Was talking to a plugged-in person about Mosul. Here is a truncated version:

It’s a shame what has happened there, given that the city was something of a model. It had a great governing council and police force and was very stable and safe. But we took our eye off the ball, lightening our presence. We eventually became worried about the chief of police being compromised and about the head of the university there, who was an Islamist involved in anti-US incitement. We pressured the interim government to do something about them, but nothing happened until it was too late. Meanwhile, insurgents had been operating on the outskirts of the city, and engaged in probing manuevers until they determined that its defenses were soft. Then, they moved. Now, it’s absolutely critical that we regain firm control of the city, with its large population and Sunni majority.