Iraqi forces in confident mood as they prepare for Mosul battle
Since 2014, Mosul has become a byword for despair. Its capture by Isis forces two years ago triggered the humiliating collapse of Iraq’s armed forces. Prospects for the battle to retake the city sparked fears of death, displacement and destruction for its 1m residents. Now, however, Iraqi and western officials are sounding a note of […]Erika Solomon writes for Financial Times:
Since 2014, Mosul has become a byword for despair. Its capture by Isis forces two years ago triggered the humiliating collapse of Iraq’s armed forces. Prospects for the battle to retake the city sparked fears of death, displacement and destruction for its 1m residents.
Now, however, Iraqi and western officials are sounding a note of cautious optimism over plans to recapture one of the de facto capitals of Isis’s so-called caliphate.
What has changed is that Iraqi forces and their US-led international coalition partners have got better, and Isis weaker. Perhaps most importantly, the official says, many Iraqis have replaced their once harsh stance toward Mosul residents with a more inclusive tone — a shift deemed critical for the city’s Sunni population, which has long been wary of mistreatment by Iraq’s Shia-dominated security forces.
