was the only urban center where the insurgents and ISIS were not kicked out of during the Surge. ISIS ran the place like a mafia extorting money from businesses, charging taxes on imports into Ninewa, kidnapping people for ransom. In early 2014 it was discovered that ISIS was even able to steal most of the salaries from the Iraqi police in Ninewa.

Article on insurgent financing in Mosul

http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...qs-ninewa.html

[davidbfpo]

Reported by the The Guardian, based on Iraqi government sources, with my emphasis:

Iraqi officials told the Guardian that two divisions of Iraqi soldiers – roughly 30,000 men – simply turned and ran in the face of the assault by an insurgent force of just 800 fighters. Isis extremists roamed freely on Wednesday through the streets of Mosul, openly surprised at the ease with which they took Iraq's second largest city after three days of sporadic fighting.

Link:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...le-east-states

I take the numbers with a "pinch of salt", but my reading today shows that a posting to Mosul was not desirable, for soldiers and police who were not locals (so mainly Shia dominated units?), with regular fighting, reliant on an air bridge and desertion was rife.

[ganulv]

Reported by the The Guardian, based on Iraqi government sources, with my emphasis:

Link:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...le-east-states

I take the numbers with a "pinch of salt", but my reading today shows that a posting to Mosul was not desirable, for soldiers and police who were not locals (so mainly Shia dominated units?), with regular fighting, reliant on an air bridge and desertion was rife.

Also to be taken with a pinch of salt, but NPR’s All Things Considered ran a piece this afternoon that has soundbites from Mosul residents who say they are fleeing not ISIS, but rather the ISF’s response. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...aqi-city-falls

[TheCurmudgeon]

War on the Rocks video. Good background on the split between ISIS and Al Qaeda. Discussion on ISIS interests in forming a state and Al Qaeda's interests in fighting the jihad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zus5j0D2NpM

[JWing]

Reported by the The Guardian, based on Iraqi government sources, with my emphasis:

Link:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...le-east-states

I take the numbers with a "pinch of salt", but my reading today shows that a posting to Mosul was not desirable, for soldiers and police who were not locals (so mainly Shia dominated units?), with regular fighting, reliant on an air bridge and desertion was rife.

30,000 would be if the two divisions in Mosul were at full strength. No Iraqi unit is ever at those numbers due to people going on leave, etc.

ISIS had been attacking the security forces in Mosul relentlessly for over a year. Unlike violence in other provinces usually 50% or more of the casualties in Ninewa were members of the ISF. Insurgents tracked down where members lived, shot them in front of their homes, blew up their houses, etc. Ninewa Operations Command had to set up special flights for its members from Mosul to Baghdad because the highways south were unsafe. Mentioned before ISIS was stealing most of the salaries of the police in Ninewa as well. Going unpaid and sense of being besieged helps explain collapse of security in Mosul.