Rod Reuven Dovid Bryant and Jerry Gordon interview noted investigative journalist, veteran Iran watcher and author of “ISS Begins” and other acclaimed books and articles, Kenneth R. Timmerman. We discuss the real story behind the controversy created by President Trump’s withdrawal order in the wake of a recent White House meeting with Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham. The objectives of US strategy remain the defeat of ISIS, protection of Kurdish allies and thwarting Iran’s completion of a Shi’ite land bridge to the Mediterranean that threatens allies Israel and Jordan. Why the real objective of the President’s first trip to visit US troops at al-Asad airbase in western Iraq was to learn first hand from Central Command and Special Ops Commanders on the ground what the threats are and how the US is prepared to deal with them. Why Islamist President Erdogan of Turkey may have bitten off more than he can chew with commitments to fight both US Kurdish allies in Syria and ISIS? Why US National Security Adviser Ambassador John Bolton’s trip in January to Ankara and Jerusalem may put a stop to Erdogan’s moves in Syria, while providing assurances to Syrian Kurds they can retain US-supplied weapons and logistics. We discuss why a number of senior former IDF military commanders and security analysts believe President Trump’s Syrian withdrawal order may provide a silver lining to secure US support for Golan Sovereignty, stop any prospective withdrawals from the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria and make the case for US recognizing failures of UNIFIL and Lebanon Armed Forces to rein in Hezbollah from building cross border attack tunnels. Timmerman reveals how Yazidis and Christians on the Plains of Nineveh in Iraq need US support to reclaim their communities after defeat of ISIS. These ancient religious communities face the existential threat of Iran-backed Iraqi Shabak Shi’ite militias seeking to force them to flee.
