I'd recommend:
Posted on 12/29/2015 12:51:07 AM PST by Mariner
The Iraqi army will need Kurdish fighters' help to retake Mosul, the largest city under the control of Islamic State, Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said, with the planned offensive expected to be very challenging. Mosul, 400 km (250 miles) north of Baghdad, has been designated by the government as the next target for Iraq's armed forces after they retook the western city of Ramadi."Mosul needs good planning, preparations, commitment from all the key players," Zebari, a Kurd, said in an interview on Monday in Baghdad. "Peshmerga is a major force; you cannot do Mosul without Peshmerga," he told Reuters, referring to the armed forces of Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous northern region close to Mosul.The mostly Sunni city had a population of two million before it fell to the militants last June in the first stage of their sweeping advance through northern and western Iraq.The battle of Mosul would be "very, very challenging", Zebari said. "It will not be an easy operation, for some time they have been strengthening themselves, but it’s doable."Given the extent of the area that needs to be secured around Mosul during the attack, the army may also need to draw, in support roles, on local Sunni forces and possibly the Shi'ite Popular Mobilization, he said. The Mobilization, known in Arabic as Hashid Shaabi, is a loosely knit coalition of Iran-backed Shi'ite militias set up to fight Islamic State. It was barred from the week-long battle to retake Ramadi to avoid tension with the Sunni population.The retaking of Ramadi by Iraq's army marked the first major success of the U.S.-trained force that initially fled in the face of Islamic State's advance 18 months ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I'm thinking they need at least 50,000 men, liberal application of heavy artillery and more air support than you can shake a stick at.
There's at least 20,000 ISIS fighters and their families in Mosul. With nowhere to go.
And what’s in it for Peshmerga to liberate Mosul?
The elimination of ISIS, the enemy of all mankind, from areas traditionally populated by Kurds would seem like a great incentive.
Mosul is not and has not been part of Kurdistan.
But they border up close to it.
All in all, I don't see much benefit to losing 1/2 their Army, or worse for a city they will never possess, manage or control.
The most that should be asked of the Kurds is to not allow ISIS escape to the north.
I'd recommend:
From the article.. They need help from local Sunni and Shia... Does that mean US weapons to Sunnis.. Wasn’t bin laden a Sunni? Local Shias too.. Are they twelvers like Iran? How don’t peshmerga, Sunnis and Shias form an alliance with enough trust to fight together?
Didn’t we lose a few great warriors in Mosul? Time to pull every US recourse from the ME.. We have been trying to fix Jimmy Carters shah crisis for far too long.
Col. Hunt was on the Howie Carr Show yesterday. He stated that it was Shia militia that is winning there battles and not the Iraqi army. As I recall. The Iraqi army bugged out months ago.
lol the Iraqi Army will probably need the U.S. Marines to clean up Mosul. But that’s not going to happen so just put a siege on Mosul. Starve the city.
And what’s in it for Peshmerga to liberate Mosul?
Mosul would be another Fallujah. Bloody inner city fighting. No reason for Pershmerga to fight there. Especially since it’s an Arab city.
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