Daesh hitting civilians in Baghdad because of battleground losses: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed E. Michael Jones, a political analyst, to discuss the recent uptick in bombing attacks by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in and around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: What do you make of what is going on in Iraq? It seems for a while that the government was definitely making headway against Daesh terrorists and now we are seeing more and more infighting and an increase in bombings even in the capital?

Jones: Well, I think this is a sign that they are making headway. I think that what you are seeing here is the reaction to the military successes at the other end of the country.

Daesh or ISIL is losing on that battlefield and so now I think they feel they need to take the battle to the city, to Baghdad, they want to antagonize the Shia, they want to divert Iraqi troops from the battlefield in the north and they want to draw them back into the city so that they can take the pressure off the losses that they are taking at the other end of the country.

Press TV: In your perspective, what has to be done? I mean we are seeing more and more of this, the Iraqi people since the invasion by the United States has been now going through more than a decade of turmoil. What needs to happen in order to actually not only defeat the terrorists but many would say there is a need to actually make sure that the United States is totally out of Iraq?

Jones: Well, the really devastating long-term effect of the United States aggression there was the destruction of a strong government and I think that is the key to the problem here.

What you have here is a weak government and when you have a weak government then there are people who want to establish their own militias as a way of defending themselves, I can understand that, but the real problem is the weak government. You have to strengthen the government so that the government can finish the job and finish off ISIS or Daesh and eliminate the problem.

This is just a tactic to return the battle to Iraq and divert everyone from the real problem. The real problem is the weak central government.

Press TV: Do you see your government involved in weakening that central government or not?

Jones: The United States government destroyed Iraq. Yes, they destroyed Iraq and now we are looking at the aftermath of that destruction. So what they are going to have to do is rebuild the government, strengthen the government.

The energy that the Shia would put into their own militia should be accommodated by the government and should be incorporated into the government to strengthen the government rather than going on their own.

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