Obama, Iraqi leader vow rapid offensive to retake Mosul

[webfact]

Obama, Iraqi leader vow rapid offensive to retake Mosul

By JOSH LEDERMAN

 

NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi put the Islamic State group on notice Monday that they plan to recapture the city of Mosul within months. If successful, the operation could mark a major turning point in the campaign to defeat the extremist group.

 

Neither leader glossed over the immense difficulty of the battle ahead as they met in New York on the sidelines of a U.N. summit. Still, Obama said he and Abadi were confident that Iraq's military and the U.S.-led coalition could make progress in Mosul "fairly rapidly," adding that he was hoping for progress by year-end.

 

"This is going to be hard. It's going to be challenging. It will require resources," Obama said. But he professed confidence that more territory can be wrested from the militants, in part because he said "the Iraqi forces are getting more confident."

 

Abadi, speaking in English, echoed Obama's timeline for retaking Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the extremist group's stronghold in the country. He called the group a "huge threat" to Iraq's stability.

 

"We hope within the next few months we're going to kick Daesh out of Mosul," Abadi said, using an Arabic acronym for the group. He added: "They must be crushed on the ground."

 

The aggressive timeline reflects Obama's hopes of notching another major victory against IS before he leaves office in January and hands the conflict off to his successor. Donald Trump and other Republicans have blamed Obama's decision to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq for fueling the extremist group's formation and its growth into the world's most serious terrorist threat.

 

Both leaders want to move quickly in Mosul to take advantage of recent momentum against IS in Iraq and the perception that the extremists' morale is waning. In neighboring Syria, the chaotic civil war continues to hamper the fight against IS, but in Iraq, the extremists have lost half the territory they once held, according to the U.S.

 

Capturing Mosul, the last major city IS controls in Iraq, would constitute both a symbolic and strategic defeat to the militants. The U.S. and its partners hope a successful Mosul offensive will set the stage for eventually ousting the group from Raqqa, the largest IS-held city in Syria and the de facto capital of the group's self-declared caliphate.

 

Yet military experts have warned that retaking Mosul is an incredible arduous task that plays to the extremist group's advantages, including its ability to embed among civilians. The battle will require huge numbers of troops and street-by-street combat. In preparation, Iraq's military has been amassing troops and retaking a string of towns in the vicinity of Mosul.

 

Equally daunting to military planners is the prospect that the battle could displace some 1 million people.

 

Washington considers the Iraqi government's handling of the displacement as a major test of reconciliation in Iraq, given the blend of sectarian groups with an interest in the northern city's future. To the Obama administration's relief, Abadi has proven to be a more inclusive leader than his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki, whose sectarian approach led many Iraqi Sunnis to see IS as a more welcoming alternative.

 

Obama said he and Abadi had focused on ensuring that food, water and shelter are available for those displaced and that Mosul can be quickly rebuilt, so that desperate residents don't turn to "extremist ideologies" for relief and allow the Islamic State group to return.

 

"A lot of our work today has been focused on making sure that that happens," Obama said.

 

Obama's meeting with the Iraqi leader marked the start of a hectic week of diplomacy as he makes his final appearance as president at the annual U.N. gathering. Even as he and Abadi focused on recent progress in Iraq, the situation was growing grimmer in Syria, where President Bashar Assad's military on Monday declared the end to a week-old cease-fire and a U.N. humanitarian aid convoy was hit by airstrikes.

 

The president also held a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in which both countries condemned North Korea's recent nuclear test and pledged closer coordination on addressing the nuclear threat from Pyongyang. Obama also discussed climate change, the global refugee crisis and terrorism during a phone call with Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta.

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-09-20

[johnnywishbone]

Too little
Too late.
Obama is a <deleted>.


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[SgtRock]

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi put the Islamic State group on notice Monday that they plan to recapture the city of Mosul within months.

 

Obama and al-Abadi going loco in Mosul ?

 

The puppet and the puppet master. Cannot wait to see this 

[Grouse]

 

Take it and hand over to the Kurds as their new capital 

[williamgeorgeallen]

saddam had this whole mess under control. democracy, better chance of it working in thailand.

[DeaconJohn]

"Take it and hand it over to the Kurds as their new capital."

Better yet, let the Kurds take it themselves and let the US put an end to their disastrous involvement in the Middle East.

 

[HomeinThailand]

The sad part will be further destruction of homes and businesses to rid Mosul of DAESH.  DAESH has already destroyed enough and removing them will only cause more.  Wish there was an easier way to rid the planet of DAESH.  I have pictures of St Elijah's Monastery that was in Mosul.  Notice the past tense?  DAESH turned it into a pile of rubble.  Truly sad.   

