US seeking a protracted war on Daesh in Iraq: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Mike Harris, editor of the Veterans Today from Oregon, about the importance of the Iraqi army's advances in Fallujah.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How important is the battle for Fallujah in the war against Daesh?

Harris: Well, it's extremely important and I want to point one thing out that every viewer and listener should be aware of. The more that the Iraqi army disconnects itself from any affiliation with US intelligence or US military cooperation, the more successful they're going to be.

Press TV: It's interesting you say that, because we actually have our own correspondent over there that said that before the Iraqi army was actually ready to go into Mosul or into Fallujah, US forces were pressuring them into doing so before they had enough intelligence in hand to make the civilians there safe, to make the operation safe. It's really interesting you made that point.

Harris: Well, it's pretty obvious that the US does not want the Iraqi army to win; that the US wants a protracted war. They want a protracted terrorist outfit there. And the thing to look at with these terrorist groups - Daesh, ISIL, etc both in Syria and in Iraq - is that where they’re getting. These are not under-funded groups; they're adequately funded, they're well-funded, they're well armed, they've got plenty of food, they've got plenty of supplies, they have a logistics supply chain that is outstanding. Where is all this coming from and who is providing this to them? So, these are the questions that have to be asked. And if you want to crush ISIS, want to crush Daesh, crush the supply chain and crush the people who are providing the material support.

Press TV: Right, and the army has been able to open - we just mentioned - a corridor to get residents out, but the Takfiri group still holds thousands as hostages. How does that complicate the Iraqi army’s campaign?

Harris: Well, it makes it much tougher because you don't want to have a civilian cost, you don't want to have collateral damage here. This is something that the Takfiris count on. They intentionally set these things up to be able to use civilians as human shields in order to mitigate their losses and to hinder any efforts to extricate them from the area. So, this is hard math, this is real people's fighting and dying. That these are innocent people who are being slaughtered, being killed and being sacrificed to protect a terrorist group. And again I go back, the jihadis in the field here - these are the pawns, these are the little guys, these are not the guys who have caused this.

The impetus of this comes from a higher source. Who is providing the material support? Who is providing the money? The trail really leads straight to Saudi Arabia, it leads to Israel, it leads to the US. I mean how many supply drops has the US misplaced and given right into ISIS and Daesh? Twenty, thirty, fifty, hundred? Many many many of these drops have been intentionally coordinated to land in the hands of the terrorists. This terrorist war is not what it seems to be. It is something entirely different. There are hidden hands playing here and those are the people that need to be routed out; those are the people that need to be brought to justice.

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