The Fall of Ramadi is a Catastrophe

Although the Obama administration has rightly portrayed a raid by Army Special Forces last week in Syria that killed ISIS top official Abu Sayyaf as a big win in the war against ISIS, this win has been overshadowed by the fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to ISIS fighters over the weekend.

The fall of Ramadi is a catastrophe for U.S. policy and the credibility of the Iraqi government.  The ability of ISIS to seize control of this city despite U.S.-led airstrikes proves that it is not on the defensive as Obama officials have claimed.

Ramadi fell despite being defended by the Iraqi army.  Baghdad did not send in reinforcements to defend the city because it said it could not spare the troops.

Now the Iraqi government is planning to retake Ramadi using Iranian-trained Shiite militias.  Since Shiite militias looted the Sunni town of Tikrit after they helped take it back from ISIS in late March, their presence will not be welcomed by Sunnis in Ramadi.

The fall of Ramadi will further damage the Baghdad government’s tenuous ties to Iraqi Sunnis and likely will drive more Sunnis to side with or cooperate with ISIS.  Sending Shiite militias into Ramadi will make this situation worse.

The Obama administration still has no strategy to defeat ISIS in Iraq.  It must begin to arm the Iraqi Kurds and Sunni militias.  The effort to train and equip the Iraqi army needs to stepped up.  U.S. diplomats must increase pressure on the Baghdad government to resolve its differences with Iraqi Sunnis.  The number of airstrikes against ISIS targets also must be significantly increased.