Insisting on major US roles in preparing and coordinating Iraqi army and multiple volunteer militia forces to prepare for the looming Mosul offensive against the brutal terrorist force responsible for massive atrocities across Iraq and neighboring Syria, The Washington Post cited US officials and military experts as claiming that a Mosul victory would “validate the [Obama] administration’s decision.”
According to the report, Washington also did not press for an offensive against the Takfiri militants because it did not want to ask “the Iraqi government to permit an American combat role.”
In a contradictory note, however, the report further points to persisting US efforts to expand its military presence and influence in the war-torn nation as well as its combat role, including “lower-level advising and use of attack helicopters that may expose US troops to greater risk.”
The report also contradicted multiple press accounts since 2014 on the Iraqi government’s resistance against US military intervention in the battle against the foreign-backed terrorists and its harsh criticism of multiple instances of US airstrikes against Iraqi army troops fighting the ISIL terrorists as well as repeated complaints about ineffectiveness of purported air campaign of US coalition forces against Daesh.
In its latest deployment, “the Pentagon last month again increased the number of US troops [in Iraq], bringing it to well above 5,000,” the report read, emphasizing that a victory in Mosul would be an affirmation of the US military’s “incrementally expanding role in Iraq, where commanders have overseen a gradual troop buildup.”
The liberal daily, known for its close ties with the Democratic Party and affiliated officials, further underlined that a “key task” of US troops in Iraq “will be helping Iraqi leaders orchestrate the movements of a large, fractious force that will include up to 12 Iraqi army brigades and tribal fighters aided in the broader Mosul operation by Kurdish Peshmerga and powerful Shia militia factions.”
The claim conflicts with earlier US press reports on repeated complaints and expressions of concern by Washington officials about outstanding role of Iranian military advisers in training and guiding Iraqi army and diverse volunteer militia forces.
The daily goes on to cite a “defense official” – who spoke on condition of anonymity – as saying that the US "strategy of by, with and through [local forces] will culminate in Mosul, and hopefully in Raqqa not too long thereafter.”
Further claiming credit for the upcoming Mosul operation, the report cited authorities as noting that US advisers will also accompany Iraq’s “elite Counterterrorism Service, who as in previous battles, are expected to spearhead the assault into the city,” Press TV reported.
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