Monday, February 22, 2016

Mosul continues to wait

In June of 2014, Mosul was seized by the Islamic State.  All this time, the Iraqi government has not only been unable to liberate the city, they really haven't even tried.

Representative democracy?

More like cowardly leaders hiding behind their bodyguards in the Green Zone.


Yesterday, Brett McGurk announced on Twitter:




Coalition-trained 71st Army BGD issued orders to deploy north, prepare offensive. Via



They're going to start preparing for a Mosul offensive.

What?  They didn't want to give the Islamic State a third year of being in control of Mosul?


The Iraqi government's also been unwilling or too frightened to try to liberate Falluja.

Like many a coward with weapons, they've been fond of dropping bombs on Falluja -- a city with thousands of civilians -- dropping bombs on residential neighborhoods -- and doing this daily.

They just haven't been willing to get on the ground and try to liberate the city.


Again, they're fine with killing civilians.

The same civilians that they are supposed to represent and to protect.


Possibly, the position of the Iraqi government is: If you aren't safe, you should flee the country.

That is, after all, what the bulk of the Shi'ite politicians did.  Fled and lived in exile until after the US-led invasion in 2003.

With that cowardice imprinted in so many leaders' minds, it's no wonder they can't run a functional government.

But Falluja was attempting to liberate itself at the end of last week.

Because Haider al-Abadi's cowardly government would not provide assistance, that effort appears to have been ended.

That's what both THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and AFP are reporting.

Haider al-Abadi and his government have become paralyzed as a result of their fear in confronting the Islamic State.

Haider can stick his tongue out at them -- from a safe distance, you understand -- and he can hurl insults but he just can't go up against them.

It's apparently a character flaw built in to cowards.

Saturday's snapshot noted Haider addressed Parliament and we mainly focused on the big news that he told Parliament the Shi'ite militias would be taking part in the liberation of Mosul.  We touched on that briefly last night.


As a result, an angry e-mail arrives to the public account insisting no such address took place, that if it had "Associated Press and others would have reported it and you really should be ashamed of making s[**]t up."


Actually, I think the person slicking off a piece of the shame pie is the e-mailer who jumps to conclusions without doing even the most basic of work.


Haider did speak to Parliament.

The western press ignored it?

Don't blame me for that.

But Haider did speak to Parliament.


From his Twitter feed:




  • PM Al-Abadi addressed Parliament to make the case for a ministerial reshuffle and outline his economic reform plan




  • The e-mailer could have also used the links in the snapshot, clicked on them, and been taking to the outlets that did report on the appearance before Parliament.


    But let's hope that now that the e-mailer's been corrected, he'll aim that righteous anger where it should have been aimed all along:  At a lazy and hapless media that refuses to report on actual news.


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