[craigt3365]

12 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

saddam had this whole mess under control. democracy, better chance of it working in thailand.

Yes, wonderful man who treated his people with respect.

 

As in Syria, a minority (Sunni) was selected to rule the country.  Thus, the internal problems.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein

Quote

 

Through the 1970s, Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatuses of government as oil money helped Iraq's economy to grow at a rapid pace. Positions of power in the country were mostly filled with Sunni Arabs, a minority that made up only a fifth of the population.

.....................................

Saddam was notable for using terror against his own people. The Economist described Saddam as "one of the last of the 20th century's great dictators, but not the least in terms of egotism, or cruelty, or morbid will to power".^[33] Saddam's regime brought about the deaths of at least 250,000 Iraqis^[40] and committed war crimes in Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued regular reports of widespread imprisonment and torture.

 

 

Amazed at how some praise these brutal dictators.  Yes, they kept things under control, but via brutal repression of their people.  There are better ways to keep things under control.  Look at Jordan.

[craigt3365]

11 hours ago, DeaconJohn said:

"Take it and hand it over to the Kurds as their new capital."

Better yet, let the Kurds take it themselves and let the US put an end to their disastrous involvement in the Middle East.

 

The big problems in the ME right now are Saudia Arabia and Iran's religious wars.

[williamgeorgeallen]

19 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Yes, wonderful man who treated his people with respect.

 

As in Syria, a minority (Sunni) was selected to rule the country.  Thus, the internal problems.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein

 

Amazed at how some praise these brutal dictators.  Yes, they kept things under control, but via brutal repression of their people.  There are better ways to keep things under control.  Look at Jordan.

so is iraq better off now that it is at war? a war that is seemingly endless and has a running yearly body count of approx 100 000. mostly civilians. not sure what your comparison with jordan is with a 92% sunni population. 

[craigt3365]

10 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

so is iraq better off now that it is at war? a war that is seemingly endless and has a running yearly body count of approx 100 000. mostly civilians. not sure what your comparison with jordan is with a 92% sunni population. 

Iraq is a mess.  And yes, partly due to the US messing things up there.  Though the Arab Spring uprisings seemed to have fueled problems there, like everywhere in the ME.  No easy answers, just like Syria.  But does seem primarily related to religion right now.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq#2008.E2.80.93present

Quote

 

Crime and violence initially spiked in the months following the US withdrawal from cities in mid-2009[89][90] but despite the initial increase in violence, in November 2009, Iraqi Interior Ministry officials reported that the civilian death toll in Iraq fell to its lowest level since the 2003 invasion.[91]

..............

Following the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, the insurgency continued and Iraq suffered from political instability. In February 2011, the Arab Spring protests spread to Iraq;^[92] but the initial protests did not topple the government. The Iraqi National Movement, reportedly representing the majority of Iraqi Sunnis, boycotted Parliament for several weeks in late 2011 and early 2012, claiming that the Shiite-dominated government was striving to sideline Sunnis.

 

In 2012 and 2013 levels of violence increased and armed groups inside Iraq were increasingly galvanised by the Syrian Civil War. Both Sunnis and Shias crossed the border to fight in Syria.^[93] In December 2012, Sunni Arabs protested against the government, whom they claimed marginalised them.^[94][95]

 

 

The main influence in Iraq is....who would have guessed...Iran.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/03/19/the-iraq-war-was-it-worth-it/ten-years-after-the-iraq-war-irans-influence-is-strong

[williamgeorgeallen]

10 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Iraq is a mess.  And yes, partly due to the US messing things up there.  Though the Arab Spring uprisings seemed to have fueled problems there, like everywhere in the ME.  No easy answers, just like Syria.  But does seem primarily related to religion right now.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq#2008.E2.80.93present

 

The main influence in Iraq is....who would have guessed...Iran.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/03/19/the-iraq-war-was-it-worth-it/ten-years-after-the-iraq-war-irans-influence-is-strong

yea it sounds like it is a mess alright. would seem to me that many of these countries are just better off with a dictator in charge. not just Iraq but Libya and Syria as well. bringing freedom and democracy to many countries seems to throw them into a state of perpetual war. great for weapons sales though.

[craigt3365]

2 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

yea it sounds like it is a mess alright. would seem to me that many of these countries are just better off with a dictator in charge. not just Iraq but Libya and Syria as well. bringing freedom and democracy to many countries seems to throw them into a state of perpetual war. great for weapons sales though.

