Iraqi Prime Minsiter Nouri al-Maliki has dispatched his air force to the north to assist Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in their attempt to fend off a strong offensive by the Islamic State. Three towns, an oil field, and a major dam were lost over the weekend as Kurdish forces were sent flying by the increasingly well armed and well equipped Islamic State forces. The tough little Kurdish army was thought to be the only force in Iraq capable of standing up to the terrorists in battle. Such has proved not to be the case. Reuters: Maliki seems to have put aside his hostility with the Kurds for now to try to prevent the Islamic State, which has threatened to march on Baghdad, from making further gains. "The general commander of the armed forces has ordered the air force command to provide backup for the Kurdish peshmerga forces against the terrorist gangs of the Islamic State," state television quoted Maliki's military spokesman Qassim Atta as saying. A...(Read Full Post)