Page 2 - aruba-today-20170225

A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 25 February 2017
US changes rules of engagement for Mosul fight in Iraq

SUSANNAH GEORGE quickly. Gen. Stephen Townsend “It changed the relation- rules of engagement in the
BALINT SZLANKO “Usually I’m right by his issued a tactical directive ship,” Browning said of fight against IS in Iraq were
Associated Press side,” Browning said be- sending more coalition moving closer to the front adjusted by the December
SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (AP) tween phone calls of his troops away from the safe- and spending more time directive, explaining that
— U.S. Army Lt. Col. James Iraqi army counterpart ty of their outposts, deeper with his Iraqi counterparts. some coalition troops were
Browning juggled phone Brig. Gen. Khalifa. into Mosul and closer to “It gives me a better un- given the “ability to call
calls on an overstuffed sofa “When a threat comes in front lines to work side by derstanding of how I can in airstrikes without going
in a small village south of like this, we take it just as side with their Iraqi coun- bring to bear the limited through a strike cell.”
Mosul. His counterparts in seriously as if we are under terparts. capabilities I have.” More coalition forces have
the Iraqi army’s 9th Division threat.” In January, the Pentagon During his Thursday in- been “empowered” to
were pushing toward west- This closer relationship is first confirmed that U.S. terview, Browning spoke have the ability to call in
ern Mosul, just a few miles strikes in the Mosul opera-
away and were coming tion, Col. Dorrian told a
under mortar fire from the Pentagon press briefing on
Islamic State group as they Wednesday.
moved on a power station. “This is something that
Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Walid maintains a very high level
Khalifa called Browning of precision,
on a simple Nokia phone but it also increases the
to relay the approximate amount of responsive-
location of the mortar fire. ness for the teams on the
Browning swapped phones ground,” he said.
to make another call. Since the late December
“Can you tell them that directive from Lt. Gen.
(the 9th Division) is receiv- Townsend, Iraqi forces
ing fire?” he told his coali- have secured swifter ter-
tion colleagues at another ritorial victories in the fight
forward base overseeing against IS and in the first
the operation. days of the renewed push
He asked them to pinpoint on Mosul’s western half,
where the attack was Iraqi forces have sustained
coming from using coali- relatively low numbers of
tion aerial surveillance and casualties, compared to
take it out. the early days of the fight
Just a few months ago, Lt. inside Mosul from the east-
Col. Browning’s phone ern front.
conversation would have “There was a lot of focus
been impossible. Rather on a big training effort
than request assistance di- U.S. Army soldiers stand outside their armored vehicle on a joint base with Iraqi army south of and I think what (the co-
rectly, his call would have Mosul, Iraq. As Iraqi forces push into western Mosul coalition troops are closer to frontline fighting alition) realized in Mosul is
likely been routed through than ever before. Coalition forces have moved their bases closer to the front, relaxed their rules that (Iraqi security forces)
a joint command center of engagement and during the push on Mosul airport coalition advisors were embedded with needed more tactical sup-
forward Iraqi rapid response and Special Forces units.
much farther from the bat- (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed) port,” said Nathaniel Rab-
tle zone. kin, managing editor of In-
In the fight against the Is- new. forces were at times oper- from a modest forward side Iraqi Politics, a political
lamic State group in Mosul, In the lead-up to the oper- ating inside the city of Mo- Iraqi base in a small village risk assessment newsletter.
the United States has ad- ation to retake Mosul, U.S. sul. south of Mosul where a liv- Iraqi and coalition forces
justed its rules of engage- forces steadily increased As Iraqi special forces ing room in an abandoned are coming under increas-
ment as American and their footprint in Iraq, in- and rapid response units home had been con- ing political and military
other international troops creasing the number of stormed Mosul’s airport verted into an operations pressure to wrap up the
are now closer to front-line troops in the country and and the sprawling Gha- room. fight for Mosul quickly. Lt.
fighting than before. moving outposts closer to zlani base on the southern Under the December di- Gen. Townsend has re-
During the push to take front-line fighting. edge of the city’s west, rective and an addition- peatedly said he wants the
Mosul International Airport But the number of U.S. coalition forces were em- al directive issued a few operations for both Mosul
on Thursday, forces on or near the front bedded with forward units weeks ago, and Raqqa to “conclude”
American and European lines remained relatively advising them on their plan Browning said advisers like within the next six months.
advisers were embedded small. of attack, according to him embedded at the bri- The Iraqi and American
with forward Iraqi rapid re- Two months into the cam- two Iraqi officers oversee- gade level are now able leadership is concerned
sponse and special forces paign to retake Iraq’s ing the operation. The of- to directly deliver support the humanitarian situation
units. second-largest city from ficials spoke on condition such as airstrikes and artil- in western Mosul could
Coalition officials say the IS control, Iraqi forces ap- of anonymity as they were lery fire to the units they’re quickly deteriorate, Rab-
changes are helping speed peared bogged down by not authorized to talk to re- partnered with. kin said, and that infighting
up Iraqi military gains, but weeks of grueling urban porters. Previously, such support could break out within the
they mark a steady esca- combat. Inside eastern Mosul, in “would have gone through “fragile” coalition of anti-
lation of U.S. involvement Some front lines went stag- the weeks leading up to a whole bureaucracy and IS forces, including Shiite
in Iraq that also reflects nant for weeks and Iraqi that half of the city being through Baghdad,” he militias, conventional Iraqi
lingering shortcomings on forces were suffering rela- declared “fully liberated,” said. military forces and Kurdish
the part of Iraq’s armed tively high casualty rates coalition troops became a The spokesman for the U.S.- fighters.
forces and growing politi- under fierce IS counterat- more common sight on the led coalition, Air Force Col. “You want to finish this
cal and military pressure to tacks. city streets alongside Iraq’s John Dorrian, confirmed to while there is still good will,”
finish the Mosul operation On Dec. 26, U.S. Army Lt. elite military units. The Associated Press the Rabkin said.q