Former Prime Minister Tony Blair Responds to Chilcot Inquiry Report (VIDEO)

As promised, following-up from earlier, "U.K. Chilcot Report Offers Devastating Critique of Tony Blair and the Iraq War," and "FLASHBACK: Tony Blair Testimony Before the Chilcot Inquiry in 2010 (VIDEO)."

Plus, updates at Telegraph UK, "Chilcot report: Tony Blair takes 'full responsibility' for Iraq war as Jeremy Corbyn 'apologises sincerely on behalf' of Labour party":

“The decision to go to war in Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power in a coalition of over 40 countries led by the USA, was the hardest, most momentous, most agonising decision I took in 10 years as British prime minister.

“For that decision today I accept full responsibility, without exception and without excuse. I recognise the division felt by many in our country over the war and in particular I feel deeply and sincerely – in a way that no words can properly convey – the grief and suffering of those who lost ones they loved in Iraq, whether the members of our armed forces, the armed forces of other nations, or Iraqis.

“The intelligence assessments made at the time of going to war turned out to be wrong. The aftermath turned out to be more hostile, protracted and bloody than ever we imagined. The coalition planned for one set of ground facts and encountered another, and a nation whose people we wanted to set free and secure from the evil of Saddam, became instead victim to sectarian terrorism.

“For all of this I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe.”

The full video is here, "[Full speech] Tony Blair speaks after publication of Chilcot report."

FLASHBACK: Tony Blair Testimony Before the Chilcot Inquiry in 2010 (VIDEO)

Following-up from earlier, "U.K. Chilcot Report Offers Devastating Critique of Tony Blair and the Iraq War."

It turns out Tony Blair gave a public speech today, and he apparently got choked up. I'll look for the video clip shortly and update.

Meanwhile, here's his initial testimony to the committee of inquiry, at ODN, "The day Tony Blair gave evidence to the Iraq war inquiry."

U.K. Chilcot Report Offers Devastating Critique of Tony Blair and the Iraq War

I'm just reading, soaking this in.

And of course folks have long known where I stand. Indeed, the Iraq war's the main reason I started blogging. (See, "The Iraq War and Stubborn Myths," and "Judith Miller, 'I took America to war in Iraq. It was all me...'")

At the Telegraph UK, "Chilcot report: 2003 Iraq war was 'unnecessary', invasion was not 'last resort' and Saddam Hussein was 'no imminent threat'."

And at the Guardian UK, "Chilcot report live: Blair says report clears him of 'bad faith' but Iraq inquiry says he exaggerated case for war."

Also, at London's Daily Mail, "BREAKING NEWS: Chilcot's damning verdict on Blair's Iraq War: 'WMD threat was NOT justified', military action 'was NOT a last resort' and invasion was based on 'flawed intelligence'."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "U.K.’s Long-Awaited Chilcot Report into Iraq War Criticizes Legal Basis for Invasion":

LONDON—The U.K. government under former Prime Minister Tony Blair urged Parliament to vote in favor of joining the Iraq war when the legal basis for U.K. military action was “far from satisfactory,” according to the findings of a high-profile inquiry into Britain’s involvement in the war.

The roughly 6,000-page report released Wednesday, which comes seven years after the inquiry was launched, also said policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments, according to John Chilcot, the retired civil servant who led the inquiry.

The assessments “were not challenged, and they should have been,” Mr. Chilcot said.

The long-awaited report is the culmination of the inquiry launched in 2009 by the then-governing Labour Party to address public criticism of the case made for the war and preparation for reconstruction in Iraq, among other issues.

The report also said that planning and preparation for Iraq after Saddam Hussein was deposed were “wholly inadequate.”

In response, Mr. Blair defended his decision to take military action, saying he did what he thought was the right thing and that the inquiry didn’t find otherwise.

“The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit,” he said in a statement. “Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein; I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country.”

Some 179 British military personnel died in the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, which Mr. Blair at the time justified with assertions that the regime had weapons of mass destruction—a claim that turned out to be false.

Britain’s role in the 2003 Iraq invasion continues to shape the British public’s appetite for military involvement in foreign wars and comes as the U.K. reassesses its role in the world following the vote to leave the European Union...

More.

Fascinating politics of this. See how the report damages the "neoliberal" Blairite faction of the U.K. Labour Party, and then strengthens the neo-communst Corbyn partisans? It's almost too pat. And of course we'd never be having a vigorous debate in the U.S. on the origins of the war --- a relitigation of the war, in the parlance --- because Hillary Clinton, the Democrat Party nominee, was one of the war's biggest boosters in the Senate in 2002.

