The fight for Mossul has begun

[Proteus_MST]

And some think the fighting may draw on for months.
(although I personally think that the fighting may stop faster than thought and that a large percentage of th 5-7k IS-Fighters supposed to be in the city may surrender rather fast, as soon as regular chains of command break down)

Although, I assume, one big danger may be that one of the last actions of IS may be, to set free poison gas in the city.

Whatever, now the time has come for the iraqi army, to rid itself of the disgrace it suffered at the defense of Mosul firstplace, when 30k iraqi soldiers fled from an attacking force, 1.5k IS soldiers strong
Hopefully Mosuls citizens may be freed from 2.5 years of IS tyranny by the end of the year or the beginning of the next one

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/10/16/battle-mosul-begins-iraqi-pm-says/92217348/

http://news.sky.com/story/battle-for-mosul-how-the-military-operation-will-work-10620831

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/17/middleeast/battle-for-mosul/

[Sava]

[Sava]

**** all of you who voted for bush and supported that ****stain of a war

you pathetic idiotic cretins

[Ben Kenobi]

Right. Because ISIS was a thing under Bush.

Last I checked, it wasn't Bush who pulled out of Iraq enabling ISIS to fill the breach.

[Giancarlo]

The Iraqi government under Al Maliki did not want the US there any longer and refused to sign an agreement. By the way, Bush's actions did lead to the creation of Daesh. Stop trying to illogically pin this on Obama.

Must you always post stupidity, Ben?

[Ben Kenobi]

By the way, Bush's actions did lead to the creation of Daesh. Stop trying to illogically pin this on Obama.

Then why didn't we see Mosul fall to ISIS under Bush's watch? ISIS only took over after Obama bailed.

Now we get to watch Obama squirm to send the soldiers that he pulled out of Iraq to retake land that had already been taken.

[Elok]

IIUC, they believe in a prophetic narrative wherein the Faithful will be pushed back, and back, and back, to near-annihilation before Allah intervenes to dispense hellfire and virgins. It will be interesting to see how many of them really believe that.

[Proteus_MST]

IIUC, they believe in a prophetic narrative wherein the Faithful will be pushed back, and back, and back, to near-annihilation before Allah intervenes to dispense hellfire and virgins. It will be interesting to see how many of them really believe that.

Considering how many european IS fighters return to their home coutries, disillusioned by the bloody realities of war (and the brutalities of IS) ... and how many of its own fighters IS already has executed for desertion, I guess that the hardcore IS fighters are only a small minority

[Giancarlo]

Then why didn't we see Mosul fall to ISIS under Bush's watch? ISIS only took over after Obama bailed.

Now we get to watch Obama squirm to send the soldiers that he pulled out of Iraq to retake land that had already been taken.

Your ignorance knows no boundaries. It was brewing for years. And Iraq didn't want us in their country. Do you not get that in your thick skull?

Obama didnt bail. Are you incapable of reading? I just explained to you what happened. Al Maliki wanted us out.

So what were we supposed to do? Just stay without permission or an agreement?

[C0ckney]

Considering how many european IS fighters return to their home coutries, disillusioned by the bloody realities of war (and the brutalities of IS) ... and how many of its own fighters IS already has executed for desertion, I guess that the hardcore IS fighters are only a small minority

what is likely to happen at some point, quite soon in iraq, hard to say in syria, is that the islamic state will simply stop trying to control territory and go underground, blending in with the civilian population and carrying out terrorist attacks. they will then look to exploit sunni resentment to emerge again when government sectarianism/corruption/incompetence becomes too much to bear.

[Giancarlo]

what is likely to happen at some point, quite soon in iraq, hard to say in syria, is that the islamic state will simply stop trying to control territory and go underground, blending in with the civilian population and carrying out terrorist attacks. they will then look to exploit sunni resentment to emerge again when government sectarianism/corruption/incompetence becomes too much to bear.

Great. You have anything else in that crystal ball you want to share with us?

[C0ckney]

Great. You have anything else in that crystal ball you want to share with us?

yes. i predict that you will post a lot more ignorant ****e in this thread and others.

[Giancarlo]

yes. i predict that you will post a lot more ignorant ****e in this thread and others.

You already proved you are an ignorant tool with your proclamation of supporting Trump. So **** you.

[Bereta_Eder]

Turkey got excluded from participating in the mosul attack and erdogan is pissed.
So he said that virtually everything from the balkans to subyria is turkish business and also that he is convinced that turkey's break up is imminent so he wants to move forward (which he related it to expand)

It must be really frustrating in turkey right now

[C0ckney]

yes. i predict that you will post a lot more ignorant ****e in this thread and others.

You already proved you are an ignorant tool with your proclamation of supporting Trump. So **** you.

perhaps you should get some ointment for that butthurt of yours.

if you knew anything about the subject (the middle east, not butthurt), you would have seen that what i said that the islamic state if likely to do is precisely what it did the last time. it is likely to do this because the factors and circumstances that allowed it to emerge still largely obtain. it is highly unlikely that the iraqi government will become much more competent and much less corrupt; and there is no chance that it will be able to resolve the paradox of having a democracy to which a large part of the demos do not wish to remain part. but since you don't anything about the subject, none of that will have occurred to you.