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Source: http://jcpa.org/fall-mosul-iraq-jihadists-game-changer/
Is the Fall of Mosul in Iraq to the Jihadists a "Game Changer"?
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah - The city of Mosul is 45 miles south of the mammoth Mosul Dam, formerly known as the Saddam Dam. Built on a water-dissolving gypsum foundation, the dam's stability has generated great concern. A man-made or natural collapse of that dam could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing tens of thousands of people and flooding the largest cities in the country. If the dam were to fall into ISIS hands, this could represent a huge threat were the jihadists to use it as an extortion weapon against the Iraqi regime. ISIS has proven that years after the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and of Mali by the MNLA, the jihadist organizations are still capable of mass operations and not only limited to small-scale guerrilla warfare. On the other hand, the same examples demonstrate that no terrorist organization can withstand a head-on collision with an organized, well-led, regular army.