I love it!

Expect updates on this throughout the day. Leftists want a criminal indictment for Tony Blair. It's freakin' amazing. Oh, the vindictive hatred is just seething. The issue's a classic polarizer of our times.

Iraqi Forces Engage in Largest Battle Yet Against Islamic State (VIDEO)

Following-up from yesterday, "Iraqi Special Forces Launch Ground Assault on Fallujah (VIDEO)."

Here's the update, from last night's CBS Evening News:

Iraqi Special Forces Launch Ground Assault on Fallujah (VIDEO)

At WSJ, "Iraqi Forces Begin Ground Assault on Fallujah":

BAGHDAD—Iraqi special forces advanced to the edge of Fallujah on Monday but struggled to enter the city, where Iraqi and U.S. officials said Islamic State extremists were amassing civilians to serve as human shields.

The offensive against Fallujah, Islamic State’s second-biggest urban stronghold in Iraq after Mosul, aims to dislodge the Sunni extremists from the Iraqi city they have occupied the longest.

If successful, it could significantly weaken them ahead of an advance on much-larger Mosul, long planned by the government and the U.S.-led coalition supporting its fight against Islamic State.

The Fallujah operation, led so far by Shiite militias and army and police forces, has almost completely cleared the city’s perimeter of Islamic State fighters since it was launched a week ago. But the next, crucial stage of that operation, led by Iraq’s U.S.-trained counterterrorism forces, got off to a fitful start Monday...

Continue reading.

Plus, an update, "Iraqi Forces in Fallujah Face Islamic State Counterattacks":

BAGHDAD—Iraqi special forces battling their way into Fallujah faced fierce counterattacks by Islamic State, with commanders of the operation warning that heavily booby-trapped streets in and around the city were hindering the advance.

A day after applauding the beginning of a risky ground assault into the militant-held city, commanders struck a more cautious public tone Tuesday.

The joint-operations center coordinating the government offensive warned about the mines and other explosive devices planted around the city—a tactic commonly used by Islamic State.

The counterattacks took place on Fallujah’s southern edge, Nuaimiya, where counterterrorism forces advanced Monday following a weeklong offensive to surround the city. The U.S.-trained units repelled the two attacks, which included suicide bombers and snipers, said Lt. Gen. Abdelwahab al-Saadi, commander of the operation.

Gen. Saadi said Islamic State was using every possible method it could to slow the government offensive, including flooding farmland.

Fallujah, where aid agencies and Iraqi officials estimate at least 50,000 civilians are trapped, is expected to be a tough and unpredictable urban battleground, even for the elite fighters leading the government push.

While counterterrorism units have battled Islamic State militants inside cities before, including in Ramadi last year, Fallujah is more complicated because of the large numbers of civilians who have been unable or unwilling to flee.

The Sunni city also has long been a stronghold for Sunni extremists, including al Qaeda in Iraq, the predecessor of Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL...

Keep reading.

Unraveling Emma Sky

She's the author of The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq.

And she's interviewed at Foreign Affairs. It's refreshing:

Unbearable Grief in Iraqi Village of Asriya

Now this does seem pretty senseless, but then again, it's not.

Islam is just death. Death all around, wanton, and without remorse.

From Liz Sly, at WaPo, "‘It was a children’s soccer game. Of course he knew he was going to kill children...’":

The suicide bomber who blew up a youth soccer match late last month left barely a dent in the hard, dry earth, and only a faint scorch on a concrete wall nearby.

But he gouged a chasm of grief in the heart of the small community that lost more than two dozen of its sons in a single moment, at 6:15 on the evening of March 25.

A total of 43 people died in the bombing at the game, according to figures provided by the local government. Of those, 29 were boys younger than 17 who had either been participating in the match or watching their friends play.

The bomber also was a teenager, no more than 15 or 16 years old, judging by the picture of him released by the Islamic State, which asserted responsibility for the bombing, and the accounts of those who saw him at the match. The militants’ statement said the target was a gathering of members of the Shiite paramilitary group known as Hashd al-Shaabi, and the local government said two members of a militia were among the adults who died.

Yet that hardly explains the horror of an attack that inevitably would kill children.

The bomber “was a child, and he came to kill children,” said Mohammed al-Juhaishi, one of the sheiks from the area, who lost five relatives in the blast. “It was a children’s soccer game. Of course he knew he was going to kill children.”

