I’m relieved they’re holding off on Mosul for now. I understand the intense desire to liberate it: unlike most cities still under ISIS/Daesh control, Mosul has large populations of people who are not Sunni Arabs. But I believe that it is smart to first cut off the Mosul-Hajiwa corridor by taking full control of Salah ah’Din, and make sure the Syrian-Turkish border crossings at Jarabulus and Tal Abyad are fully under control of the Kurds.
FYI:
I am NOT an Iraq-War vet, or anyone with special or local knowledge of the situation in Iraq; it’s just I’ve watched from afar for 13 years, wondering “Why aren’t they doing this? Why would they do that?” and found when they finally do what seemed like common sense from afar, they have much more success.
“Mosul has large populations of people who are not Sunni Arabs”...Assuming ISIS hasn’t killed them all already.
The Iraqi forces need a win, they get that and they’ll
be ready to do more.
I sure hope we give them the air power they need.