Easy to say if you're not living there.  I'm sure your opinion would be completely different if you were living there and trying to raise a family.  These people deserve better.  Right?  And as you say, stop the weapons sales.  Something the UN tried with Syria, but was blocked by China and Russia.

[williamgeorgeallen]

9 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Easy to say if you're not living there.  I'm sure your opinion would be completely different if you were living there and trying to raise a family.  These people deserve better.  Right?  And as you say, stop the weapons sales.  Something the UN tried with Syria, but was blocked by China and Russia.

easier to keep you head down living under a dictator than it is living in a war zone. i have survived 2 years here now without a scratch.

[craigt3365]

11 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

easier to keep you head down living under a dictator than it is living in a war zone. i have survived 2 years here now without a scratch.

LOL.  Thailand is hardly the ME.  And we're hardly living under conditions like them.  You can still go out, get a beer, watch a movie, read the news, drive around, etc.  All impossible there.  Even before the current problems.

[Silurian]

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to split Iraq apart into three parts based on the religion of the majority of people in that area and melded into the current countries of the region. The Iraqi Sunni area could be combined with Syria, the Iraqi Shai area could be combined with Iran and the Iraqi Kurdish area have their own country of Kurdistan. Maybe the Kurdish area of Turkey could also be fused with the new Kurdistan country since Turkey has had conflicts with the Kurds. Hopefully now the former Iraqis belong to their respect religious region. I know it is probably over simplistic and doesn't cover oil and other resource rights but I was just pondering the possibilities.

[williamgeorgeallen]

48 minutes ago, Silurian said:

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to split Iraq apart into three parts based on the religion of the majority of people in that area and melded into the current countries of the region. The Iraqi Sunni area could be combined with Syria, the Iraqi Shai area could be combined with Iran and the Iraqi Kurdish area have their own country of Kurdistan. Maybe the Kurdish area of Turkey could also be fused with the new Kurdistan country since Turkey has had conflicts with the Kurds. Hopefully now the former Iraqis belong to their respect religious region. I know it is probably over simplistic and doesn't cover oil and other resource rights but I was just pondering the possibilities.

yes, was like living in a war zone before the good general took control.

would be interesting to see what would happen to give them their own countries. i suspect the country with the biggest defense budget would end up destroying their neighbors.

Edited September 21, 2016 by williamgeorgeallen

[craigt3365]

31 minutes ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

yes, was like living in a war zone before the good general took control.

would be interesting to see what would happen to give them their own countries. i suspect the country with the biggest defense budget would end up destroying their neighbors.

Where I live, nothing really has changed.  Never had protests here and can still go down to the beach, watch the sun set, and drink an imported beer.  Not too bad!

 

Now if the good general would deal with the insane import tariffs for wine, I'd be really happy!!!

[johnnywishbone]

The big problems in the ME right now are Saudia Arabia and Iran's religious wars.

When the Saudis publicly beheaded the Iranian religious leader recently,
I was surprised by the small Iranian outrage.


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[craigt3365]

12 minutes ago, johnnywishbone said:

When the Saudis publicly beheaded the Iranian religious leader recently,
I was surprised by the small Iranian outrage.

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I don't think the Iranian outrage was small:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35216694

Quote

Iran: Saudis face 'divine revenge' for executing al-Nimr

 

These are the 2 countries tearing the ME apart.  Interesting article:

http://www.vox.com/2016/1/4/10708682/sunni-shia-iran-saudi-arabia-war

Quote

The cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran that's tearing apart the Middle East, explained

The supposedly ancient Sunni-Shia divide is in fact very modern — and it's not really about religion.

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by craigt3365

[thaihome]

4 hours ago, Silurian said:

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to split Iraq apart into three parts based on the religion of the majority of people in that area and melded into the current countries of the region. The Iraqi Sunni area could be combined with Syria, the Iraqi Shai area could be combined with Iran and the Iraqi Kurdish area have their own country of Kurdistan. Maybe the Kurdish area of Turkey could also be fused with the new Kurdistan country since Turkey has had conflicts with the Kurds. Hopefully now the former Iraqis belong to their respect religious region. I know it is probably over simplistic and doesn't cover oil and other resource rights but I was just pondering the possibilities.

 

Unfortunately, it's about 100 years too late for this solution. France, Great Britain,  and Italy were far too concerned with claiming the remains of the Ottoman Empire after WWI to worry if the ethnic or religious makeup of their new puppet states made any sense. 

TH 

 

[johnnywishbone]

This conflict began the day after the death of Muhammad.
You and I will not see the end of this.


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