For the boys of the impoverished, mixed Sunni-Shiite village of Asriya, 40 miles south of Baghdad in the area the U.S. military called the Triangle of Death, soccer is not a pastime. It is a passion and a purpose, offering the dream of escape from the grim monotony of life in one of Iraq’s more neglected communities.

One such boy was Mohaned Khazaal, age 10, who lived for the sake of Real Madrid, his favorite team, and his idol, the team’s star forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, said his brother, Ahmed, who is 12. Mohaned hoped one day to play for Iraq, and perhaps even
Real Madrid, said Ahmed, who dreamed of playing for Barcelona and often got into fights with his brother over which of the rival teams was better.

They also both played for a local team, which did not qualify for the final of the youth league tournament. But they attended the match nonetheless, along with an older brother, Farouq, 20, and almost all of the other boys living in the soccer-crazed community.

The final took place between a team called Ahli and a team called Salam, which means peace. The venue was a dusty field in the middle of the village, unmarked except for the goal post at either end. Local officials watched from plastic chairs on a small podium erected at one edge of the field. The spectators, most of them boys, stood around the perimeter of the field.

Hardly anyone seemed to notice that one of the boys watching the game was wearing a thick jacket on a warm spring evening while all the other boys were dressed in T-shirts. Anmar al-Janabi, 12, who was standing near the oddly dressed boy, said he did notice, although he did not think to say anything to the adults at the match.

“He was a little tall with long hair, and he looked different. He was wearing a thick jacket, and it was hot,” Anmar recalled. “He spoke to us. He said, ‘It’s a good game, isn’t it?’ ”

When the match ended, the boy in the jacket joined the scramble of boys converging at the podium to watch the awarding of the trophy and the medals, said Anmar, who attended the match with his 13-year-old brother, Bilal, and a group of friends.

“Then he blew himself up, and I felt a fire hit my face,” Anmar said. “And then I ran away.”

More at that top link.

This is one of the most deeply disturbing stories I have ever reported. I knew it was bad but I had no idea how bad. https://t.co/Jgg59jq9Yy

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

Just stepping onto the soccer field & seeing this memorial to the boys who died was overwhelming. pic.twitter.com/2Vg7f43UDv

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

This was the trophy that was to be given to the winning team when the bomb went off. The team was called Peace pic.twitter.com/rP5u1tKqAt

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

Karrar Idani,13, who died in the soccer bomb. His Dad arrived too late to give him the goalie gloves above the photo pic.twitter.com/mCoZwlAHfx

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

And this is Mohaned Khazaal, 10, the youngest victim of the soccer bomb. He dreamed of playing for @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/Hu5BipE4Py

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

This is Ahmed,12. His brother Mohaned died beside him. He's nicknamed @Neymarjr because he looks like his Barca hero pic.twitter.com/U3RlyetT9g

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

This photo of Walid,16, is on the wall of his parents' home. He failed exams because he was always playing soccer pic.twitter.com/sKiqLnEBvz

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

This is Abdullah Najah Nouri. I don't know his age. We didn't have time to meet all 29 families of the dead boys pic.twitter.com/y3tQCgQg0Z

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

This is Ahmed Khudair al-Shujairi, another of the 29 boys who died in the soccer game suicide bomb in Asriya pic.twitter.com/T9GYWAV9P8

— Liz Sly (@LizSly) April 8, 2016

Crushing story by @LizSly on the soccer game in Iraq where 43 people died in a suicide bombing, including 29 teens https://t.co/NlXdlkJl3S

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) April 8, 2016

Disclaimer: I Hate WikiLeaks

Just because I'm posting on the Panama Papers leak, which is a WikiLeaks-style operation being promoted by WikiLeaks and the far-left Guardian newspaper, doesn't mean that I've caved to depraved leftist Anonymous-style hysteria and propaganda.

I hate WikiLeaks. I hate what they stand for. But every now and then these ghouls highlight an issue that deserves attention nevertheless; and greater governmental transparency doesn't necessarily have to be a leftist issue, particularly when the left's fundamental problematique isn't actually transparency but anarchist revolutionary politics. Frankly, WikiLeaks is a criminal enterprise and always has been.

I wrote a lot on the group, and its leader Julian Assange, back in 2010. Here's a refresher, "Exposing the WikiLeaks/Communist/Media Alliance."

