The fall of Ramadi and the outlook in Iraq

[Valin]

Power Line:

Paul Mirengoff

January 1, 2016

 

2015 ended on a high note when ISIS was defeated in Ramadi. The news seemed all the brighter because according to reports from U.S. commanders, Iraqi military forces retook the city without help from Shiite militias.

 

However, the distinction between Iraqi military forces and Shiite militias may not be as sharp as these reports assume. David French cites a Newsweek report that “the security forces of the Iran-backed regime in Baghdad largely consist of Shiite fighters in league with murderous militias that have slaughtered innocent Sunnis after ousting ISIS militants from Tikrit and other battlegrounds in the past year.” Newsweek adds that the Shiites are now “ready to pounce” in Ramadi and elsewhere in Anbar province.

 

Newsweek quotes David Harvey, a former aide to Gen. David Patraeus. Harvey’s sources on the ground say that Shiite militias and sectarian fighters are “very much involved” in the offensive at Ramadi. They are wearing government uniforms and patches, but their vehicles fly Shiite militia banners, and the people who are commanding them are Shiite militia leaders.

 

ISIS’s defeat in Ramadi is good news regardless of who fought them. But if American commanders are trying to air brush Shiites and Iranians out of the picture, that’s telling too.

 

(Snip)