As has been mentioned ISIS 'lays down'. Melts Away. Disappears. Always. Related: Mosul- Difficult Fight? Already Ahead of Schedule?Related : The Battle for Mosul Has Begun?I've noticed the phenomena myself on more then one occasion. Soufan group reported on it more then once also. (linked contained in above posts) Flashback: Transcript of Assad Interview- Setting Records Straight via Highlights & more2014: ISIS = Smoke & Mirrors. Giving cover now for strikes on Syria
We have to realize that ISIS is the smoke and mirrors to the ME reshape. ISIS is the deception. The distraction. While we are spoon fed the ISIS soma, NATO headed by the US, in cahoots with Israel and the GCC nations reorder the globe to suit their agenda.
The agenda hasn't changed. WSJ:
Iraqi forces moving toward Mosul along one southern front progressed quickly Monday, the first day of the offensive. But the push slowed Tuesday, as forces still miles outside Iraq’s second-largest city regrouped and rested before resuming efforts to encircle it.On Wednesday, Iraqi military officials ordered a pause to allow one of the Iraqi army divisions operating south of Mosul to make up ground. The division had been delayed in the first two days of the offensive, moving only about half a mile along the 35-mile route to Mosul, an officer of the government’s Emergency Response Division said.It wasn’t clear why the army division was delayed, the officer said.The officer said that in two days of fighting to clear villages west of the Mosul-Baghdad highway, his forces had encountered 10 suicide car bombers deployed by Islamic State, and intercepted and destroyed seven.Although the Sunni Muslim extremist group is still formidable, the officer added, it (ISIS) is employing simpler and fewer defenses than it used in previous battles in the city of Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq.“So far, this is far easier than Fallujah,” he said.
Easier then Fallujah? The crown jewel of the Islamic State? Simpler and less defended. Easier then Fallujah?Kurdish forces
In the town of Shaquli, Peshmerga troops settled in, their armored vehicles sprouting heavy weapons parked behind freshly made berms.Some fighters took selfies alongside an abandoned Islamic State truck bomb.
The vehicle had approached the front line, then the driver jumped out without detonating the explosives, the Peshmerga said. Meanwhile, warplanes screeched overhead, and the occasional military vehicle rumbled past, kicking up clouds of dust.
The vehicle approached the front line. The driver jumped out without detonating the explosives.Why? I thought this was an epic fight? Why did the driver not detonate the explosives? Where did the driver go? Was he killed? Or did he disappear into the advancing Kurdish troops?Why didn't the Peshmerga fighter mention the conclusion of the incident? In my opinion, it reads to me as if a truck full of explosives was delivered to the fighters. I assume these fighters are PKK.
“We’re waiting for orders,” said Qahraman Said Hamed, 38, his face grimy from manning a heavy machine gun during the push earlier this week.So far, he said, the offensive to retake Mosul from Islamic State, which has held the city for more than two years, was proceeding more easily than expected.“They’re not like they used to be,” he said of the jihadists. “They’re getting weaker now. They’re in defensive positions and just trying to protect themselves.”
By all accounts the advance is proceeding along very easily. For the Iraqi military, Fallujah, was unsurprisingly a tougher battle- (The reason, in my opinion, for that was mentioned in a previous post)Bloomberg: The Iraqi government does not want the inhabitants of Mosul to flee in order to hold onto the territory- As Iraq's territory. They've been leafleting the area in advance of troop movements.
It is a case where the spoils are going to be more problematic than the victory. Already there is talk in Iraq and the U.S. Congress of turning Mosul and surrounding Ninevah Province into several quasi-autonomous “cantons” along the lines of the Kurdish protected zone created after the Gulf War. This is a terrible idea.Such mini-states would have no legitimacy in the eyes of the Iraqi government or people. They would likely fight among themselves over land and oil. And their creation could give momentum to a total breakup of the Iraqi state, which would create the sort of chaos that allowed Islamic State to thrive in the first place.This is why the Iraqi government has to come up with a plan now for a temporary ruling authority to take civilian control of Mosul as soon as the fighting ends. This government would have to allow representation from all the ethnic and religious factions and be committed to religious tolerance and rule of law.
The plan should be made public before the battle ends, which would keep Mosul’s residents calm and eager to expel the terrorist forces. Equally important is avoiding atrocities by Shiite militia members against the Sunni population for alleged collusion with the terrorists, as occurred after the fights to re-take Amerli, Fallujah and Tikrit from Islamic State. Shiite units should be kept out of the center-city fighting entirely.
I've discussed the multitudinous problems with the fall out of Mosul on numerous occasions:
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Mosul Assault "ISIS Hostage" John Cantlie in Mosul- Taking Mosul for Kurdistan
- May 03/2016: Pt.3 Iraq’s Maidan Spring- Operation Annex Mosul is Well Under Way
Part 3 (above) also has a part 2 and part 1... My first thought was that Obama might want Mosul done as a two year anniversary deal- However, an October surprise always had great potential too!There's more here on Mosul. Much more.. UPDATE 5:55 pm EST Iraqi Advance Into Mosul Exceeds Expectations
“The Mosul operation is proceeding ahead of schedule due to the deterioration of ISIS defenses,” Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Gen. Othman Al-Ghanimi said Tuesday.
Islamic State terrorists have destroyed their administrative buildings in the city, including offices containing passports and tax records.
Isn't that amazing? Islamic State is carrying out the same type of action as the Kurds PKK/YPG take when they steal territory. Destroy administrative buildings and of course administrative records- Like land titles and ownership documents..I've got a post covering this topic relating to the ethnic cleansing of Manbij somewhere here
“Some ISIS terrorists, dressed in Iraqi forces uniforms and in vehicles carrying Iraqi flags, are moving in areas not yet liberated south of Mosul in order to arrest people who show support for Iraqi forces"
Hmmm.. who would have provided ISIS with Iraqi military uniforms? That wouldn't be advantageous to the Iraqi military to have done that? Not at all! Good for who ever would be best served by turning the populace against the Iraqi military though? Gee, which parties could that be?