Mission de-accomplished. Mosul falls to Islamists, big refinery next

Saddam was a thug. However, he did keep a boot on the neck of the Islamists. The US invaded under made-up pretenses, wrecked Iraq, withdrew, and now Islamists have taken Mosul, the third largest city, and are on the verge of taking Iraq’s largest refinery and Tikrit, Saddam’s home town. Since the US helpfully armed Iraq troops, who deserted their posts, the insurgents, who are from an al-Qaeda-linked splinter group, now have possession of large amounts weaponry, armored vehicles and the like.

500,000 people, many of them Christian, have fled Mosul. The government of Iraq is making brave noises about how they can repel the invaders but really, their troops fled in panic when the rebels approached. They now are calling on Kurds and Syria to help as the US stands by helplessly, watching a disaster much of its own making unfold