Jihadists Seize Iraq's Nineveh Province!

[Seamus_L]

Interesting article about ISIL’s recent successes
from Military Times
militarytimes.com/article/20140612/NEWS08/306120062/How-did-800-ISIS-fighters-rout-2-Iraqi-divisions-

                          Despite there having captured Mosul, Tikrit

and Tal Afar, they remain a relatively small and poorly armed force, and the
fact that a much larger, better trained and equipped army fled from them without
a fight, does not suddenly make them one of the great armies of the 21st
century. When the Iraqi army and the Shia militias do decide to make a fight
of it, we will see the end of there aura of invincibility

 

[EmperorNapoleon]

According to an article in today’s NY Times, p. 6: “An official statement posted on the Ministry of Defense’s website denied the executions had taken place at all.”

Sounds like we have another Baghdad Bob on our hands.

 

[Good_Tidings]

Sounds like we have another Baghdad Bob on our hands.

Too true. Are we going to fall for this again?

 

[oneofmany]

275 men against a whole army of terrorists? They probably won’t be returning----from Iraq.

I hope these men will have arms and not be left unprotected like the ones in Benghazi were.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I don’t think the daily mail is fooling anyone with that headline.

not sure what you mean - “not fooling anyone with that headline” - could you elaborate.

I read today that our embassy cost $750, 000, 000.00.
It covers many acres. It would be a disaster if it fell into enemy hands.
I worry that 275 troops may not be enough.

 

[Brendan_64]

Despite there having captured Mosul, Tikrit
and Tal Afar, they remain a relatively small and poorly armed force, and the
fact that a much larger, better trained and equipped army fled from them without
a fight, does not suddenly make them one of the great armies of the 21st
century. When the Iraqi army and the Shia militias do decide to make a fight
of it, we will see the end of there aura of invincibility

The strength of an army doesn’t just depends on physical superiority, it also depends on, intellectual strength, moral resolve. In terms of the later, you can have all the physical superiority you like, but if the troops are not prepared to fight and fight hard then you’re in serious difficulty. Battles are not all about arms and equipment.

To face a merciless militia who you know will give you no quarter if you are captured or surrender, and who will probably deal with your family in a similar fashion. That takes a lot to stay and fight, rather than gather up your family and flee. I don’t think I could do it if it meant risking my family falling into the hands of such people.

 

[Tomdstone]

I read today that our embassy cost $750, 000, 000.00.

Why does the USA need such an expensive embassy? Couldn’t some of that money be used to help the flat broke who are starving to death in the USA? Or to help poverty-stricken mothers and fathers send their penniless children to college?

 

[GaryTaylor]

11.32 The prime minister of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Nechirvan Barzani, has said it is “almost impossible” for Iraq to return to its pre-Isis offensive state.
The various factions - Iraqi Sunni and Shia as well as Kurdish - needed to “sit down and find a way to live together”, but the country cannot stay together as it was, he told the BBC.

Tal Afar, fell to jihadists yesterday

Last night US president Barack Obama notified Congress up to 275 troops would be sent to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the American Embassy in Baghdad.

The soldiers - 170 of which have “already arrived” in Iraq - were armed for combat, though Obama has insisted he does not intend for U.S. forces to be engaged in direct fighting.

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10904851/Iraq-crisis-Obama-moves-US-forces-to-Iraq-live.html

 

[GaryTaylor]

Why does the USA need such an expensive embassy? Couldn’t some of that money be used to help the flat broke who are starving to death in the USA? Or to help poverty-stricken mothers and fathers send their penniless children to college?

Ha, the UK is planning on re-opening theirs which has been closed since 2011. Everyone is protecting their “interests” whatever those are “exactly”.

Looks like a Isis hunting expedition to me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I entered a point at the end of your first paragraph highlighted with red. The rest of your post was not worth commenting on. I guess you’ll say anything to shift blame.

ATB

No reason to be ill-mannered and personal about it. Lighten up.

 

[Seamus_L]

Iraq Cabinet: Saudi ‘Responsible’ for Militant Financing naharnet.com/stories/en/135295-iraq-cabinet-saudi-responsible-for-militant-financing
Sooner or later the worldwide victims of Saudi financed terror are going to have to get togather and take some serious punitive action against what Dore Gold referred to as "Hatred's Kingdom".

 

[GaryTaylor]

Iran, Iraq and Syria are just as responsible for marginalizing all non Shiite. Maliki is a bust, isis is 35 miles from Baghdad.

Personally imho if we are not staying out of this then we should establish the 51st state. We’ll call Iramerica.

The country needs a new leader. Until a change of leadership happens, there is little point in sending aid.

 

[Coatimundi]

Well… this isn’t good.

The first possible signs of sectarian killings of Sunnis appeared in Iraq on Tuesday, as 44 Sunni prisoners were killed in a government-controlled police station in Baquba, north of Baghdad, and the bodies of four young men who had been shot were found dumped on a street in a Baghdad neighborhood controlled by Shiite militiamen.

