The Daily Beast and others are reporting that the United State is “preparing to expand its air strike campaign into the city of Tikrit” to help Iranian-backed militias retake the city from ISIS control:
Uh… the U.S. and Iranian campaigns against ISIS appear ready to merge to become one http://t.co/nJD4wB7j7V pic.twitter.com/7414h8gfW7
— Tim Mak (@timkmak) March 25, 2015
U.S. reportedly mulling anti-ISIS airstrikes alongside Iran: http://t.co/TmjJYXOkzC pic.twitter.com/oCriatcWWX
— The Hill (@thehill) March 25, 2015
U.S. joins Iraqi offensive against ISIS in Tikrit: http://t.co/wG4gZ7CTeW pic.twitter.com/JmuZ4yTNTg
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 24, 2015
U.S. Aircraft May Soon Join Iraq’s Battle Against ISIS in Tikrit http://t.co/x349mbwAFL
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) March 25, 2015
If this sounds scary, it should. Just a few days ago former CIA head General David Petraeus said it’s these Iranian militias that are the bigger threat to Iraq:
David Petraeus unloads on Iran in WaPost interview: Shiite militias, not ISIS are the bigger threat http://t.co/FOPC6xCFWF
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) March 20, 2015
The White House admitted last week that Petraeus is indeed consulting for the Obama administration on Iraq:
“He is, I think, legitimately regarded as an expert, when it comes to the security situation in Iraq,” Earnest said. “So I think it makes a lot of sense for senior administration officials to, on occasion, consult him for advice.”
But is the White House listening?
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Editor’s note: We have corrected the spelling of “Petraeus” in the headline and regret the error.
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David Petraeus unloads on Iran in WaPost interview: Shiite militias, not ISIS are the bigger threat