Coalition troops now reported within a just few miles of Mosul

Unlike other violent extremists, which either hold no real estate or exist solely in small patches under the protection of a sponsor like Iran, ISIS takes and holds territory. They run their domains like ancient city-states, appointing the equivalent of nobles. They collect taxes and run civil functions like trash pick up. Because of energy and other resources, Mosul is the most profitable city-state in that system. It is also one of the most diverse, ethnically and spiritually. There are over one-million citizens in the region comprised of Kurds, Sunni and Shiite Iraqi, Christians, Turks, etc.

Taking Mosul in 2014 was a huge win for ISIS. It demonstrated domination of their ideology over competing beliefs and the NATO-backed central government in Baghdad. That’s when and where ISIS announced a Caliphate—an Islamic State which plays a key role in their version of apocalyptic End Times—from the city’s historic Grand Mosque. And that’s why driving them out is considered so crucial. Reports are that some Kurdish units are now within just a few miles of the city itself:

Kurdish Peshmerga forces are within 5 miles (8 kilometers) of Mosul, commanders said Sunday, after days of fighting and sweeping territorial gains in the operation to free the key Iraqi city … A coalition of 100,000 troops have been closing in on Mosul since Monday, liberating surrounding communities village by village and making quicker-than-expected gains. Officials and analysts say that entering Mosul is likely to kick off intense street fighting as coalition forces try to retake what has become the cultural capital of ISIS' envisaged caliphate, or Islamic state.

US/NATO airpower and special ops are working with Iraqi Security Forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, and homegrown organized militias to take Mosul. There have been stories of massacres and tragic mistakes carried out by some units in these groups in the past. The militias are considered the least reliable being predominately Shiite, so their role has reportedly been restricted.

Allied forces will almost certainly win the battle for Mosul, but only after a deadly, protracted fight, and analysts are anxious about what happens then. ISIS fighters can blend in easily with the local population in the vast, open lawless stretches shown in darker pink above. They are viewed with sympathy by many locals, much like we see Robin Hood and his merry men vs. the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham.

In the meantime, there’s an election on here in the states. And Republican candidate Donald Trump appears determined to moan and whine about Mosul to the last drop of US blood lost.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/10/26/1585622/-Coalition-troops-now-reported-within-a-just-few-miles-of-Mosul