The ISIS campaign in Iraq proceeds where it cannot be seen and meets little resistance. The U.S. says it has a plan by which government forces will go on the offense and retake lost territory … beginning in a few months. Meanwhile, as Susannah George of FP reports:
Abu Ghraib is on the front lines in the Iraqi government’s war to maintain a firm grip on Baghdad. As the western province of Anbar unravels, senior U.S. officials have warned that the security situation west of Baghdad is becoming perilous. Specifically, U.S. officials said, Islamic State militants had increased their presence in Abu Ghraib, putting Baghdad’s international airport within range of rocket attacks.
The Iraqi government insists that the situation is under control but:
Confidence in the Iraqi capital was shaken last week when three mortars hit the city’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the headquarters of Iraq’s government and the British and U.S. embassies, according to Iraqi intelligence sources. While no casualties were reported, the operation was a symbolic victory for the Islamic State, which took responsibility for the attack.
That U.S. embassy building in the Green Zone is a $750,000,000 structure complete with pools, gyms and food courts and all the amenities that Americans would expect. There is, almost certainly a helicopter pad on the roof, to be used for hasty evacuations.
