- Obama faces Bush’s pitfall in Mosul battle
The U.S. support mission for the battle of Mosul is not likely to require additional troops beyond the 600 just authorized by President Barack Obama, a military spokesman in Baghdad said Thursday. – Military.com
Islamic State terrorists have held the historic city of Mosul for nearly two and a half years, and they have dug networks of tunnels and filled moats with crude oil to lay waste to a city that has been called an open-air museum. – Washington Free Beacon
The fight against the Islamic State group is far from over in Iraq's Anbar province. The extremist group still controls the Euphrates River Valley west of Haditha up to the Syrian border. Almost every day the American-led coalition's airstrikes hit Islamic State targets in Ramadi, the provincial capital. And the ongoing fight is now prompting the U.S. military to boost capacity at western Iraq’s primary airfield, al Asad Air Base. – Military Times
French warplanes are flying over Iraq after the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier rejoined the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State extremists — and as the coalition prepares to try to take back the key city of Mosul. – Associated Press
Editorial: Though the absence of such political solutions facilitated the rise of the Islamic State, the Obama administration is not pushing for them. It is not using its considerable leverage — U.S. air support will be vital to liberating Mosul — to insist on better political preparations or the exclusion of Shiite militias. Instead, eager for the operation to begin before President Obama leaves office, it has been encouraging Mr. Abadi to speed up the Mosul offensive, while leaving the Day After problem to the Iraqis. That is a highly risky course. – Washington Post