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Iraq

Islamic State fighters overrun Iraqi govt lines east of Ramadi

2015-05-22

[REUTERS] Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
snuffies overran Iraqi government defences east of the city of Ramadi on Thursday, police and pro-government tribal fighters said.

The defensive line was breached at Husaiba, about 10 km (six miles) from the city, on Thursday afternoon after IS fighters intensified mortar and rocket fire.

"The situation is very critical now after Daesh (IS) fighters managed to overrun our defensive line in Husaiba," Police major Khalid al-Fahdawi said.

"We have retreated to the eastern part of the area and we're waiting for more reinforcements and air force strikes to stop the Daesh advance."

Posted by:Fred

#5 (a) It's a comment, pater.
(b) Pournelle is one of the great ones. Star wars, eh

Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-05-22 19:47

#4 Palpatine was the Emperor.

You'd think a science fiction writer might've gotten that correct.

Posted by: Pappy 2015-05-22 19:35

#3 TG-
It was Admiral Piatt who said, "...I have my orders from the Emperor himself. He has something special planned for them. We only need to keep them from escaping"

Posted by: lord garth 2015-05-22 09:39

#2 yep,

I am inclined to believe the middle east is becoming less and less important to our national interests because we now have more oil reserves than they do. All we have to do is to make sure a nut job doesn't go mass casualty jihad on us and we should stay out of the way.

I am also beginning to think that maybe, GASP AM I AGREEING WITH OBAMA????, that lobbing a few bombs in their general direction is about as far as we should go.

Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2015-05-22 09:20

#1 A comment on Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manor
I hear what you are saying about ISIS. Sure, a US armored division could take them out. So what?
In WWII the US army and government could both win wars and govern in the aftermath. Today, we can destroy, but our elites are so corrupt that we can no longer govern.
You have complained about our incompetent proconsul, Paul Bremer, in the aftermath of the Iraq war. But we don’t have anyone better at hand!
To paraphrase someone famous, you don’t go into a war with the leadership that you wish you had, but with the leadership that you do have. The days of Eisenhower and FDR and even Nixon are long gone. Our current elites can only create chaos. Sure our army still has the ability to trash ISIS (until outsourcing finally breaks the logistical tail), but so what. We trash ISIS, and then what? We destroy Turkey, and Iran and Saudi Arabia?
Let’s admit it – our country no longer has the ability to both win wars and govern in the aftermath. If a bunch of looney tunes in the deep desert are killing themselves how about we just STAY THE HECK OUT OF THEIR WAY AND LET THEM KILL EACH OTHER. I think Napoleon had something to say on that topic.
As Admiral Palpatine once said, we only have to keep them from escaping.
TG

Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-05-22 04:02

00:00