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bemildred

(90,061 posts) Tue Mar 31, 2015, 08:24 PM Mar 2015

Iraqi Troops in Center of Tikrit, Prime Minister Says

Source: AP/NBC

Iraqi forces battled ISIS militants holed up in downtown Tikrit, going house to house Tuesday in search of snipers and booby traps, and the prime minister said security forces had reached the heart of the city.

In a statement on Twitter, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the "liberation of Tikrit" and congratulated Iraqi security forces on their "historic milestone." But an official statement from his office said the troops "hoisted the Iraqi flag" over the Salahuddin provincial headquarters in Tikrit and are moving to control the entire city.

Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, the commander of the Salahuddin operation, said his forces fighting from the west were still 325 yards from the center of Tikrit.

ISIS fighters seized Saddam Hussein's hometown last summer during its lightning advance across northern and western Iraq. The battle for Tikrit is seen as a key step toward eventually driving the militants out of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city that is farther north.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iraqi-troops-center-tikrit-prime-minister-says-n333566

8 replies

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Iraqi Troops in Center of Tikrit, Prime Minister Says (Original Post) bemildred Mar 2015 OP

A crushing blow to ISIS...and the GOP propaganda for more American warriors and war machines. Fred Sanders Mar 2015 #1

How will the Iran Guard treat the Sunni locals? annabanana Mar 2015 #2

I read earlier the Iranians were telling the Iraqi shia militias to be on their best behavior. Comrade Grumpy Mar 2015 #4

(fingers crossed). .. .n/t annabanana Mar 2015 #5

They still have to actually control Tikrit. Not quite there yet. Comrade Grumpy Mar 2015 #3

I have read that they returned to the fight. nt bemildred Mar 2015 #6

Good news. Little Tich Mar 2015 #7

The US DID take the lead - but in the right way karynnj Mar 2015 #8

Fred Sanders

(23,946 posts)

1. A crushing blow to ISIS...and the GOP propaganda for more American warriors and war machines.

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 08:30 PM

Mar 2015

annabanana

(52,791 posts)

2. How will the Iran Guard treat the Sunni locals?

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 08:32 PM

Mar 2015

I wish I felt good about this.

Comrade Grumpy

(13,184 posts)

4. I read earlier the Iranians were telling the Iraqi shia militias to be on their best behavior.

Reply to annabanana (Reply #2)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 08:39 PM

Mar 2015

If they want to ever have a unified Iraq, they need to get past that shit.

annabanana

(52,791 posts)

5. (fingers crossed). .. .n/t

Reply to Comrade Grumpy (Reply #4)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 08:42 PM

Mar 2015

Comrade Grumpy

(13,184 posts)

3. They still have to actually control Tikrit. Not quite there yet.

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 08:37 PM

Mar 2015

Are the Shia militias back in the game now? That article didn't mention them.

bemildred

(90,061 posts)

6. I have read that they returned to the fight. nt

Reply to Comrade Grumpy (Reply #3)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 08:45 PM

Mar 2015

Little Tich

(6,171 posts)

7. Good news.

Reply to bemildred (Original post)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 09:56 PM

Mar 2015

And it also shows that when a problem actually has to be solved in the Middle-East, it’s not the US that should take the lead.

karynnj

(59,507 posts)

8. The US DID take the lead - but in the right way

Reply to Little Tich (Reply #7)

Tue Mar 31, 2015, 10:16 PM

Mar 2015

Last June, as ISIS was expanding its control area daily, Obama spoke of the need for the world to help Iraq change this. Unlike GWB, he did not mean a new shock and awe campaign.

The two key things he did were to send several of his national security people - Kerry and Biden in particular - to push them to quickly form the government based on teh recent election and to do it in as inclusive a way possible. The new President did speak of including teh Kurds and Sunnis. (The leverage was that without an inclusive government the US was NOT going to fight the war for the Shiite government - as no good could come of it.)

The second thing was to create a coalition of over 60 countries - including many that with Sunni Arab. The US has flown the majority of the airstrikes, but the boots on the ground have not been American. This is maybe what they learned in Afghanistan - the US could win battles, but as soon as we left -- the people we defeated returned. Here, the people fighting are those with vested interests.

The one concern some have is that Iran is very involved here as an ally of Iraq. The US says that we are not coordinating with them, but we are deconflicting. (Subtle difference - we are not working with them, but we are avoiding getting in each other's way.)

Recently there have been more changes and it is not clear where things can do with the Sunni countries now speaking of working together. This could end up very badly - or lead to a much better ME - if they stop encouraging terrorism.

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