Isis has continued to advance unimpeded through Iraq and Syria; their fighters are now only just miles outside the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. After intense fighting in the region, they have gained control of 80 percent of Anbar Province and are now moving small groups of men towards the capital. American military officials are unsure of whether the Iraqis can hold the city and are bluntly stating that they 'did not pay enough attention to ISIS' and underestimated its capabilities as a military force. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an interview with CBS that the US had to send in a small force of Apache helicopters to fend off ISIS fighters, who had punched through the Iraqi defenses and were moving to assault the airport, which is the only route of evacuation for hundreds of American diplomatic and military personnel in the area. However, military officials do not expect a frontal assault on the Shia-dominated city, (ISIS is Sunni), rather they expect them to surround, siege, and choke off the city from outside support. Military officials have also suggested sending in a small force of American ground troops to assist in an Iraqi operation to retake the city of Mosul, for target spotting.
I think that we underestimated ISIS from the beginning. They have sufficient military personnel to take over the entire Iraqi state, and we didn't see that. It sucks
No comments:
Post a Comment