Showing posts with label peshmerga fighters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peshmerga fighters. Show all posts

Friday, October 17, 2014

10,000 to 15,000 US boots on the ground in Iraq can bring stability


NATO Commander retired Admiral James Stavridis feels that US President Barack Obama should send at least 10,000 American ground troops to Iraq to turn the tide of the war on the ISIS terror army dailymail.co.uk.
The former NATO commander insisted that the reality on the ground 'is not good news, but we're going to need to put U.S. boots on the ground there.' His estimate is that it need not be of the order of 150,000 like at peak in Iraq, but probably 10,000.
They would carry out the advising, training and mentoring thereby making the Iraqi security forces effective and draw the (Kurdish) Peshmerga into the game.
The strategy proposed by Stavridis is to go in for a three-pronged attack – pin the ISIS militants between the Pehmerga in the north, Iraqi security in the south, (and) the US bombing in the west. If that happens, there is still a chance to turn the tide.
Incidentally, a poll conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal and released in late September indicate that 72 per cent of Americans think Obama will have to change his mind on the question of greater involvement in Iraq.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Britain has sent specialist team to Iraq to tackle the IS fighters


The Ministry of Defense has confirmed that a small specialist team of UK soldiers have been sent to Iraq and are engaged near the front line of the fight between the Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish fighters news.sky.com.
The team is reportedly based near the Kurdish capital of Irbil in the north, and they are believed to be training Peshmerga forces in the use of heavy machine guns that had been supplied to tem by Britain in September.
The specialist soldiers have come from the 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, which is based in Cyprus.
It has been explained by a MoD spokeswoman that the intention of the Government is to extend training to the Peshmerga as part of the continued effort to assist in the fight against ISIL (IS). It has also been clarified that the Defense Secretary has approved the deployment of a small specialist team of non-combat Army trainers which is now in the Irbil area providing instruction on operating, employing and maintaining the heavy machine guns that were gifted by the UK last month.
RAF Tornado fighter jets have already been involved in the US-led bombing raids on IS fighters for the past two weeks. Incidentally, British troops had invaded Iraq in March 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein.