FALLUJAH is a place with bad memories for the American soldiers who served in Iraq. Two battles in 2004, the second of which was the bloodiest of the whole war, confirmed it as the stronghold of the insurgency that arose to challenge the American occupation. It was also the first big city to fall to Islamic State (IS) at the outset of its rampage across Iraq in 2014. Now there is to be a third battle of Fallujah. On May 22nd Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, declared that an offensive to retake the city, which lies only half an hour’s drive west of Baghdad, had begun.
For the American-led coalition fighting IS, the decision to go for Fallujah makes little military sense. The priority remains wresting back Mosul, Iraq’s second-biggest city, which fell to IS two years ago. Preparatory operations are well under way, although few believe that the security forces will be ready to move in before the end of the year. The Americans fear that Fallujah will become a distraction that will delay the assault on Mosul even further.
Though the military logic is dubious,...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1TLBv6B
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