Tikrit.
This Iraqi town is now the on the front line of the battle against the Islamic State, but the United States is on the sidelines while Iran takes the lead for control of the lands that surround Israel.
Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, who has helped coordinate Baghdad’s counter-attacks against Islamic State since it seized much of northern Iraq in June, was overseeing at least part of the operation, witnesses told Reuters.
Soleimani and the Iraqi forces are being supported by a ragtag militia made up of Shiite militias, Sunni tribes, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and Iranian advisers. The push began on Monday against the Islamic state.
Battles were reported in the suburb of al-Dour, the western al-Zuhur district, the northern area of Qadisiya, and near the Teaching Hospital in the south. There are reportedly close to 30,000 fighters involved in the battle for Tikrit, with an estimated 15,000 from the Iraqi security forces.
Even after a paltry 2,000 airstrikes made by the United States, it appears that the Americans are sitting this one out. This reveals that the United States under the so-called leadership of President Barack Hussein Obama is intending to have less leadership and influence in the region. It even supports the belief many have that Mr. Obama is supportive of Iran’s vision of the world in general and the Middle East in particular.
That the Iraqis planned to retake Tikrit was well known, as thousands of troops and Shiite militia members had gathered in the nearby city of Samarra to prepare for the offensive. But a U.S. official described “a little bit of surprise” at the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command that the operation was launched Monday and said there is little question that it is being influenced by Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders.
Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, was directing operations on the eastern flank from a village about 55 km (35 miles) from Tikrit called Albu Rayash, captured from Islamic State two days ago.
Suleimani’s leadership and the Shiite militias’ outsized role in taking back Saddam Hussein’s hometown, a Sunni stronghold, has some U.S. officials worried.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said that Iran clearly has a “big interest in the outcome of things in Iraq.” Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, he predicted Tehran will continue to exert influence over Shiite militias in Iraq to target the Islamic State.
What believers should be concerned with is the overall big picture. The speech given by Prime Minister Netanyahu warned of the dangers of trusting Iran. We do not know if the Islamic State or Iran or some other entity will rise up to be the home government of the anti-Christ.
We just don’t.
We can, however, know what countries or governments are controlled by the spirit of anti-Christ. Believers must be in prayer about the influence we can still have around the world in combating evil.
