Iraqi Forces Waiting on Go Ahead for Mosul

Sept. 22, 2016 | By Brian W. Everstine

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Iraqi forces are trained and ready for the fight to retake Mosul, and are just awaiting the go ahead from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi. US and coalition forces have trained enough Iraqi troops for the battle against ISIS, and it is just a political decision now of when to begin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said at ASC16. US and coalition forces, especially airpower, will be ready to provide support for the fight. “We have gained momentum,” Dunford said at ASC16. Iraqi forces are closing in on the city of Mosul, taking 12 nearby villages this week, Iraqi officials told Voice of America. Dunford and other officials have said the fight for Mosul could begin next month, though now politics are driving the decision-making, he said.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

What to Watch as Lawmakers Race to Pass 2026 Defense Budget by Jan. 30

Space Force Sets Mandatory Wear Date for PT Uniform, Service Dress Remains Optional

DOD Task Force Moves Closer to Launching a Counter-Drone Shopping Site

Air Force Clamps Down on Airmen Walking with Phones

Related

Compromise Defense Appropriation Would Add Funds for Fighters, E-7

Jan. 20, 2026
In a new 2026 appropriations bill released Jan. 20, Congress included an extra $900 million to save the E-7 airborne early warning and control aircraft from cancelation, an additional $500 million for the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter to address “emerging” needs, and $401 million to make up for “economic factors” in…

Congress Sets Guardrails for Pentagon Acquisition Reforms

Jan. 20, 2026
House and Senate lawmakers say they’re on board with the Pentagon’s latest plan to reform the way it buys new systems, but in a report accompanying the latest draft of fiscal 2026 defense spending bill, they urged more investment in the defense acquisition workforce and expressed skepticism about the Defense…

Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91 

Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.

What to Watch as Pentagon Implements AI, Innovation Reforms 

Jan. 17, 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week released strategies meant to focus the Pentagon’s “alphabet soup” of innovation organizations and proliferate artificial intelligence—moves that experts say could provide the structure needed to make the military’s efforts to integrate and field new technology more effective.

What to Watch as Lawmakers Race to Pass 2026 Defense Budget by Jan. 30

Jan. 15, 2026
House and Senate lawmakers say they’re hopeful Congress will pass a defense appropriations bill in the coming weeks to avoid a repeat of last fall’s government shutdown, with only having a handful of working days remaining before the Jan. 30 deadline. Yet legislations still have to release a compromise version of defense spending legislation, which will have to…

Future SOUTHCOM Boss Sees Need for More Resources

Jan. 15, 2026
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy released in November made it clear that the Western Hemisphere is the new priority theater for the Pentagon. To put that into action, U.S. Southern Command needs to grow, the Marine Corps general nominated to lead SOUTHCOM told lawmakers.