Iraq

The battle for iconic Fallujah

May 25,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – MICHAEL JANSEN Fallujah was a centre of the Iraqi uprising against British occupation in 1920, the first city in Iraq to revolt against the US occupation in 2003 and the first Iraqi city to submit to Daesh rule in 2014. Consequently, Fallujah cannot be […]

Daesh is not invincible

May 21,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – MUSA KEILANI The recapture of the Iraqi town of Rutba by government forces gives two strong indications: that Daesh is not invincible; that the Iraqi military knows how to win a battle when it is determined, without having to use ragtag militias like Badr […]

Keeping Iraq from disintegrating

May 03,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – OSAMA AL SHARIF Iraq’s political system is on the verge of collapse and the events of the past few days raised serious questions about the viability of the state amid the popular backlash that has crippled the government and divided lawmakers. Leading the rebellion […]

Encryption hindering efforts to stop Islamic State, intelligence director says

New, commercially available encryption software ‘had and is having major, profound effects on our ability’ to collect intelligence, ‘particularly against terrorists,’ James Clapper told reporters at a Monitor-hosted breakfast. By Anna Mulrine, Staff writer APRIL 25, 2016 Save for later Michael Bonfigli /The Christian Science Monitor View Caption WASHINGTON — […]

Concocting lies before Iraq war

Apr 21,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – JONATHAN POWER President Barack Obama observed: “ISIL [Daesh] is a direct outgrowth of Al Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion — which is an example of unintended consequences — which is why we should generally aim before we shoot.” Many of […]