Pentagon's Disclosure of Looming Offensive On Mosul Raises Concerns Over Civilian Impact

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/02/20/pentagons-disclosure-looming-offensive-mosul-raises-concerns-over-civilian-impact



Analysts warn the U.S. is 'doubling down' on failed military solutions

Pentagon's Disclosure of Looming Offensive On Mosul Raises Concerns Over Civilian Impact
Sarah Lazare, staff writer
Friday, February 20, 2015

The Pentagon's disclosure that U.S. and Iraqi forces are planning a massive spring offensive against ISIS combatants in Mosul is raising alarm among analysts, who warn that civilians who reside in Iraq's second largest city could pay a heavy price.

An anonymous official from U.S. Central Command told reporters on Thursday that the attack will involve 20,000 to 25,000 troops, comprised mostly of Iraqi Army brigades, but also including three Kurdish peshmerga brigades.

"U.S. ground forces—including special operations and forward air controllers—could be involved," according to an NBC News paraphrasing of the official's statements. It was not immediately clear what these potential roles entail, or how many U.S. boots-on-the-ground could be involved in the operation. The U.S. is already in the process of mobilizing more troops to the region: in addition to the 3,000 U.S. troops ordered to deploy to Iraq, more than 4,000 U.S. troops are currently headed to Kuwait.

Experts on the region expressed worry about what the military offensive could mean for local residents, based on the track record of the U.S. Iraqi forces.

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Remember Fallujah? Besides Willie Pete, we gave them a little depleted uranium.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallujah

Health

In 2010 it was reported that an academic study[38] had shown "a four-fold increase in all cancers and a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer." since 2004.[39] In addition, the report said the types of cancer were "similar to that in the Hiroshima survivors who were exposed to ionising radiation from the bomb and uranium in the fallout", and an 18% fall in the male birth ratio (to 850 per 1000 female births, compared to the usual 1050) was similar to that seen after the Hiroshima bombing.[39]