Source: Asia Times
By Brian M Downing
The four armed groups warring in Iraq – Islamic State (IS), the Kurdish peshmerga, the Iraqi army, and Sunni tribal levies – have strengths and weaknesses. They also have varying levels of foreign support and capacities for cooperation. IS troops have a marked qualitative edge but are badly outnumbered and have no reliable allies inside Iraq.
IS stands little chance of holding on to the swathes of Iraq it has recently conquered, and in coming months it will be forced to retreat from northern Iraq, if not from much of the country. The Kurds, Sunnis, and Shi’ites are capable of effectively countering IS’s offensive but political bargaining with the new Baghdad government will come first.
Categories: Asia