The regime in Baghdad has had little success in efforts to roll back the invasion of the northwestern sections of Iraq by the Islamic State (IS, formally ISIL) in June, and US Special Forces teams in Iraq to assess the ability of forces loyal to Baghdad to mount an offensive are painting a grim picture. Initial reports describe the Iraqi national army and police force, trained and equipped by the US over several years at a cost of over $25 billion, as beset by corrupt, incompetent and cowardly leaders who lack any coherent plan on how to proceed. The reports also say that IS sympathizers have massively infiltrated the army, along with Shi’ite agitators possibly supported by Iranian intelligence. Four divisions of the Army which were deployed in the north have essentially ceased to exist, with most of the troops assigned to them having deserted or been massacred by IS. Read More
