Iraq was eager to draw the US deeper and deeper into the war against ISIS, and cheered when the US expanded that conflict across the border against ISIS targets in Syria. Now, they’re regretting it.
That’s because despite administration officials insisting the contrary, the Syrian town of Kobani has become not only a priority for the US war, but virtually the entire focus of the air war, and Iraq is getting less and less attention.
Now, the Iraqi military is complaining they’re back where they were, with virtually no air support as the US war machine shifts west into Syria. The last week saw 5 airstrikes in Anbar Province, where ISIS is gaining territory, down from 16 last week.
The Kobani area, by contrast, has seen 70 US airstrikes in the past week, with the number increasing all the time. The Pentagon claims hundreds of ISIS fighters have been killed in and around Kobani by the strikes, though the town is still expected to fall.
