Iraqi army doing excellent job in Daesh fight: Pundit

Press TV has interviewed Nabil Mikhail, professor at George Washington University, to discuss Iraqi armed forces’ massive military offensive to liberate Fallujah from the grip of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

A rough transcription of the interview appears below.

Press TV:  How significant is it in your view that one of the major and critical components of this fight against terrorism on the ground in Iraq is the Popular Mobilization Units, that is Hashd al-Shaabi? How significant do you think this united front is there?

Mikhail: It is very significant because embodied in your language was their prominence, a unified front and it is a defeat for Takfiri extremists. So if a force succeeded in scoring high marks in all these categories it is very important and very critical and very crucial not just to the current fighting going on now as I talk to you but also in future phases of the battle.

So in order to maximize your advantage, you have to cooperate between the Iraqi army and the militias collaborating with them, you have to really do a noble job, be a noble man, feed the hungry, bury the dead, secure the areas, extinguish the fires, calm those who are afraid and also if there are injured people please take care of them.

… Yes I know the fighting is still going on but you have two important missions - a humanitarian mission which is so important, second you have also a peacekeeping mission. But there are some important strategic elements that you have to be fully cognizant of, among them is to secure the routes that lead to Fallujah and also think about the next step in the fight how Mosul will be liberated, the repercussions of that victory on the situation in Syria because from Washington here I receive some news, just as an average reader, that the Syrian army is taking steps also to liberate Raqqah and other areas in Syria.

So a big strategic mobilization campaign has been kicked off, I am quite sure that everyone is watching it especially the Department of Defense in the United States.

Press TV: How do you praise and assess the contribution of the broader international community in the fight against extremism and Takfirism in Iraq right now?

Mikhail: Definitely the significance is great, the contributions are immense, and the effort is very, very much appreciated and I think the Iraqi army has proven itself to be a very professional army. One thing the Obama administration used was Obama’s basically complains that the intelligence community in America overstressed the importance and strength of the Iraqi army two years ago when Daesh or ISIL [was] marching toward northern Iraq and Fallujah and Mosul but also he should be aware or he should have been aware of one fact that the Iraqi army has always been strong, has always been professional and any element to boost it, to give it the right weapons, to direct its operations into the right training and tactics would have rendered it quickly a formidable force.

So it was not the intelligence report that overestimated the Iraqi army. It was actually Obama’s lack of strength to give the Iraqi army the chance to fight, the chance, the opportunity to prove itself that was missing from his mind. Once that opportunity to rehabilitate the Iraqi army was given, the Iraqi army did an excellent job. Congratulations.

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