All throughout the summer, local militia and government forces have been building for a showdown in Mosul with ISIS. Mosul is by far the largest city held by the extremists, and the most profitable one for them due to its oil reserves and other advantages. An all-out fight would have been virtually impossible in the blistering desert heat of late summer, but now that Fall has fallen, that battle may soon begin in earnest:
Analysts say that seizure of the last major IS stronghold in the country – following government recapture of the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi, and, most recently, Fallujah in June – may also help change the narrative of a weak and helpless centralized state by convincing Iraqi citizens of a resurrected military capability.
Iraqi counter-terrorism units and the Iraqi Army are now marshaling for the battle, the culmination of 2-1/2 years of promises from Baghdad to force IS out of Mosul. Kurdish peshmerga forces are also deployed near the city, which once had an estimated population of 2 million, winnowed down now to perhaps 700,000.
Naturally, Donald Trump has been whining from his perch in the kiddie seats, criticizing everyone. Mostly complaining that the battle ahead hasn’t been kept “secret,” apparently ignorant or apathetic of the logistics and politics involved:
It would be almost impossible to prepare for such a major assault in secret. Suggesting the battle is coming, however, is also a central part of the strategy. The target audience is not only Islamic State commanders, some of whom are already reported to be fleeing. It is the estimated million or so people still within the city, whose behavior may be just as important as the combatants in shaping the final conflict.