Jeremy Bash, who served as Chief of Staff for Leon Panetta during his time as CIA Director and Secretary of Defense said that “in an urban environment,” “ISIS is going to have the advantage” and that ISIS’ takeover of Ramadi
The contested city of Ramadi fell to the Islamic State group on Sunday, as Iraqi forces abandoned their weapons and armored vehicles to flee the provincial capital in a major loss despite intensified U.S.-led airstrikes.
The Islamic State has “launched a wide-scale attack on Iraqi security forces in Ramadi in an apparent attempt to take the rest of the key central Iraqi city,” according to Governor Suhaib al-Rawi.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote an apology letter on Monday to Debbie Lee, the mother of the first Navy SEAL killed in Ramadi, Iraq, for downplaying the city’s importance.
President Barack Obama’s decision to abandon Iraq remains the most significant strategic blunder in a generation. Putting politics ahead of strategy, Obama sought to win an argument with history rather than to win the struggle against terror and tyranny in the Middle East. His presidential ambitions depended on his opposition to the Iraq War–which, he decided, also meant opposing the “surge.” He could barely admit the surge worked–and, in office, reversed it as soon as possible.
I am shaking and tears are flowing down my cheeks as I watch the news and listen to the insensitive, pain inflicting comments made by you in regards to the fall of Ramadi.
Every recent news story about the battle against ISIS in Iraq has taken pains to quote the administration’s assessment that about 25 percent of the Islamic State’s territory has been recaptured. Pushing them out of Tikrit was a significant milestone, although it took considerably longer than planned.
