Countdown to US combat troops in Iraq:

Rout raises questions about Iraqi military

(CNN) - This is what an ISIS rout looks like in Iraq:

Up to 300 troops killed. Others missing, possibly dead or having fled. Dozens of military vehicles, from tanks to ambulances, destroyed or seized. And the Iraqi military in disarray, so much so the country's Prime Minister has sent "anti-terrorism forces ... to hold the negligent (military) leaders responsible."

What happened Sunday east of Falluja, around military encampments in Saqlawiyah and Sejar, is bad enough for the Iraqi government. Yet what makes it worse is that it's happened before.

This latest incident was particularly galling because, according to surviving Iraqi soldiers, military commanders didn't follow up on troops' pleas for airstrikes or other help, and instead stranded them.

And the fact this isn't an isolated episode raises big questions about whether the Iraqi military is up to the fight against ISIS and whether other nations -- the United States being chief among them -- should devote manpower and air power to supporting them.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/25/world/meast/iraq-isis-rout-questions/?c=&page=0