British captive John Cantlie appeared in a video from the Islamic State (IS)-linked 'Amaq News Agency, mocking U.S. airstrikes on IS media kiosks in Mosul. The 3 minute, 36 second video, which ends abruptly and seems incomplete, was posted on the group's blog and Telegram channel on March 18, 2016. Cantlie lasted appeared in an IS video in February 2015, giving a tour inside cities in Syria’s Aleppo governorate, reporting from a bomb-attacked market, a school, and a Shariah Court, and interviewing two fighters. In the latest video, Cantlie, dressed in black, stands in front of a destroyed media kiosk and questioned why the U.S. would waste its capabilities on a structure that "cost about $50 to build". He added:
And such attacks speak of the complete failed strategy of the U.S. air campaign if this is all they can target. And the dangers this pose to civilians of Mosul are enormous. These kiosks are in the heart of the ancient city; they are located in some of the busiest residential and shopping districts, like this one. And yet, some intelligence chief in the Pentagon decided that this pile of twisted metal, which is about 10 feet x 15 feet, was a valid and worthwhile military target, regardless of the danger to civilian life.
The video is available here:
Following is a transcript of the video:
[Introduction]
John Cantlie Talks about the American Airstrikes on Media Kiosks in Mosul City
19/03/2016
[Cantlie]
Hello, I'm John Cantle, and today we're in Mosul in Iraq. As the war between the Islamic State and the U.S.-led coalition continues, the Americans have launched a surprising tactics against the mujahideen. Using their $30 million F-18s and hundred thousand dollars missile systems, they have begun targeting not tanks, not trucks, not even the mujahideen, but Islamic State media kiosks. This used to be one such media kiosk targeted and destroyed the other on this busy high street. The kiosks are used to distribute pamphlets and information regarding the Islamic State and serve to expose some of the lies and propaganda the Western media continues to peddle in their never-ending mission to tarnish the reputation of the Islamic State.
There's not much to look at, because it cost about $50 to build, and now it's been flattened by the collective might of the American war machine. And one has to ask one's self: why bother? Is it ruse by the CIA to somehow undermine the Islamic State's message to the Muslims of Mosul and therefore somehow diminish their control of the city? Is it perhaps to strike fear into the hearts of the mujahideen, thereby abandoning any ideas to build another dozen kiosks to replace this one? No. It's because the Americans are so bankrupt of intelligence that this is all they have to target.
And such attacks speak of the complete failed strategy of the U.S. air campaign if this is all they can target. And the dangers this pose to civilians of Mosul are enormous. These kiosks are in the heart of the ancient city; they are located in some of the busiest residential and shopping districts, like this one. And yet, some intelligence chief in the Pentagon decided that this pile of twisted metal, which is about 10 feet x 15 feet, was a valid and worthwhile military target, regardless of the danger to civilian life.
The U.S. is desperate for any success in their air campaign that continues in the skies over the Caliphate. And here it is, after 20 months and $5 billion, America has successively destroyed an Islamic State media kiosks. If this is what Obama meant when he talked about degrading and ultimately destroying ISIS, it's clear he's got a long way to go yet.
You know, it's really just amazing given the amount of money America is spending on this war, that they would go to the effort of destroying a small shack like this, in the middle of Mosul, and putting all the people that live here in huge danger. This is all a residential area, these are all houses over there, shops here, a lot of them, the noise you can hear in the background is them having to fix the damage of the bomb strike here the other day.
Such attacks prove the failed strategy of the American air campaign if this is all they can target, and the risks to Mosul's population are enormous. These kiosks are in the heart of the ancient city. They are located in some of the busiest residential and shopping areas like this one...