In the latest distancing by Trump administration advisors from recent statements by the President, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit on Monday to discuss the war effort against ISIS, and said that the US military is not in Iraq "to seize anybody’s oil."
Secretary of Defence, James Mattis, arrives in Baghdad, February 20, 2017
Submitted by Eric Zuesse via Strategic-Culture.org,
The United States Air Force has apologised for “accidentally” killing 90 innocent Iraqis in a massive airstrike over Mosul in Northern Iraq. Over 90 Iraqi soldiers lost their lives when American fighter jets from the USAF struck them, mistaking them for ISIS militants. According to an Iraqi official, the US military had attacked Iraqi soldiers on Friday, destroying eight infantry fighting vehicles and wounding 100 soldiers belonging to the 9th Armored Division.
Authored by AntiWar.com's Jason Ditz via TheAntiMedia.org,
Following complaints from the Iraqi government, the United Nations has agreed to stop recording casualty figures for the ISIS war in Iraq, meaning that November’s report of 1,959 deaths among Iraqi security forces will be the last deaths you’ll be hearing about from them.
Hopes that the US-backed operation would retake the ISIS stronghold in Mosul are reportedly fading. After nine weeks, Iraqi troops and their allies have failed to make significant progress in liberating Iraq’s second-largest city from ISIS despite outnumbering the terrorists ten-to-one. US generals are now preparing to deploy more American ground troops in Iraq, pending the approval of President-elect Donald Trump and the new Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis.