Maj. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the US deputy commander in Iraq and Syria, downplayed the threat posed by ISIS within Iraq, arguing that Shi’ite groups, both “Iran-controlled” or otherwise, are the real threat.
“We taken a couple of casualties from ISIS fighting on the ground, but most of the attacks have come from those Shi’ite militia groups,” Grynkewich said. He also accused the militias, part of the Iraqi government’s security forces, of extorting locals in Nineveh Province.
While it’s no real secret that the US isn’t on the best of terms with the Shi’ite militias, the general’s comments greatly downplayed ISIS, which he described as being in “survival mode,” raising the question of why US forces are even in Iraq, when it was supposed to be an anti-ISIS operation.
Instead, Grynkewich is trying to rebrand US operations in Iraq as primarily about Iran and “all of their proxies” in the wake of the US assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani. He said the US could expect a continued harassment in Iraq from these groups, which again raises questions about why the US is in Iraq, since it was certainly never meant to be about fighting Iraqi groups that they are accusing of being “Iranian-leaning.”
Ironically, having dismissed ISIS as all but irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, Grynkewich also cited the ISIS fight as the reason the US needs to resume security cooperation with the Iraqi government. Again, it seems he’s gone out of his way to undercut the case that this is a war that even needs fighting, while still falling back on it as a justification.
Are they sad ISIS is gone! And Shia, 70% of Iraqi population are bad. Specially their militia that defeated beloved ISIS. Back to Petraeus formula!
From the perspective of an occupation military that is clueless about the population they lord over, this viewpoint makes perfect sense. The only daesh they actually have to fight are the ones that begin thinking for themselves and/or run out of Captagon for the last time. The rest of them are the US’ unconventional forces. The only real opponent for the US in Iraq is the Iraqis themselves, but the US can’t afford to lose Iraqi oil, defense, and reconstruction projects to China and Russia. They’re afraid of what it would do to the petro-dollar and thus can be expected to do everything, including war to prevent Iraq from going its own direction.
USA is worse than ISIS in Iraq.
Now, if we had a President or a Congress that actually paid attention and/or cared, they may ask about things like why in Hell are we in Iraq in the first place if ISIS is practically done for. Why in Hell would we care who is extorting whom and who is providing border security (??) in Iraq?
The mission was sold to the public as counter terror, as in ISIS is coming to getcha, so we may as well fight them there. A big lie, but at least it made a tiny bit of sense. Now … what’s the mission again?
You’ve got a real valid point here, Caliman. If we really had a President or a Congress that actually paid attention and/or cared, they may ask about issues such as why in Hell are we in Iraq in the first place if ISIS is practically finished? Why in Hell would we care who’s extorting whom, and who’s providing border security in Iraq? These are, indeed, valid questions.
It’s time to withdraw ALL 5,000+ US troops out of Iraq and bring them back home, to secure our southern border with Mexico, to keep the cartels at bay.
Your last sentence, what is the mission? I wish you were a debate moderator sir, to put plainly the issue “what is our cause in Iraq?” And demand an answer from anyone who wants to continue that stupid war even one more troop even one more day. Exact same question re Afghan war: “what is our cause?”
The mission is to use Terrorists to overthrow governments that don’t do trade in our masters fiat currency…and to trick the American public into thinking they are spreading ‘Freedom” TM
The Saudi interpretation of Islam is the most extreme and brutal in the world and is called Wahhabism.
Saudi Arabia spends billions every year to spread their Wahhabism all over the world, funding schools, mosque, extreme groups and Jihadis, the US and its western puppets have known this for decades.
Groups like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, extreme groups and Jihadis are inspired by Wahhabism, their interpretation of Wahhabism is called “takfiri”
The US and its western puppets are training and using various takfiri groups to kill, destroy, occupy and spread chaos in the middle east.
The US and its western puppets present them self as the solution to the chaos.
Maj. Gen. Grynkewich Needs 10 more years before he can retire full pension. Cut him some slack people.
The Grinch is like all the other “commanders” illegally in a country they have destroyed and refuse to leave, pretending they have defeated the “terrorists” which the Shia forces have been the main fighters against. GO HOME YANKS.
This pretty much proves that American occupation is the cause of most hostilities.