Why Fall of Ramadi Will Force Iraq to Recalculate

Since then, the Iraqis had focused on rebuilding their army — trained and equipped by the United States. In the meantime, Abadi, a Shiite, promised to heal divisions with minority Sunnis and Kurds.

 

For a time, there were successes. The Iraqis defeated ISIS at Tikrit in early April, and a week and a half later they regained control over a strategically important oil refinery in the city of Beiji.

 

There was talk of a major Iraqi offensive, perhaps as early as this spring, to retake Mosul. And Iraqi military commanders were told to drive ISIS out of the country entirely by year’s end. Now those plans and ambitions will have to wait.

 

Anbar province will have to be secured first, and that is “unlikely in the six-month outlook at least,” Zaineb al-Assam, a senior analyst at IHS Country Risk, wrote in a report on Monday.

 

Iraqi security commanders were meeting on Tuesday to pull together outlines of the new plans to liberate Ramadi — in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition.

 

Read More: Battling ISIS: Why Fall of Ramadi Will Force Iraq to Recalculate – NBC News.com