On Friday, Iraqi troops reached the small town of Dour, on the outskirts of Tikrit, putting them closer to the city that is their intended target. So far, the offensive even against this town is going painfully slowly.
Officials are still reporting “advances” in the fighting, but are only to the center of al-Dour by Sunday evening, while snipers and improvised explosives are keeping the ground troops from making major moves.
The Tikrit offensive is a huge undertaking for the Iraqi military, and it is being done with the aid of both Iranian artillery backing and large amounts of Shi’ite militia fighters.
It is noteworthy, however, that the offensive continues entirely without US involvement. The Pentagon was never sought to provide air support for the attack, likely owing to the US refusal to coordinate with Iran.
The decision between Iranian artillery and US warplanes can’t have been an easy one, but recent acrimony between the Iraqi Defense Ministry and the Pentagon over the planned invasion of Mosul, which Pentagon officials first confirmed then cancelled, all without Iraqi input, has clearly rubbed Iraqi officials the wrong way.
Tikrit is no Mosul, of course, but could be seen as a test case for the Iraqis, both of their ability to take significant ISIS targets, and of how much difference Iranian backing is to US backing in the grand scheme of things.
Makes me wonder just what side the U.S. is really on. Destabilization of the Middle East seems to be our game. Winning isn't our real goal perhaps.
"Destabilization of the Middle East…"
That's been the plan from the beginning…winning has never been the intermediate goal. Turn the region into a bunch of warring tribes and then, eventually, send in the troops to clean up – and take ownership.
Expansion — The lifeblood and god of Empire
For an Empire being brutal imperialism carried out on a global scale, wars of aggression and plunder that encore astronomical amounts of waste, surely it is the most inefficient form of government known to man and without an overabundance of expansion namely new markets to trade war materials for natural resources, in no way could it’s economy function.
So, whether to teem up with Iran or bomb it back to the stone age, whether to give it’s mercenary Army called Islamic State another windfall of free weapons or continue to pretend to destroy it, it all depends upon expansion and how best to achieve it.
General Wesley Clark: Wars Were Planned – Seven Countries In Five Years
"This is a memo that describes how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran." I said, "Is it classified?" He said, "Yes, sir." I said, "Well, don't show it to me." And I saw him a year or so ago, and I said, "You remember that?" He said, "Sir, I didn't show you that memo! I didn't show it to you!"
General Wesley Clark Asked About 7 Country War Plan
I, for one, do not believe that there is no US "backing" for the offensive. Perhaps overt US airpower support is not being used, perhaps. But it is most likely that various forms of "special" and "advisory" American forces, and mercs, are in with the Iraqi ground forces. As well as, of course, the supply of US intelligence from drones, satellites, communications intercepts and so on. And it wouldn't surprise me if there was general American logistical support as well. The Iraqi forces are kinda of a joke. They really can't do much of anything without a lot of "backing" from somebody.