A police source in Baquba said the prisoners were killed after militants who had been advancing on Baquba attacked the police station, where the men, who were suspected of having ties to the militants, were being held for questioning.
…
In eastern Baghdad, the bodies of four young men were found without identity documents on a street in the Benuk neighborhood on Tuesday morning… The victims were between 25 and 30 years old and had been shot numerous times, he said.

The killings fit the familiar pattern of death squads during the sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007. Bodies would be dumped in streets and empty lots after execution-style killings, often without identity documents. Many of the extrajudicial killings, as well as kidnappings, were the work of Shiite militias, often in cooperation with the Shiite-dominated police force, although Shiites living in Sunni neighborhoods were killed as well. At the peak of the violence, as many as 80 bodies a day were found in Baghdad and its immediate suburbs.
nytimes.com/2014/06/18/world/middleeast/sectarian-violence-appears-to-spread-to-streets-of-baghdad.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

 

[7_Sorrows]

I am not expecting a lot of good news to be coming from iraq.

 

[josie_L]

I hope that everyone will read the argument of Mr. Chomsky in post #323 or
democracynow.org/blog/2013/9/11/noam_chomsky_us_has_been_torturing_iran_for_60_years_since_1953_coup
and decide for themselves.

When you criticize an argument, the standard procedure is to go over the points of disagreement and this has not been done. The only thing that has been done here Is to attack the character or reputation of Mr. Chomsky and not address his well reasoned arguments. When you attack the person, rather than address the arguments raised, that qualifies as an ad hominem argument. This is the standard and well known definition of the term ad hominem.

I do not like Noam Chomsky, he has a leftist p.o.v that he never deviates from, that in itself is enough to discredit him. And having read most of the article, I can only say that it has confirmed my beliefs, his language is inflammatory and false:

In this web-only exclusive, MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky talks about the past 60 years of U.S.-Iranian relations since the 1953 coup organized by the CIA. “The crucial fact about Iran, which we should begin with, is that for the past 60 years not a day has passed in which the U.S. has not been torturing Iranians,” Chomsky says. “It began with a military coup which overthrew the parliamentary regime in 1953.”

Of course, at the same time, Saddam attacked his Kurdish population with horrible chemical weapons attacks. The U.S. supported all of that.

The United States and Israel, two major nuclear powers—I mean, one a superpower, the other a regional superpower—are constantly threatening Iran with attack, threatening Iran with attack every day. Again, that’s a violation of the U.N. Charter, which bans the threat or use of force, but the U.S. is self-immunized from international law, and its clients inherit that right. So Iran is under constant threat. It’s surrounded by hostile nuclear states. It—and maybe is developing a deterrent capacity. We don’t know. New York Times knows, but intelligence doesn’t. That’s the pretext.

Iran’s is the greatest threat to world peace, greatest threat in the region, because of its nuclear programs. That’s the U.S. position. What is the position of the world? Well, it’s easy to find out. Most of the countries of the world belong to the Non-Aligned Movement, which had in fact just had its regular meeting in Tehran, in Iran. And once again, it vigorously supported—vigorously supported—Iran’s right to enrich uranium as a signer of the Nonproliferation Treaty, unlike Israel and India. That’s the Non-Aligned Movement.

Here’s an overview of the Non-Aligned Movement, so you can see how deceptive Noam Chomsky is:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement

Moreover, the meeting in Tehran was expecting some 150 members, but only received about a third of that amount (hardly a majority of the world):

The 16th NAM summit took place in Tehran, Iran, from 26 to 31 August 2012. According to MehrNews agency, representatives from over 150 countries were scheduled to attend.[10] Attendance at the highest level includes 27 presidents, 2 kings and emirs, 7 prime ministers, 9 vice presidents, 2 parliament spokesmen and 5 special envoys.[11]

 

[Robert_Bay]

MODERATOR NOTICE

This thread is wandering, please stay with the topic of the current crisis in Iraq. You may discuss possible direct causes, but try to not wander too far off topic.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am having difficulty understanding why the U.S. does not remove everybody from the embassy in Baghdad, unless, perhaps, the jihadis are visibly running out of steam or we have obtained protection from Iran. Either is possible, one supposes. Perhaps both.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I am having difficulty understanding why the U.S. does not remove everybody from the embassy in Baghdad, unless, perhaps, the jihadis are visibly running out of steam or we have obtained protection from Iran. Either is possible, one supposes. Perhaps both.

I am not sure how many are still there or if it is fully staffed.
I haven’t seen the news today so I don’t know what is going on over there today.

 

[seekerz]

But ISIS is living in the 7th century and doesn’t follow the rules of modern civilization.

Look well at that part of the world, and find me a government or radical group that lives in this millennium, then maybe we can talk…Did you hear of what the long-supported (internationally) ex-leader of Egypt did when the US wanted a terror suspect identified? It was reported that they cut off the finger of the prisoner and mailed it to us…So much for rule of anything, least of all war.

 

[seekerz]

They have to be killed. It’s as simple as that.

I’m glad you think it’s simple. I’m pretty sure that Assad The Terrible (who is fighting them with everything he’s got) would disagree with you. But apparently, you know of a “killing” solution he doesn’t know about?