The ISIS offensive in Iraq

[Marcus]

Bad news all around.

They've taken Mosul (second largest city in Iraq), Tikrit (Saddam Hussein's birthplace), and Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq, in Ninevah province, as well as many other smaller towns and villages. They are pushing towards Baquba, less than 40 miles northeast from Baghdad. If the Baquba falls, that would give them three potential angles from which to invade Baghdad.

500,000 civilians have already fled, and members of the remaining security forces have been publicly executed. The Iranian army is stepping in to try and help repel ISIS completely back across Iraq's borders.

The Iraqi army forces who deserted and crossed the border into Kurdish territory reportedly attacked the Kurds manning the checkpoint after they crossed through, killing 2 and wounding 34 others.

ISIS is the same organization currently leading the fight against Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria. Their aim is to establish an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and northern Syria.

Terrible situation, but hardly surprising and a probable foreshadowing of events to come in Afghanistan. What a mess.

 

[Fuggles]

But I don't wanna pay 4+ dollars for gas.

 

[Chris]

No surprise. Really sick of those people.

Let them kill each other. Do not send troops.

 

[Fuggles]

No surprise. Really sick of those people.

Let them kill each other. Do not send troops.

Are you a draftable age? If so I promise it will be different this time and more fun. Pinky swear.

[video]https://viddme.blob.core.windows.net/asset-072de0f6-38f0-4c36-98bb-43808fec81a9/33707.mp4?sv=2012-02-12&sr=c&si=cfe27ee2-fa51-4c51-97fa-9fa311041f3a&sig=5u7vodmwnpU%2FOVs0gFwHHem9YEI8WWm%2BiGChbCVKM7 o%3D&st=2014-06-15T22%3A34%3A00Z&se=2024-06-12T22%3A34%3A00Z[/video]

 

[JSS2306]

Dick Cheney's love child. The guy was just a hard headed power grubbing asshole. George Bush couldn't stand him either.

 

[Fuggles]

And Kurds are neat. Don't say bad things about them.

 

[Marcus]

NSFW link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKELtjoNrPU

Just to give you an idea of what kind of people these people are. Brutally executing police officers, teenagers, and unarmed civilians, among others, then bragging about it and uploading it to YouTube.

This stretches far beyond radical religious beliefs. This is just all-out genocide. This is pure evil.

Seeing this makes me feel even worse for the innocent people caught in the middle of the Syrian civil war. Whoever wins, they lose, whether it's their brutal dictator or the fanatic, bloodthirsty, genocidal maniacs that are fighting against him.

 

[Chris]

Is it true the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is actually intervening to push these militants back?

If so, goes to show you how fucked up they are. As much as I'd like to crush them, I just see it as a lost cause.

 

[Fuggles]

Is it true the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is actually intervening to push these militants back?

If so, goes to show you how fucked up they are. As much as I'd like to crush them, I just see it as a lost cause.

Why wouldn't Iran do that?

 

[Marcus]

Is it true the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is actually intervening to push these militants back?

If so, goes to show you how fucked up they are. As much as I'd like to crush them, I just see it as a lost cause.

Yes. They've additionally fortified their border with Iraq and are firing on just about anything within 60 miles of the border.

Iran stands to gain plenty from intervening in Iraq, though. To be honest, just about everyone in the Middle East hates ISIS and would like nothing more than for them to be wiped out.

God help us all if they succeed in their takeover of Iraq and northern Syria. We had their leader in custody until we let him go in 2009. His parting words to the soldiers?

"See you in New York."

 

[bob2the2nd]

call kenny loggins cause youre in the

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The Iraqi military apparently asked for air support last month, and were turned down. Terrible move.

Air is usually very effective against troops on the offensive, because they have to mass and move quickly. Plus, it can be a huge morale boost for troops on the ground to see those strikes going in. Makes 'em feel like they're not alone and have backup. Had we provided the requested air support, the Iraqi army may well have held its ground. Should have foreseen this, picked some sharp Iraqis, and sent them to the U.S. ANGLICO school to get expertise at coordinating air strikes.

There is a decent military parallel to what happened in South Vietnam. In '72, the NVA rolled across the border in a straight-out conventional assault, not a guerilla op. The ARVN buckled initially, but received strong U.S. air support, held, and pushed back and recovered some of what they'd lost. No air support in '75, and the same ARVN that held and fought courageously in '72 buckled completely due to a collapse in morale. The politics were different, and the relative force levels are much different -- the NVA was much stronger relative to the ARVN than ISIS is to the Iraqi army. But that's all the more reason to believe the Iraqi army might have held. They got scared, and fell apart.

 

[Chris]

Anybody still care about this?

Shit is getting real over there. Atrocities being committed that I don't even want to think about. I mean, al Qaeda literally looks tame compared to them. ISIS might be one of the purest most unbridled evils we've seen in a while. Will the world do anything?

 

[JSS2306]

Anybody still care about this?

Shit is getting real over there. Atrocities being committed that I don't even want to think about. I mean, al Qaeda literally looks tame compared to them. ISIS might be one of the purest most unbridled evils we've seen in a while. Will the world do anything?

I've seen video's in the same vein as AND 1 mixtapes only it's ISIS video's boasting how ruthless they really are depicting all sorts of mass killing. I would be petrified to live in Iraq right now. I was all for withdrawing troops but fuuuuck this.

Obama needs to send ground troops back in immediately. Hate to say it.

 

[Chris]

I've seen video's in the same vein as AND 1 mixtapes only it's ISIS video's boasting how ruthless they really are depicting all sorts of mass killing. I would be petrified to live in Iraq right now. I was all for withdrawing troops but fuuuuck this.

Obama needs to send ground troops back in immediately. Hate to say it.

Yeah ive seen them. Its fucking surreal the violence on display in some of their videos and thats just the half of it apparently.

Whatever needs to be done to stop them is what we should do. If that means sending ground troops into crush them then it must be done. what is happening right now is mass slaughter and nobody is doing anything about it.