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Iraqi and FSA Ground Operations Against IS Are ‘Months Away’: US Military

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The Iraqi army and Syrian ‘moderate’ rebels would require up to 18 months to organize a sustained offensive against Islamic State, US military officials say.

MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti) - The Iraqi military forces cannot launch a full-scale offensive against the Islamic State until after several months from now as their capacity to sustain an offensive is yet limited, while similar action in Syria will take even longer to put together, said a US military command.

There are several issues that affect the Iraqi military capability, some of which are outside the army’s reach, like the nation’s shattered politics, lack of Sunni majority support for the Shi’a-led cabinet and harsh weather conditions, said US officials, as quoted by Reuters. Moreover, the Iraqi military is still undertrained and insufficiently armed. In most detachments morale is low. The core of the Iraqi military, namely the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th divisions stationed in the western Anbar province have suffered heavy casualties during the an Islamic Stat’ general offensive in June, which included 6,000 KIA. About 12,000 have deserted, which indicates low enthusiasm among soldiers vis-à-vis the Baghdadi cause.

An Iraqi offensive against Islamic State is “not imminent. But we don't see that that's a years-long effort to get them to a place to where they can be able to go on a sustained counter-offensive", said a high-ranking US military officer, as quoted by Voice of America. The source also stressed that fierce fighting is still going on in Anbar as US airstrikes fail to wear out ISIL onslaught. The Pentagon is discussing the possibility of sending military advisors to assist the Iraqi forces in the war-torn province, but the details of the matter are still undisclosed.

US officials admit that mostly the Sunni Iraqi population felt distrust toward the Shi’a cabinet of the former PM Nuri al-Maliki. However, after the new PM Haidar al-Abadi took office this September, they say there have been “positive signs among tribes”. It is yet unknown whether the government reshuffle will provide a lasting positive effect on the shooting war, as the new PM is also a Shi’ite.

"Until the Abadi government can get on its feet and kind of deliver some small successes, I don't think, I don't think we're in a position to make any promises on behalf of that government," noted a US official.

While the Iraqi army is struggling to achieve operational readiness, the US-aligned ‘moderate’ Syrian rebels are even less organized to efficiently resist the IS advance and are incapable of advancing into the IS-held territory. "We’re trying to train them initially to be able to defend their towns and villages," said a US military official. Training the Free Syrian Army to be able to undertake offensive operations will take up to 18 months for them "to be able to see an effect on the battlefield", he added.

 

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