is this a real thing that is actually happening?

[C0ckney]

i meant as in actually being in control of the city.

[Guynemer]

Are we in the Danger Zone?

Dino?

DINO?

DINOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO?

[Dr Strangelove]

oops

[Dr Strangelove]

The Kurds now have control of Mosul. That's all they want.

The Kurds are in control of Kirkuk, not Mosul. The Turkish government is expressing dismay over this turn of events. With their considerable army they could sweep through the middle of ISIS controlled territory and trap the insurgents deep in Iraq, but they would have to pass through Kurdish or Syrian territory.

[Elok]

Question: who, if anyone, is backing ISIS at this point? Iran's against them, obviously, and it sounds like they've got Turkey pretty pissed. The biggest Sunni power in the region is S.A., but last I heard the Saudis were reluctant to (openly) support goons like this, since they want our support. Are they about to get the snot beat out of them, or what?

[Dinner]

i meant as in actually being in control of the city.

So did I.

[Dinner]

Question: who, if anyone, is backing ISIS at this point? Iran's against them, obviously, and it sounds like they've got Turkey pretty pissed. The biggest Sunni power in the region is S.A., but last I heard the Saudis were reluctant to (openly) support goons like this, since they want our support. Are they about to get the snot beat out of them, or what?

I imagine they get most of their money and support informally from Saudi Arabia via "Islamic Charities". That's how regular people in Saudi Arabia have deliberately funded terrorist organizations for decades now. The Saudi government is very outspoken about supporting Sunni militants in Syria with weapons so I wouldn't be even slightly surprised to find out they are directly funding and supplying ISIS. The Saudis love to fund Sunni terrorist groups.

[C0ckney]

So did I.

i don't understand. uncle sparky said that the kurds were in control of mosul (as in now), so i asked if that was true, as i couldn't find any source for it. you then responded, but i'm not really sure what you were trying to say.

[Kidlicious]

From the BBC:



I'm confused. Does this mean:

A. Sending the Iraqi army more guns to replace the ones they chucked away when they ran without a fight;
B. Launching drone strikes against Iraq's cities and hoping for a combatant-to-civilian kill ratio above 1/500;
C. Asset freezes against enemy leaders, which in this case I guess means hiring some dudes to steal their goats; or
D. Dithering for a while until something else makes the news and/or Iran invades?

I'm leaning towards D, but with this wacky administration one never knows what sort of outside-the-box thinking to expect.

The time to kill all the bad guys was when they came across the border in pickups.

The War on Terror is over. Did we surrender?

[Sava]

The enemy of my enemy.

Exclusive: Alarmed by Iraq, Iran open to shared role with U.S. - Iran official


(Reuters) - Shi'te Muslim Iran is so alarmed by Sunni insurgent gains in Iraq that it may be willing to cooperate with Washington in helping Baghdad fight back, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

The idea is being discussed internally among the Islamic Republic's leadership, the senior Iranian official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official had no word on whether the idea had been raised with any other party.

Officials say Iran will send its neighbor advisers and weaponry, although probably not troops, to help its ally Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki check what Tehran sees as a profound threat to regional stability, officials and analysts say.

Islamist militants have captured swathes of territory including the country's second biggest city Mosul.

Tehran is open to the possibility of working with the United States to support Baghdad, the senior official said.

"We can work with Americans to end the insurgency in the Middle East," the official said, referring to events in Iraq.

"We are very influential in Iraq, Syria and many other countries."

For many years, Iran has been aggrieved by what it sees as U.S. efforts to marginalize it. Tehran wants to be recognized as a significant player in regional security.

COMMON CAUSE

Relations between Iran and Washington have improved modestly since the 2013 election of President Hassan Rouhani, who promised "constructive engagement" with the world.

And while Tehran and the United States pursue talks to resolve the Islamic state's decade-old nuclear standoff with the West, they also acknowledge some common threats, including the rise of al Qaeda-style militancy across the Middle East.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama said the United States was not ruling out air strikes to help Baghdad fight the insurgents, in what would be the first U.S. armed intervention in Iraq since the end of the U.S.-led war.

Rouhani on Thursday strongly condemned what he called violent acts by insurgent groups in the Middle East.

“Today, in our region, unfortunately, we are witnessing violence, killing, terror and displacement," Rouhani said.

"Iran will not tolerate the terror and violence ... we will fight against terrorism, factionalism and violence.”

Asked on Thursday about Iranian comments, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: "Clearly, we've encouraged them in many cases to play a constructive role. But I don't have any other readouts or views from our end to portray here today.”

Fearing Iraq's war could spill into Iran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged the international community to back Maliki's administration "in its fight against terrorism".

Brigadier-General Mohammad Hejazi said Iran was ready to supply Iraq with “military equipment or consultations,” the Tasnim news agency reported. "I do not think the deployment of Iranian troops would be necessary," he was quoted as adding.

The senior Iranian official said Iran was extremely worried about the advance of ISIL, also a major force in the war against Iran's close ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, carving out a swathe of Syria territory along the Iraqi border.

"The danger of extremist Sunni terrorist in Iraq and the region is increasing ... There have been several high-ranking security meetings since yesterday in Tehran," the official said.

"We are on alert and we also follow the developments in Iraq very closely."

(Additional reporting by Michelle Moghtader in Dubai, Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by William Maclean and Janet McBride)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/13/us-iraq-security-iran-idUSKBN0EO0QH20140613

[Sava]

Question: who, if anyone, is backing ISIS at this point? Iran's against them, obviously, and it sounds like they've got Turkey pretty pissed. The biggest Sunni power in the region is S.A., but last I heard the Saudis were reluctant to (openly) support goons like this, since they want our support. Are they about to get the snot beat out of them, or what?

They've got their own money now.

ISIS militants steal $450M, advance on Baghdad

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101757191

And yes, it appears as if ISIS will soon get the snot beat out of them.

When there's talk of a joint Iranian/US operation against you, you're screwed.

[molly bloom]

Question: who, if anyone, is backing ISIS at this point?

Someone who should tell them Isis was a pagan goddess. Shouldn't naming your Muslim Islamist groupuscule after a heathen deity be utterly haram ?


In other news, the Saudi Arabian government is supposedly contemplating the necessary horror of cooperating with the heretic Shias of Iran to combat Isis.


Ye gods and goddesses.

[Al B. Sure!]

The problem with pumping military equipment to the Iraqi Army is they've already been abandoning equipment we gave to them.

What I wonder is what will happen when ISIS seizes Baghdad. Is that the tipping point for full intervention?

[Elok]

Intervention by who? We ain't doing ****.

[Sava]

We'll bomb whoever is winning so that the fighting continues as long as possible.