Ramadi Still Not Liberated – US Department of Defence
new-zealand-first-party
Thu Jan 21 2016 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Ramadi Still Not Liberated – US Department of Defence
Thursday, 21 January 2016, 1:19 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party
Ron Mark
Spokesperson for Defence
21 JANUARY 2016
Ramadi Still Not Liberated – US Department of Defence
Three weeks after Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee hailed ‘victory’ in Ramadi, the US Department of Defense confirms that much of it remains in ISIS hands.
“Instead of ‘Comical Ali’ we’ve got ‘Ludicrous Gerry’ - a Minister so hopelessly out of his depth that he cannot even comment on his own Ministry’s White Paper,” says New Zealand First Defence Spokesperson Ron Mark.
“If Minister Brownlee believes victory is destroying much of Ramadi with its east and north around Sufia remaining in enemy hands, then we are in trouble. This is not just from our private sources but the United States Department of Defense itself.
“The fight in Ramadi was only against a few hundred ISIS fighters yet it has taken the entire Iraqi Army backed by a United States-led coalition chewing through over $17m each day.
“What’s left of Ramadi’s centre is rubble and a US$8.3bn plus reconstruction bill.
“While falling oil prices are thankfully hurting ISIS, it is also hurting the Iraqi Government’s means to afford a costly civil war. And what happens after Ramadi will determine if Iraq comes together or joins a growing list of failed states.
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“Amnesty International now reports that the Kurdistan Regional Government is ethnically clearing Sunni Arabs and the Kurds are meant to be on our side.
“This defeats the long-promised ‘Sunni Awakening’ - crucial if ISIS is to be crushed. A Shiite dominated Iraqi Army will be seen as an occupying force while the thousands of promised Sunni militia needed to secure Ramadi have never arrived.
“We deserve the truth because this Minister and this National Government have misled the public over the real situation in Iraq going back tobefore the 2014 election. It is clear in claiming ‘victory’ that they will next look to expand the mission,” says Mr Mark.
ENDS
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