So far, it seems only Juan Cole and this blog have been openly sceptical about the Iraqi government operations in Mosul. But now we have a piece by Fadhil Ali at Jamestown basically saying the same thing:
In fact, the major leaders of the insurgent groups appear to have left Mosul two months before the operation [...]. The repeated early announcements of the operations offered a chance for the insurgents to take precautions and move out of the region. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is known for avoiding major combat confrontations—its tactics rely mainly on fighting with small groups only. It is clear that the Iraqi government could not achieve a decisive victory with two quick military operations against al-Qaeda in Ninawa province.
I don’t want to say I told you so. But I told you so.