Also, flashback, to My Pet Jawa, "59 Seconds of Crucial Reuters 'Murder' Video."



So, yeah. I freakin' hate these people.

Even a broken clock's right twice a day, so now and then I'll give CWCID.

Donald Trump Goes Ballistic on Ted Cruz in South Carolina (VIDEO)

Donald Trump just finished up a lengthy press conference, and it was vintage Trump.

He attacked Ted Cruz as a "basket case" and called him the "most dishonest person."

There's brief video at the link, and I'll update with longer segments later.

That once-hyped Trump-Cruz bromance has been nuked, heh.

At CNN, "Trump: Cruz is the most 'dishonest' politician, says Iowa win should be reversed":

Washington (CNN) Donald Trump continued lighting into Ted Cruz Monday, calling him the most "dishonest person I've ever met in politics" and saying the Texas senator's win in Iowa should be disqualified.

"I've been in a business where you know, it's pretty sharp. You meet sharp people, I don't mean sharp like sharp, although they're that also. But you meet people that really go to the edge," Trump told a small crowd in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. "I've never met people like politicians, they are the most dishonest people I've ever met ... I think Jeb (Bush) is just Jeb. But this guy Ted Cruz is the most dishonest person I've ever met in politics."

He then complained that Cruz effectively stole the Iowa caucuses from him by having staff tell Ben Carson supporters that the retired neurosurgeon was dropping out of the race -- which was not true.

"He apologized to Carson after the event, he should have apologized to me," Trump said. "If Iowa had any guts, the people from the Republican Party, they should disqualify him from winning Iowa. I really mean it. Because what he did was a fraud."

Trump has repeatedly called Cruz a "liar" in recent weeks, but he amped up that message Monday, with just five days left before the South Carolina primary...

More.

Donald Trump 'Rips Open' Republican Wounds, as Rivals Say He's Declared 'War' on the Party

What a bunch of crybabies.

At the Washington Post, "Debate rips open GOP wounds, and party risks tearing itself apart":

GREENVILLE, S.C. — In an election that Republicans have long seen as a chance to put forward new stars with a fresh and broadly appealing conservative vision, the GOP is instead at risk of tearing itself apart over its past as it heads into the thick of the primary season.

A day after a debate marked by a series of personal, petty exchanges — and a day before former president George W. Bush was set to make a high-profile return to the national scene — Republicans were grappling with their core beliefs on a host of issues, as well as the image they were broadcasting to the country.

The infighting was ignited at the debate Saturday night by front-runner Donald Trump, who was unrelenting in his criticism of both how well the 43rd president kept America safe before and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and of the hawkish Republican worldview in general.

The foreign policy fracas is only the latest row among 2016 candidates over many of the basic tenets that have guided Republican and conservative thinking since the Reagan years, from free trade to the extent to which the federal government should be involved in providing health care for its poorest citizens.

Trump reiterated threats to use tariffs on imported goods to punish corporations that leave the United States, while Ohio Gov. John Kasich defended his decision to accept an expansion of Medicaid in his state as a humane step in line with conservative goals.

The increasingly harsh discussions of these and other issues amount to an existential crisis within the Republican Party and reflect the growing influence of non-ideological, populist voters who have flocked in particular to Trump’s nationalist “Make America Great Again” message...

"Existential" is a strong word. Call me skeptical. "Rejuvenating" is more appropriate, and not a moment too soon.

Keep reading, in any case.

Donald Trump Clears Up His Comments About George W. Bush and 9/11 (VIDEO)

Like I said, I'll be surprised if Trump's comments on 9/11 make any difference at this point. No one's relitigating the Iraq war. Well, Bernie Sanders is, since his vote against the war is his sole foreign policy credential. But most GOP voters are worried about jobs and the economy, immigration, to say nothing of current problems in the Middle, not whether Bush 43 cooked the books.

Here's Trump with John Dickerson on this morning's Face the Nation. It's good, vintage Trump:

AoSHQ: Why Trump Damaged Himself Tonight

Here's Ace with the analysis, "The Ego Has Landed: Why Trump Damaged Himself Tonight":

The "ego" in the headline doesn't actually refer to Trump's ego, for once. Rather, it refers to the voters' egos.

I think Trump hurt himself badly tonight, enough to knock him out of his first-place standing in most states. Oh he won't completely disappear -- but 2nd Place Trump is not the same thing as Frontrunner Trump.

Trump damaged himself with his claim that Bush lied us into war in Iraq. Not botched the intelligence, not read too much into thin intelligence.

