US used Daesh to return to Iraq after war: Commentator

Iraqi forces have made major advances in their battle to liberate the city of Mosul from the Daesh Takfiri terrorists. The government and its allied forces have long been preparing for the operation. The US-led coalition is providing air support in this battle. Press TV has spoken to political commentator Sabah Jawad as well as Michael Lane, founder of American Institute for Foreign Policy to review the various aspects of this decisive battle.

Sabah Jawad believes that the United Sates has been playing games all along with regard to the occupation of Mosul by Daesh and its presence in Iraq.  

He is of the opinion that the US has been utilizing Daesh as a pretext to return to Iraq years after withdrawing its troops from the country.

“They [the Americans] utilized their  [Daesh] creation ... to play their cards and to return to Iraq after being expelled in 2011 after many years of occupation. Because they realized they could not actually stay in Iraq any longer because of the high casualty and the high cost of their occupation,” he stated.

“They went out of Iraq with the tail between their legs. Now they utilize the excuse of ISIS (Daesh) and other terrorist groups to return from the window after we kicked them out of the door,” he added.  

The commentator went on to say that the terrorist groups are the proxies of the United States and its regional allies, with a mission to destroy important states in the Middle East including Iraq and Syria.  

Elsewhere in his remarks, Jawad mentioned that the United States is “failing miserably” in the Middle East, adding that President Barack Obama is seeking to take advantage of the battle in Mosul to gain some kind of victory by demonstrating that he had a role to play in the campaign to defeat Daesh.

The commentator further warned of the American plan to let the terrorists in Mosul escape to Syria's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr and to enhance their capabilities there.

He also noted that the United States is pursing a policy of divide and rule in Iraq, by seeking to break up the country and split it into smaller parts along sectarian and ethnic lines.   

Jawad concluded by saying that the Iraqi people are determined to defeat Daesh despite all the obstruction from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, and the propaganda machine which is geared against it.

Meanwhile, the other panelist on Press TV’s program, Michael Lane opined that what the United States is doing in Iraq is not playing games, rather underestimating the threat of Daesh.

“America was not taking it (Daesh) as seriously or we were not as well informed and as well engaged with the threat as we should have been,” he stated.  

However, he said, had it not been for the US presence in Iraq to start with, there would be no Daesh today.

Lane also noted the battle for Mosul is certainly very important, but it is far from being “definitive” against the terrorists on the ground.

“It [the battle for Mosul] will not destroy ISIS as an entity; it will not destroy their operations in multiple countries throughout the world; it will not destroy their ability to wreak terror upon various innocent populations throughout the world,” he said.   

“I think it is not the United States’ objective or desire for the terrorists who are in Mosul now to be able to escape and to reconsolidate back in Syria,” he opined.

According to the analyst, the Western countries ought to be concerned about some of these terrorists who will escape from Mosul and return to Europe and the United States.

Iraqi government troops, together with Sunni fighters and Shia forces from Popular Mobilization Units, and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, are currently involved in a massive offensive to liberate Mosul, the last major Daesh stronghold in Iraq.

Out of the 5,000 American military forces present in Iraq, more than 100 of them are taking part in the operation, supposedly as advisors.

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