Posted on 05/17/2015 8:20:48 AM PDT by kristinn
Islamic State militants overran one of the last remaining districts held by government forces in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday and besieged a key army base on the edge of the western provincial capital, security sources said.
The militants seized most of Ramadi on Friday, planting their black flag on the local government headquarters in the center of the city, but a contingent of Iraqi special forces was holding out in the Malaab neighborhood.
Those forces retreated on Sunday to an area east of the city after suffering heavy casualties, security sources said, bringing Ramadi to the brink of falling to Islamic State.
It would be the first major urban center to be seized by the insurgents in Iraq since security forces and paramilitary groups began pushing them back last year.
Anbar provincial council member Athal Fahdawi described the situation in Ramadi as "total collapse" and said local officials had voted in favor of the deployment of Shi'ite paramilitaries to the Sunni heartland.
Shi'ite paramilitaries have played a leading role in reversing Islamic State gains elsewhere in Iraq, but have so far been kept on the sidelines in Anbar due to concerns about inflaming sectarian violence.
The insurgents were closing in on the Anbar Operations Command to the west and a military officer inside the army base said it was too late to send reinforcements, pleading for help from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
“We are now surrounded inside the Operations Command by Daesh, and mortars are raining down," said the officer. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
"Daesh fighters are in almost every street. It’s a chaotic situation and things are sliding out of control. Ramadi is falling into the hands of Daesh," the officer said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Speaking of Fallujah, Numerous Twitter reports from this morning saying that the “1st Brigade” barracks southeast of Fallujah are being attacked.
Suicide bombing started the day. There is a video making the rounds today that is supposedly of the fighting there. I wonder if anyone on FR can identify the area shown in this vid?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=17&v=T8RZow6dqDM
It’s that dang JV team.
When Bush was in office he took on and won against the varsity team. For some reason, the current office holder isn’t able to take on even the JV team. It is a good thing he hasn’t had to go up against a varsity team. Well at least he knows his limitations. But it makes us all look bad.
Eric Shawn and Bolton are talking about Ramadi on FOX, right now.
It just must be a coincidence that the Sunday “news” shows focused on the Delta Force raid in Syria while omitting any mention of what is happening in Ramadi and Anbar Province. I guess Obama’s admonition to concentrate on good news only is bearing fruit.
I hope people really understand that Obama and the Democrat’s only goal for Iraq and Afghanistan was TOTAL FAILURE.
The left hated Bush so much (for daring to win in 2000), they have done everything possible to destroy all the gains we made in those countries.
Why anybody would vote for a DemocRAT is just beyond me.
It really saddens me that the DemocRAT’s conduct has been so disrespectful of our military. I’ve had many military members of my family successfully serve our country.
I hate to say it, but Biden was spot on. Trying to keep Iraq together as a single country after the invasion would have been like trying to keep the Austro-Hungarian Empire together as a single country after WW I.
Impossible! But of course that reality was never considered by the neocons.
BREAKING: State TV: Iraqi premier orders forces not to abandon positions in Anbar to Islamic State group.
i24news_EN
12 minutes ago
#BREAKING: Estimated 500 killed in #Iraq’s #Ramadi in two days: official
540 days until Obama is out of office...
“But of course that reality was never considered by the neocons”
It was considered, but if you recall, the media screamed that a “Free Kurdish State” would force Turkey out of NATO.
About 8-9 months ago a friend of mine in the Air Force got back from Afghanistan.
The military tried everyway possible to get the jug eared clown to authorize bombing and sealing completely Saddam’s bunker where they pretty much knew the bio weapons were.
Obama wouldn’t let them bomb it and ISIS made a bee line for the bunker.
He wouldn’t tell me what they suspected was in the bunker but when I said it was probably Anthrax he told me I was a pretty good guesser.
I’m sure this is a result of Obama’s massive air campaign.
The Saudis can’t have Isis fail and then have Iran come after them. Sooooo.....they will continue to support ISIS until they can come up with a better buffer. True or False?
What else are the Saudis gonna do? They can’t count on Odumbi, and if Hillary wins it will be just as bad. What would you do if you were the Saudis?
I’d beg the only military power on earth willing to strike at Iran to strike ASAP......ISRAEL. I’d promise them money oil and anything else they wanted. .......things that make you go hummm.
Iraqi state television is reporting the country’s prime minister has ordered Shiite militias to be prepared to go into Anbar province, where the Islamic State group has forced some security forces into a retreat.
Anbar province is primarily Sunni and many worried sending Shiite militias into the region could spark greater outrage among those still there.
That's right, that's exactly right. And it's something Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld should have known, and prepared for.
But as far as I can see, absolutely no such planning existed. Iraq was to be occupied much like Japan and Germany were after WW II. Print up a nice constitution, and then give everybody a voting card.
But as you noted, Iraqi "society" is quite different from Japanese and German society. Any Middle east expert could have told Bush that. Heck, anyone who has traveled through the region could have told Bush that.
I agree the victories of the Bush administration were purposely sabotaged by Obama. Our bipolar country is tearing itself apart. All the countries are being affected.
That's a very good point. And it was more than just the media screaming. Many within the Bush administration felt the same way. And I can actually sympathize that. It would have been a delicate balancing act, giving the Kurds freedom while trying not to offend a NATO partner.
In 2006, USMC Gen. James Mattis said,”If Ar Ramadi falls, all of Al Anbar Province will fall as well.” True then. True now.
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