A glorious chapter in Iraq’s military history doesn’t have to lead to oppression.


Michael Knights is the Lafer Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He specialises in the politics and security of Iraq. He has worked in every Iraqi province and most of the country's hundred districts, including periods embedded with Iraq's security forces.
A glorious chapter in Iraq’s military history doesn’t have to lead to oppression.

Don’t postpone the battle but do stay engaged for long enough to stabilise Mosul.
![Members of the Badr Organisation undergo training before the upcoming battle to recapture Mosul in Diyala province, Iraq [REUTERS]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/edc95faf2a5d4f4db9113c66ffaeca65_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
As the battle of Mosul looms, it may be wise to place on the back burner the debate on regional formation initiatives.
![Displaced Iraqis, who had fled to Syria to escape the violence in Mosul, arrive in Kirkuk [REUTERS]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/149dc585739742cc8de9e7e5c423c103_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
American and Kurdish ties are close but nothing fundamental has changed, yet.

Missteps by the Iraqi government, political parties and security forces could breathe new life into an ISIL recovery.
![Iraqi soldiers chant slogans against ISIL fighters during a military operation as a part of a military campaign to liberate Mosul [EPA]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/99bbdba65b7d4dd995809cd9dcb793d3_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The battle is Iraq’s latest attempt to push the Popular Mobilisation Forces and Coalition into a single battlespace.
![Iraqi fighters fire a rocket toward ISIL positions on the outskirts of Fallujah, west of Baghdad [REUTERS]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/c5dc0f7e98bd4f778c4d4fd6e4ad9c7d_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
ISIL bombings could bring a devastating flood of sectarian attacks and militia rule to Baghdad.
![Iraqis walk past stalls at Oraiba market, a day after it was struck by a car bomb attack in the Sadr City area of northern Baghdad [AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20f51f9411fe42aba568e5885cf99fa5_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The struggle against ISIL has rekindled communal ties between sectarian communities in Iraq.
![Followers of Iraq''s influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans calling for governmental reforms during a demonstration in Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/a00a6adc07b947ad8250ec25a4030dbc_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
What would happen if ISIL lost control of Iraq’s second largest city tomorrow?
![Demonstrators chant pro-ISIL slogans as they carry the group''s flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/e956dabeaf7e4d998bf70803df1d5af9_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Iraq’s prime minister has broad backing to begin absorbing Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Units into the armed forces.
![Iraqi soldiers participate in a live ammunition training exercise with US-led Coalition trainers south of Baghdad [REUTERS]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bfe0bb3d7b0f4b7b91c08eba4703cf77_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)