Most Republicans, I think, would agree that that.

No, Trump claimed that Bush deliberately lied us into war.

First, this is alarming because it once again demonstrates that Trump has a conspiratorial mind. It's not enough for the conspiracist to say someone was wrong -- no, they have unrealistically black/white minds, and if you made a bad call, you must have lied.

That conspiracism was always present in his claims about Obama's birth certificate. But that bit of fantasy was about Obama, someone the average Republican voter isn't exactly eager to man the battlements for.

This corker -- this Al Gore roar of quote -- is about George W. Bush, someone still looked upon with affection by most of the party.

Which brings us to the second problem.

If Donald Trump is right, and George W. Bush deliberately schemed with his neo-con advisers to "lie" us into a phony war with Iraq, what does that say about the average Republican voter who supported Bush from 1999, voted for him, defended him through the recount, cried with him on 9/11, agreed with him on Iraq, defended him from ceaseless liberal attacks on him during the war, defended him from Obama's never-expiring "Blame Bush" blame-shifting, etc.?

If Trump is right, then we're not just wrong to have supported him. If Trump's right, we're goddamned rubes and fools to have defended this Actual Hitler-Level Monster for going on 17 years now...

Well, like I said earlier, Trump's comments didn't go over very well with me, although I doubt they're going to have much of an impact on his support. Frankly, who's to say voters are interested in relitigating the Iraq war? I just don't see it. There's so many more current issues facing the electorate, things to which Trump's campaign has nailed down perfectly.

How Conservative is Donald Trump?

Here's the panel on "Face the Nation" this morning:

Donald Trump Forces Republicans to Relitigate the Iraq War

So, Trump nailed down the Code Pink constituency last night:

Code Pink is ecstatic with Trump's performance during last night's debate https://t.co/WaNv7QGLLh

— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) February 14, 2016

“I watched the debate last night and LOVED IT — @medeabenjamin on Donald Trump. https://t.co/WaNv7QGLLh

— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) February 14, 2016

Dennis Kucinich said he was heartened to hear Trump’s position on the Iraq War https://t.co/WaNv7QGLLh

— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) February 14, 2016

And from Byron York, at the Washington Examiner, "Trump forces GOP to take uncomfortable look at Iraq War":

So once again, Trump has gambled. Maybe his frankness will allow other Republicans to loosen up and admit their doubts about the Iraq war...

— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 14, 2016

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Republican presidential candidates met in debate just hours after learning of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Beyond that, the debate came at a time when the entire world economy has the jitters; when yet another attempt to bring peace to Syria is in tatters; and when the Republican establishment is more nervous than ever about the continued strength of Donald Trump. And with all of that going on, the most passionate exchange of the entire event was about … relitigating the Iraq War.

It's not shocking that George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq would come up nearly 13 years after the fact; it pops up in Democratic debates these days, too. But the exchange between Trump and Jeb Bush over Iraq Saturday night wasn't just a passing reference. It was in some ways the debate Republicans mostly didn't have back in 2004, when Democrats were consumed with the war. And here in Greenville, as has happened elsewhere in this campaign, the candidate named Bush had a hard time dealing with the subject.

The back-and-forth started when moderator John Dickerson brought up a 2008 interview with CNN in which Trump said he was surprised that Democrats had not impeached George W. Bush over the war, and that it would be "a wonderful thing" if they had.

On stage Saturday, Trump would not repeat what he said about impeachment — there are apparently limits even for Trump. But he did not hesitate to talk about Iraq. "Obviously, the war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake, all right?" Trump said. "We spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives, we don't even have it. Iran has taken over Iraq with the second-largest oil reserves in the world."

"George Bush made a mistake," Trump continued. "We can make mistakes. But that one was a beauty. We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East."

And finally: "They lied," Trump said of the Bush administration. "They said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none. And they knew there were none. There were no weapons of mass destruction."

I love Trump, but he's losing me here. And if you think back, earlier in the campaign he's said he oblititerate the terrorists and we'd win the war on terror, so he's not too consistent in his ideological positions.

Oh well, at least he's once again dominating the debate, although perhaps not in the direction I'd prefer.

Still more.

More at Memeorandum.

State Department Counts 'Bringing Peace' to Syria as One of Its Wins in 2015

This was a pretty excitable topic on Outnumbered this morning, on Fox News. Katherine Timpf even blew off the suggestion as "insane."

