SprintFan

I refuse to take anyone seriously that consistently makes the same spellings errors.

What is up with the exchange rate on xe.com? Each day or so, the exchange rate changes from 1115 to 1114 to 1113 and so on. Today it was at 1103. What's going on?

I am all too familiar with Iraq's unpredictability, trust me. ISIS is pure evil, plain and simple. Right now their people need the US more than ever and our government stands idly by while the slaughter goes on.

Agreed, this is very serious. I also agree they are stretching their supply lines and men. If anything holds them up, over extending at this point will be it.

Does anyone realize that 4000 to 5000 troops is almost two Brigade Combat Teams. The mainstream media, as pathetic as they are in the US, would be all over this. It's not happening folks, nor will it.

Dysfunction, revenge, it's hard to tell really. It's hard to tell where they're going with this, and I have not heard them make statements about their end goal. There was one news report that made claims they were looking to take over all the way to Basra. This would pose a huge problem given Basra's very close proximity Kuwait. It also gives them access to a water port which presents a risk to oil tankers in the gulf. Time will tell on this one, but I can guarantee this is no cover up or smokescreen for something else.

There is no great dinar conspiracy here, simply put they are ultra violent and have chosen now as their time to attack. This group did not rise up over night. They have been around for a while. They fought in Iraq and Syria, and their leader was once a prisoner at Camp Bucca but was released. None of this is a smoke screen or anything like that to aid in the RV or a Maliki power grab. This is ISIS taking the country over, plain and simple. There has been an increase in car bombings in Baghdad too, which is historically a Sunni insurgent tactic. They will move on Baghdad and it will get worse.

The Wall Street Journal is already reporting that some of the Quds Force is already in Tikrit.Iran will help Sadr. They were crucial to each other in the proxy war against the US with the Medhi Army. Iran supplied weapons and training. Explosively Formed Penetrators are a hallmark of Iranian involvement, just ask Israel via Hezbollah. EFP'S were devastating to US armored vehicles. Where the help will exactly came from, I'm not sure. My guess would be bolstering defenses to the east of Baghdad and securing the bridges around the west side of the city. It wouldn't hurt to keep Karbala, Najaf, and Basra safe by beefing up security to the south. I'm not too sure the Sunnis in Iraq even want anything to do with ISIS. Remember the Anbar awakening were Suuni clerics coming out against Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Yes, western Baghdad is predominantly Sunni. Although there are some mixed neighborhoods. The western edge of the city is Abu Ghraib, which is Sunni. The Triangle of Death is also Sunni.

I just want to throw out a little bit of an educated guess here. Look for the ISIS to send a faction from Anbar province to the southwest of Baghdad. There are a few bridges that connect Anbar to the Triangle of Death. That is Yusifiyah, Madmudiyah, and Latufiyah. From there they can launch attacks into the southern sections of Baghdad where the airport is located. It is also an easier route to access the main government area, ie the old Green Zone. I would surmise the western half of Baghdad would fall first. The ISIS forces who are to the northeast would then close in around Sadr City. The city is divided by the Tigris, with Sadr City on the east half. Having the Tigris against their back, Sadr's Medhi Army will be forced to dig in for a protracted fight. The most important parts of the city will already have been taken, which lay west of the Tigris. This is an educated guess from being in the city for two years and being very familiar with the terrain. I was the firmest of believers in this investment. The current state of affairs is rapidly changing my mind. There are no Big Brother type conspiracies going on here. Nobody has already cashed out. Maliki is not waiting for some sort of opportune moment to seize total power. Here is the simple answer to how this incident happened: The lack of a Status of Forces agreement between the US and Iraq. The ISIS and like groups knows the US will not intervene militarily. No matter how much money we send Iraq in aid, that does not change who is holding the rifle. This is what happens with a haphazard exit strategy fueled by campaign promises. Obama and Maliki should have realized they actually needed each other for long term stability not short term bragging rights. Summary: the ride is just about over and not in a good way.

This upcoming election is possibly their last hope. If there is no consensus leader between the Sunni and Shia it's going to get uglier, especially if Maliki is still around.

Failure to negotiate the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is equally key in this disaster. The Obama administration had neither the foresight or willingness to negotiate this. Two things happened that went terribly wrong. The first being campaign promises to withdraw and the second was that nobody saw Maliki for the disaster that he is. It would have made more sense to stay in Iraq until Maliki and his party was voted out of office. The lack of US forces in Iraq gave Maliki and the Shi'ites total control, with many Shi'ites wanting revenge on the minority Sunni's. This had disaster written all over it from the get go. Obama promises to withdraw. Maliki doesn't budge in negotiations. The US caves in and leaves. Obama is happy because the campaign promise is fulfilled and Maliki is happy because he gets total control. Problem is all the other people who suffered because of this. I don't bring this up on message boards, but I will today. I was in Iraq in 2005 and 2009-2010. The few years difference was night and day. Iraq in 2009 looked like a totally different country and seemed on the right track. Now it appears to be permanently derailed.

Boy, I read that wrong. I suppose punctuation would have helped.

Realistically, if you can buy two cars, a house, and still have enough to invest....is $3400 really that make or break. Depending on where you live and the type of house and type of cars, that's probably a 1% fee per 100k, maybe less. I'd gladly pay 1% to cash in if the return on the dinar is as good as expected.

I tend to believe it has nothing to do with a change in value. With that being said, Western Union is probably the most used service when it comes to fraud schemes by persons living overseas. IE..."You just won the sweepstakes you never entered, please send us money to claim your prize." It does make me wonder why they stopped service, especially since they still service other countries that are equally unstable and unfriendly to the US.