From video report below: "The Baghdad government has declared victory. But the threat still lingers. There are still pockets of ISIS fighters in the old city. And this is what liberation looks like. Iraq's second largest city, just ruins."
Yalda Hakim reporting from Mosul for the BBC.
At THE DAILY MIRROR, they have a photo essay featuring Carol Guzy's photographs of some of the Mosul survivors.
Meanwhile, it's apparently victory lap time for others.
- Proud to serve with LTG Townsend, a nightmare for #ISIS as he led our @coalition campaign in #Iraq and #Syria over the past 12 months.
Hmm.
I wonder.
Mad Maddie Albright infamously declared on TV, in the 90s, that the death of 1/2 million Iraqi children was worth it. She was still aglow, feeding on the blood of the dead.
Ten years later, she realized that gloating would follow her forever.
Will Brett be so proud in 2040? When we have a strong estimate on exactly how many civilians were killed?
And the war drags on.
Iraqi forces enter 1st neighborhood in Tal Afar, last #IS major redoubt in Iraq http://xhne.ws/2OfzB
When Tal Afar falls, I guess they'll move on to the next "last #IS major redoubt in Iraq" -- the way that was once how they described Mosul. Will that be Hawija?
US Special Envoy Brett McGurk called Tal Afar "the last major city they [ISIS]'re holding in northern Iraq."
W.J. Hennigan (LOS ANGELES TIMES) passes on, "U.S. commanders say the offensive against the estimated 2,500 militants in and around Tall Afar will be grinding because Islamic State fighters built extensive defenses. Among them: They lined up derelict vehicles to push invading forces into a kill zone strewn with booby traps." Really?
Grinding?
Because abandoned cars and trucks are directing the foot flow?
How many tons of bombs is the US coalition planning to drop on Tal Afar?
2,500 militants?
You'd think the Iraqi forces -- even the Iraqi forces? -- could handle 2500 fighters by themselves.
You'd think.
In other news, the US government again meddles in foreign elections.
Yesterday, Brett McGurk declared, "We believe these issues should be resolved through dialogue under the constitutional framework and that a referendum, at this time, would be really potentially catastrophic to the counter-ISIS campaign. We've mentioned that before. And so we've made that position very clear, but we are hopeful that this dialogue that's going on now can deliver some results."
But, Brett, the KRG is following the Constitution of Iraq, as you well know.
As for timing?
Isn't it funny how the oppressors will always insist to the oppressed that they're not against freeing the oppressed but just not right now?
There's never a 'good time' for certain types to give up the reigns (and whip?) but there is a "right time" for it and I'd argue a referendum on Kurdish independence is long overdue.
Australia's ABC notes:
And one of them [working for the referendum] is Zirian Fatah, from Kurdish Lobby Australia.
"Both my parents were freedom fighters, fighting on the front line against Saddam Hussein's dictatorship," he said. "As a child my bassinet was a suitcase."
Now, with dialogue rather than bullets, he's working to win support in Australia for the independence referendum.
"The reality of Iraq is it was always fictional. It was always a state that was sticky-taped together," he said.
"During the 1920s, the Kurds were promised their own state. Unfortunately, due to the superpowers — the British and the French — Kurdistan was divided and carved up amongst four host nations. We're hoping to see that undone now.
"The Kurdish people aspire to achieve their independence. It has been a long time coming, and it is an historic moment in time."
But the US government is attempting to stop the vote from taking place.
It's interesting, isn't it, how this happens in the open with no outrage in the US?
Contrast that with the still unproven charge that Russia 'hacked/interfered/mind controlled' the 2016 US presidential election. Contrast it with the outrage and hysteria from Hillary Clinton's Temple Prostitutes. Or crazed Hillary herself, right?
In the United States, IAVA issued the following:
PRESS CONTACT
Tel: 212-982-9699
NEW YORK, NY (August 19, 2017) – Today,
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the leading voice of the
Post-9/11 generation of veterans, applauded the President’s signing of
H.R. 873, establishing a memorial in Washington for our generation of
warriors. This is the third IAVA legislative priority to become law in
the last month, with another expected this week on VA appeals.
“We are proud to support a memorial for
the Global War on Terror in the nation’s capital. We thank Andrew
Brennan and the GWOT Memorial Foundation for their steadfast leadership,
and members of Congress and the President for listening to veterans and
acting quickly to sign this bill into law,” said Paul Rieckhoff, Founder and CEO of IAVA.
“Eighty-two percent of IAVA members said that they support the creation
of a memorial for veterans and their families of this era. Having a
place for our generation to gather and mourn is vital to honoring all
those who have served since 9/11. We’re proud to stand shoulder to
shoulder with our VSO partners to ensure that veterans and their
families have somewhere to reflect and remember the sacrifice of those
in our community.”
IAVA has advocated for a Post-9/11
National Monument in its Policy Agenda for years. For the full IAVA
recommendations on a national memorial, please see the 2017 IAVA Policy Agenda.
The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley, BLACK AGENDA REPORT, LATINO USA and CHOCOLATE CITY -- updated:
We could have had President Bernie
15 hours ago
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