Posted on 03/13/2015 2:32:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A source in the Salahuddin Operations Command said Iraqi forces would not move forward until reinforcements reached Tikrit, of which Islamic State still holds around half.
Using guerrilla warfare tactics, the militants have turned the city into a labyrinth of home-made bombs and booby-trapped buildings, and are using snipers to halt their progress...
A victory in Tikrit would give Iraqi forces momentum for the next stage of the campaign to retake Mosul, the largest city under control of Islamic State, which now rules a self-proclaimed caliphate in Sunni regions in Syria and Iraq.
But the involvement of Iran, which backs some of the Shi'ite militia at the forefront of the campaign and is also playing a direct role, is a source of unease for some Sunnis in Iraq and across the wider region.
Islamic State fighters overran Tikrit last June during a lightning offensive that was halted just outside Baghdad. They have since used the complex of palaces built in Tikrit under Saddam, the executed former president, as their headquarters...
More than 20,000 Iraqi troops and Shi'ite militias, supported by local Sunni tribes are taking part in the offensive, which began 11 days ago, advancing from the east and along the banks of the Tigris.
Any assault on Mosul is likely to be a far more complex undertaking. The northern city is larger, further away from core government-held territory and still densely populated, unlike Tikrit, most of whose residents fled long before the operation began...
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani has been spotted on the battlefield overseeing the Tikrit offensive, in which Shi'ite militia are a prominent actor, since the regular army folded last June.
The Shi'ite militia are accused of committing abuses against Sunnis in other territory they have retaken from Islamic State...
(Excerpt) Read more at zeenews.india.com ...
OPEC Has Already Turned to the Euro
GoldMoney Alert
February 18, 2004
...The source for the euro exchange rate is the Federal Reserve, and I have calculated the euro's average exchange rate to the dollar for each year based on daily data.We can see from column (4) in the above table that in 2001, each barrel of imported crude oil cost $21.40 on average for that year. But by 2003 the average price of a barrel of crude oil had risen 26.0% to $26.97 per barrel. However, the important point is shown in column (6). Note that the price of crude oil in terms of euros is essentially unchanged throughout this 3-year period.
2001
As the dollar has fallen, the dollar price of crude oil has risen. But the euro price of crude oil remains essentially unchanged throughout this 3-year period. It does not seem logical that this result is pure coincidence. It is more likely the result of purposeful design, namely, that OPEC is mindful of the dollar's decline and increases the dollar price of its crude oil by an amount that offsets the loss in purchasing power OPEC's members would otherwise incur. In short, OPEC is protecting its purchasing power as the dollar declines.
Iraqi army retreats from Tikrit after assault stalls
Reuters | 7/16/2014 | Raheem Salman and Maggie Fick
Posted on 07/16/2014 3:42:17 PM PDT by mojito
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3181168/posts
In a religious war, I do hope they find a way to kill each other in an honorable manner.
My too, but I’m willing to cut ‘em some slack as long as they keep killing each other.
ValJar the Iranian must be so disappointed.
:’) This “retaking is inevitable” hubris is going to look more and more ridiculous as the weeks wear on. And this is just Tikrit, not Mosul. The Kurds took a long, long time to beat ISIS in Kobane, and that’s not much of a place, but the Kurds were fighting in their own homeland, and with very little help from outside. The Iranians are all-in on this battle in Tikrit.
And they’ve been all-in for nearly four years in Syria. How’s that going again? :’)
Very interesting. Thanks for posting. BTTT!
My pleasure! Not many posting in here, how odd. /s
"Death to America!"
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