IraqIraqi commander ordered troops out of Ramadi unnecessarily, leading to city’ fall
The capture of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, by Islamic State militants made headlines, and was perceived used by ISIS’s savvy media machine as a demonstration of the organization’s military capabilities, but military analysts say the jihadists took over the city because an Iraqi commander unnecessarily ordered his forces to withdraw. “Ramadi was lost because the Iraqi commander in Ramadi elected to withdraw. In other words, if he had elected to stay, he would still be there today,” says a British army’s brigadier. U.S.-led efforts to build up the Iraqi military so it can retake Ramadi and Mosul are stalled because not enough Iraqis enlist.
The capture of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, by Islamic State militants made headlines, and was perceived used by ISIS’s savvy media machine as a demonstration of the organization’s military capabilities, but military analysts say the jihadists took over the city because an Iraqi commander unnecessarily ordered his forces to withdraw.
“Ramadi was lost because the Iraqi commander in Ramadi elected to withdraw. In other words, if he had elected to stay, he would still be there today,” the British army’s Brigadier Christopher Ghika told journalists in Baghdad on Wednesday.
“Ramadi was not a DAESH victory — DAESH did not win Ramadi, DAESH did not fight and defeat the Iraqi army in Ramadi,” Ghika said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Islamic State now controls about a third of Iraq.
The Guardian reports that the Iraqi military has been weakened by corruption and incompetent leaders. Many of the senior commanders have been appointed by Nuri al-Maliki, the former prime minister of Iraq, at the insistence of Iran, with both Maliki and Iran preferring to promote loyal Shi’a officers to key military positions regardless of their military experience and competence.
“It was the Anbar Ops commander [who gave the order],” Ghika said, referring to the head of the military command responsible for Anbar province.
Staff Major General Mohammed Khalaf al-Fahdawi was acting head of Anbar Operations Command when Ramadi fell, after the commander had been injured. Fahdawi said he could not comment on Ghika’s accusations because he did not have permission to speak about the issue.
Ramadi fell to ISIS in mid-May after government forces had held out against militants there for more than a year. It was the Iraqi military’s worst defeat in months and came after Iraqi forces and Shi’a militias pushed ISIS back to recapture significant territory in two provinces north of Baghdad.
In Baghdad on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter urged the Iraqi government to send more recruits to American-run training camps, noting that the number of Iraqis volunteering for service keeps dwindling.
