Thwarted Territorially in Ramadi, Islamic State Reverts to Terrorism in Baghdad

Juan Cole / Truthdig Jan 12, 2016 One of the problems Iraq and Syria will face as Islamic State is gradually rolled back from its territorial acquisitions is that it will demobilize its conventional forces and return to being a terrorist organization. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Eyes Are on Mosul Next as Iraqi Army Advances in Ramadi in Face of Stiff Islamic State Resistance

Juan Cole / Truthdig Dec 29, 2015 Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced Friday that after the city of Ramadi was recovered from Islamic State, the Iraqi army would go on to liberate Mosul. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

If Defeating Islamic State Is So Important, Why Isn’t Ramadi Campaign All We’re Talking About?

Juan Cole / Truthdig Dec 10, 2015 Given the large number of vehement pronouncements by U.S. presidential candidates about the dire threat from Islamic State, and attacks on President Obama for not doing more, you would think that the American public would be hanging on every word about any progress against the radical organization. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Shiite Militias Change Ramadi Campaign Name to ‘I’m Here, O Iraq’ After Pentagon Criticism

Juan Cole / Truthdig May 28, 2015 Shiite militias in Iraq have changed the name of their current campaign to take Ramadi from Islamic State from “I am here, O Husayn" to “I am here, O Iraq," since the former could have been interpreted as a sign of sectarianism. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Shiite Militias Announce ‘Here I Am, O Husayn’ Campaign for Sunni Ramadi

Juan Cole / Truthdig May 27, 2015 Shiite militias in Iraq, joined by some Sunni tribal levies, on Tuesday reached a university campus just to the southwest of Ramadi in what is called a “shaping operation” intended to set the stage for an all-out assault. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Is It the U.S. That Isn’t Stepping Up to Fight Islamic State?

Juan Cole / Truthdig May 26, 2015 Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s blunt remarks Sunday about the Iraqi army not having the will to fight ruffled feathers in Baghdad and Tehran. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Chasing Miracles in Iraq

Eugene Robinson / Truthdig May 22, 2015 The Islamic State was supposed to be reeling from U.S.-led airstrikes. Yet the group was able to capture Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, and is now consolidating control over that strategically important city. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Washington Asks, ‘Who Lost Ramadi?’ But Washington Never Had Ramadi

Juan Cole / Truthdig May 21, 2015 The inside-the-Beltway debate set off by the fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to the Islamic State group on Sunday is, as usual, Dadaistic in its disconnection from reality. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Iraq: 25,000 Shiite Militiamen Gather to Retake Ramadi

Juan Cole / Truthdig May 20, 2015 Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi met Tuesday with leaders of the Shiite militias to plan the retaking of Ramadi, a Sunni Arab city about 78 miles due west of Baghdad that fell on Sunday to the Islamic State group. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Why Does the Iraqi Army Keep Running Away From Islamic State?

Juan Cole / Truthdig May 19, 2015 Baghdad was shaken by the news that the Iraqi army and police in Ramadi ran away from the advancing forces of the Islamic State group (known also as Daesh). Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Islamic State Surrounds 300 Sunni Families in Iraq, Closes In on Ramadi (Video)

Juan Cole / Truthdig Apr 18, 2015 Islamic State (also known as Daesh) has taken new territory in the western Al-Anbar Province of Iraq and may be on the verge of taking the provincial capital, Ramadi, a week after they were decisively defeated in Tikrit in the south of Salahuddin Province. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Islamic State Executes 26 Sunni Tribesmen in Campaign to Take Ramadi

Juan Cole / Truthdig Nov 25, 2014 Islamic State (known in Arabic as Daesh) has mounted a major offensive in a bid to take Ramadi, the capital of al-Anbar Province in western Iraq. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )