The John Batchelor Show

VIDEO: Battle for Tikrit

April 01, 2015

Wednesday  1 April 2015  / Hour 1, Block D:  Michael Pregent, National Defense University,  in re: Tikrit. Veteran of embeds in Iraq, speaks Arabic. Anbar Province.  Head of Iranian al Quds Force, Soleimani, instructs an Iraqi officer to call in US air support; US bombs on order.  Solemaini is in charge of ground forces and of US air support, and he brags about it: looks, up, says, "See those? They’re mine."
Shia militias: include men and groups that are on State Global Terrorist List and who’ve killed US soldiers.  Have long killed Sunni an Christians.  We support those who go in and ethnically cleanse anyone they oppose. A call goes out: all civilians not associated w ISIS, leave not. ISIS prevents any male 12 to 65 from leaving; if they retreat, a near relative is killed.  If they stay, when al Quds comes in the males are killed. Shia militia will grab and Iraqi army commander who calls Americans: "We have ISIS on the ground" – and the order comes from the Quds Force, which now has the US Air Force and the US Navy under its command. Does the Iraqi army have the capacity to take and hold Tikrit?  Recall US toppling the Saddam statue – US can tout a victory but the periphery is filled with resistance. When you hold a city key to Saddam with Shia militias, [no good can come].  These militias can clear territory but are unwilling to hold it.  Looks like an Iranan-led proxy force, which send Shia militias into heavy resistance.  Iran has learned htat if it moves its key leaders out of camera sight (3 mi away) then the US comes in to do their bidding _ they manage US air power, and our Special Ops forces.  When ISIS first heard the US was coming, you could hear Allahu Akhbar all over Iraq.