WASHINGTON POST: When the Iraqi city of Ramadi fell to the Islamic State in May, the White House called it a “setback.” The administration’s many critics called it a disaster and proof that President Obama’s strategy to defeat the militants was failing…
“Ramadi was a test of whether the Iraqi security forces were willing to fight” after their 2014 collapse in Mosul, Iraq’s second-
largest city, and later in Ramadi, a senior administration official said. This time, instead of running away, “they incurred huge losses and they didn’t flinch.”
“That’s why Ramadi was important,” the official said of the city about 80 miles west of Baghdad. “It’s not a turning point, but it’s an important milestone.”… (more)