But see Politico, "State Dept. counts 'bringing peace' to Syria as a 2015 win."

Muslims Brutally Beat Christians in Berlin After Christmas Day Celebrations

Boy, the Islamists are assimilating really well over there.

At Pamela's, "Muslims Brutally Beat Christians in Berlin After Xmas Day Celebrations; ‘I Am Muslim, What Are You?’ Screams Attacker."

Syrian Journalist and Anti-Islamic State Filmmaker Gunned Down in Turkey (VIDEO)

At the Telegraph UK, "Syria anti-Islamic State documentary maker 'assassinated' in Turkey":

Naji Jerf was killed in Gaziantep, only a couple of months after Isil claimed responsibility for killing Ibrahim Abdelkader and a friend in southern Turkey.

Today, Americans More Likely to Say Terrorists Are Winning Than at Any Time Since 9/11 (VIDEO)

Frankly, this is just sad, considering all the sacrifices made by U.S. military personnel.

Of course, the Democrats are the party of defeat, so it's no surprise the public thinks we're losing the war on terror.

At CNN:

Islamic State Fighters Flee Ramadi (VIDEO)

At the Wall Street Journal, "Islamic State Militants Flee Ramadi Stronghold Amid Iraqi Offensive":

BAGHDAD—Islamic State fighters fled their last bastion in the center of Ramadi Sunday night as Iraqi security forces encircled the area and prepared a final push to clear out any remaining fighters or explosives, Iraqi officials said.

State television beamed images of people celebrating in streets across the country, though the army had not yet declared Ramadi completely under its control. A number of Iraqi leaders said they were confident the city would fall within days, if not hours.

A defeat in the capital of Anbar province, which is just 60 miles from the capital Baghdad, would be Islamic State’s third major loss in as many months to Iraqi security forces and allied paramilitary groups. Those forces retook the oil refining town of Beiji in October and in November, Iraqi Kurdish forces drove the Sunni Muslim extremist group out of the strategic city of Sinjar.

A decisive victory in Sunni-majority Ramadi could strengthen national unity and soothe sectarian conflict in the Shiite-dominated country where Sunnis often complain of discrimination. It would also augur well for the coming battle to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and Islamic State’s main stronghold in Iraq.

“My eyes are filled with tears now upon hearing that security forces managed to defeat Daesh in Ramadi,” said Sheikh Ghazi al-Goud, a member of parliament from Anbar province, using another name for Islamic State. “This is a victory for all Iraqis. Iraqis proved through the Ramadi fight that they are united, Sunnis and Shiite.”

One reason for the Ramadi operation’s slow progress has been the Iraqi government’s reluctance to include Iran-backed Shiite militia groups who have so far carried most of the fight against Islamic State. Moderate Iraqi leaders and U.S. officials worried that deploying the Shiite-majority militias to Ramadi could spark further sectarian strain, or lead some Sunni civilians to fight with Islamic State.

Iraqi troops, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, have spent nearly three weeks fighting their way into Ramadi.

By late Sunday, Islamic State militants were fleeing Ramadi’s eastern suburbs along with their families and civilian hostages they had been using as human shields, a security official said.

Their departure came after Iraqi security forces encircled the city center and began pushing into a former government compound that had been the group’s last bastion in the city. Iraq’s military said they had occupied only one building in the government compound, a blood bank owned by Iraq’s ministry of health.

Iraqi troops picked their way through cratered city streets and booby-trapped buildings left behind by more than a month of almost continuous fighting, military officials said...

More.

Iraqi Troops Storm Downtown Ramadi in Bid to Oust Islamic State Occupiers (VIDEO)

At the Washington Post:

BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces broke into Ramadi’s city center on Tuesday, pushing closer to its main government buildings in what commanders hope will be a final thrust to recapture the key provincial capital from Islamic State militants.

Security forces erected a temporary bridge over a canal to gain access to downtown Ramadi, about 80 miles west of Baghdad, and launch a morning offensive, military leaders said. By nightfall, the troops were within half a mile of the government compound, they added.

Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, represents a key battle for Iraqi forces. It is the largest population center they have tried to retake from the Islamic State.

The offensive, backed by U.S. air power, also marks the first major battle for Iraq’s armed forces that has largely excluded pro-government Shiite militias, testing whether the military can go it alone.

“We’ve entered the center,” said Brig. Gen. Hamid al-Fatlawi, commander of the army’s 8th Division. The militants have put up only “simple” resistance, he said...

Keep reading.