Americas...:Dempsey to Visit Baghdad: Iranian Backed Iraqi G...

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Dempsey to Visit Baghdad: Iranian Backed Iraqi Groups, Army to Push ’ISIL’ Out of Tikrit

Local Editor

The top US General Martin Dempsey declared that the one-two punch of the Popular Groups and Iraqi government troops is likely to prevail in the unfolding battle for Tikrit.

However, he claimed that it would not have been possible if US airstrikes had not tied down "ISIL" fighters elsewhere in northern Iraq.

Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked by reporters traveling with him from Washington to Iraq whether he believes "ISIL" will be pushed out of Tikrit.

"Yeah, I do," he said. "The numbers are overwhelming."
Dempsey said about 23,000 Iranian supported volunteers and Iraqi soldiers are involved in the offensive, compared to only "hundreds" of "ISIL" insurgents.

The offensive is not what the Americans would consider textbook military tactics, he said, describing a hodge-podge of Iraqi Humvees, trucks and other vehicles surging toward Tikrit like rush hour on the Washington Beltway.

"I wouldn't describe it as a sophisticated military maneuver," he said.
Dempsey was flying overnight Friday to Bahrain and later to Iraq to meet with US commanders and Iraqi government leaders.
His visit comes at an intriguing stage of the war to force "ISIL" out of Iraq.

Dempsey said he sees no evidence that the Iranian military is actually doing any of the fighting. "They have improved the Iraqi fighting capabilities, but their role also has raised worries among America's coalition allies, who include Gulf Arab nations who despise Iran."

Dempsey plans to visit one of those Gulf allies, Bahrain, during his trip.
The general claimed that while Iran is getting credit for enabling the Tikrit offensive, the full story of how it was made possible has not been told.

""ISIL" forces had surged into Beyji, which lies just north of Tikrit, in hopes of controlling a key oil refinery there. But they have been halted and tied down by a series of US airstrikes," Dempsey said.

"The important thing about this operation in Tikrit is less about how the military aspect of it goes and more about what follows," Dempsey said.
If that happens, "then I think we're in a really good place," he said. If it does not happen, then the future could be problematic, he said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team