ISIS to U.S.: We’ll Drown You in Blood; Beheads U.S. Journalist, Holds Tikrit
As the Iraqi military made a push on Tikrit north of Baghdad on Tuesday, a video briefly surfaced purporting to show the IS beheading an American journalist, James Foley, a freelancer for GlobalPost who had been missing in Syria for two years.
A portrait of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. thierry ehrmann (CC BY 2.0)
This post originally ran on Juan Cole’s Web page.
The Iraqi military made a push on Tikrit north of Baghdad on Tuesday, but had to call off their campaign when they ran into minefields, booby-trapped buildings, sniping and artillery and mortar fire on the part of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which now styles itself the “Islamic State” (IS). It took the Sunni Muslim stronghold, birth place of Saddam Hussein, last July. The IS appears to have used its two months of dominance in the city to do extensive defensive works, with the mining proving an effective deterrent along with professional use of medium weaponry.
Meanwhile, a video briefly surfaced purporting to show the IS beheading an American journalist, James Foley, a freelancer for GlobalPost who had been missing in Syria for two years. In the video the IS threatened to drown the United States in blood if its aerial bombardment of IS positions continued.
The Iraqi military advanced toward Tikrit from the west this time, rather than, as with last month, the south. The claimed to have killed 23 IS fighters and to have taken some small suburbs of the city, but that they had to call off their campaign Tuesday afternoon is eloquent as to their failure. They included forces from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, and Shiite volunteer militias, all supported by the Iraqi Air Force. Unlike with the Kurds fighting to take back the Mosul Dam from IS in the north, there is no report of close air support from the US.
One of the Iraqi military’s goals was to relieve the village of Amirli, which is inhabited by Turkmen Shiites and had been under siege from IS in Tikrit. IS as a hyper-Sunni terrorist organization despises Shiite Muslims and has carried out mass executions against them.
Meanwhile, back in Baghdad, controversy swirled over rumors that a political figure was willing pay $5 mn. for a cabinet seat. As long as there is that level of corruption, it is hard for the government to ask its grunts for loyalty and willingness to sacrifice their lives for this state.
CCTV: “Iraqi military clashes with militants in Tikrit”
——
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
The death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi should have been a good time for U.S. journalists to reflect on the 18-year-long war.
As the terrorist's killing is lauded, it's worth recalling he was in U.S. custody when he began organizing what would become the Islamic State.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi presided over a global jihad and arguably became the world’s most wanted man.
This article was first posted in 2017 shortly after the U.S. fired missiles into Syria in reaction to reports that the government there had used chemical weapons. In it, Chris Hedges argues that the Middle East will not know peace until the U.S. leaves the region.
The president is slashing the U.S. domestic budget and putting money into a war machine that only continues to inflame tensions around the world.
Amid the U.S. outrage over Syrian civilian deaths from banned weapons, we should not forget America’s role in creating and perpetuating the seemingly endless conflict.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.