Valuetainment - Episode 436： American Spy From Iraq Opens Up

00:00:00.000 This is Patrick, good to be your host of Valuetainment.

00:00:24.000 Today I'm sitting down with an American spy from Iraq who was a sergeant major.

00:00:29.080 He was a 19-year-old sergeant major who opens up about what it was like to work with them

00:00:34.980 and how he became someone that started leaking information to the U.S. military.

00:00:40.600 Hamoudi, thank you so much for coming on.

00:00:41.960 Thank you very much for having me.

00:00:43.300 So before we go into your story, I mean, a lot of the things you're seeing right now with the news,

00:00:48.080 you're seeing Ghassam Soleimani, you're seeing Iran, you're seeing World War III, you've seen all this stuff.

00:00:52.640 How are you processing all this information for somebody that's been there before?

00:00:55.920 It's kind of surprising, you know, especially the killing of Ghassam Soleimani, you know.

00:01:00.780 But I think many people don't realize that what Ghassam Soleimani's role is in that war in Iraq.

00:01:05.740 I mean, my days goes back all the way down back to 2006, 2005 when Soleimani was just establishing his little militias in Iraq

00:01:14.560 and was going around Iraq communicating with Al-Qaeda and anybody that was fighting against the United States during that period.

00:01:20.780 So it's kind of surprising, actually, to see finally that we put an end to Soleimani's efforts in the Middle East

00:01:27.180 because Soleimani wasn't just really any Iranian general.

00:01:31.880 He was basically the smartest person in the Iranian regime.

00:01:35.100 And Soleimani had figured out the keys to the Iraqi government,

00:01:39.320 which is something that the American government did not know how to contain or control

00:01:43.760 because Soleimani have controlled the Iraqi government with a fist for the last 15 years probably.

00:01:49.460 And have you ever had a chance to see him? Have you ever been around him?

00:01:53.540 I have witnessed the movement of Soleimani about 20 feet when I was working as an undercover intelligent asset for the U.S. intelligence.

00:02:00.860 He started to move comfortably in Iraq as much as the U.S. troops started taking their hands away from Iraq.

00:02:07.120 As you know, the Iraqi government was completely, majority of it was appointed by Iran.

00:02:11.960 And the person that would choose these individuals or vet them or put them through the process to become in a certain position was Soleimani himself.

00:02:20.240 Majority of the people in Iraq that were put into power were chosen by those in Iran.

00:02:26.100 Absolutely. Soleimani would actually be the one to select them.

00:02:30.460 And they would never get the position if Soleimani won't prove.

00:02:33.040 So the media is painting us two different Soleimani's.

00:02:37.320 I want to know from you who haven't been there yourself.

00:02:39.300 One side is, you know, Iran loved him, 82% approval rating, all this stuff they keep hearing about.

00:02:45.660 You know, people mourned, thousands of people showed up to his funeral.

00:02:49.020 That's one side, right?

00:02:50.100 The other side is a brilliant strategist killing Iranians, killing Iraqis, killing U.S. soldiers, you know, vicious terrorists, Kurds, doesn't matter what it is.

00:03:00.680 Anybody that's in his way, he's going through them.

00:03:02.980 How do you view him yourself from experience?

00:03:05.660 I think he's been the perfect tool for the Ayatollah since the 80s in putting down protests and taking care of all the enemies of the Ayatollah or the enemies in Iraq or Syria or any other countries.

00:03:18.300 He, you can never underestimate the intelligence of Soleimani.

00:03:26.360 Soleimani has controlled Iraq.

00:03:29.780 He called all the shots.

00:03:31.500 And I think that Soleimani was a competitor for us as U.S. government, as U.S. military, U.S. intelligence.

00:03:39.760 He was one of our main competitors until about 2012 when we pulled the troops.

00:03:44.080 He became actually the main person to dominate Iraq.

00:03:47.560 So what do you think about our move to pull the troops in 2012, good move or bad move?

00:03:51.620 A terrible move.

00:03:52.580 Tell me why.

00:03:53.540 A terrible move because once we pulled the troops out of Iraq, it gave Iran the full power to actually finally have their control of Iraq and the Iraqi government itself.

00:04:03.940 You have an example, the person that died with Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was actually not allowed to be in the Iraqi government at all until about 2012 when we pulled the troops.

00:04:12.600 So if we wouldn't have, let's just say we don't.

00:04:17.040 It's 2012, we don't pull the troops.

00:04:18.720 We stay there.

00:04:19.580 What changes?

00:04:20.380 What would have been different today?

00:04:21.320 None of the key figures in the Iraqi government, none of the faces that went towards fame, we would have been as active as they were in the last few years.

00:04:32.200 I think that pulling the troops, it gave them an opportunity to be part of the Iraqi government.

00:04:37.560 Most of them were wanted by the U.S. government.

00:04:39.560 Some of them were people that fought against the U.S. military.

00:04:42.640 And they would not have found the chance to be in a position like that.

00:04:46.240 They used to compete for that power.

00:04:47.880 Once we pulled the troops, it became an open land for them, and they took control completely of the Iraqi government, perhaps because they're the only armed group within the Iraqi government.

00:04:59.300 And they started controlling the Iraqi government one branch after the other, including the army itself.

00:05:04.960 Now, 2012 was Barack Obama as the U.S. president versus now we have Trump.

00:05:09.460 You're in it.

00:05:10.700 There's a big difference between me saying, here's what's going on in the streets of, you know, Baltimore or Chicago or Iran, Tehran, whatever it is, versus you're actually in there yourself, seeing the decisions being made from the top of the president.

00:05:23.480 What is the biggest difference between the way decisions were made with Barack Obama versus the way the decisions being made right now with Trump?

00:05:29.740 I think the media would portray them differently to the American people.

00:05:35.400 But what I see differently is that President Obama made a huge mistake by pulling the troops the way they did.

00:05:41.840 The troops should never have been pulled the way they were.

00:05:45.580 If we planned a pullout for the troops, we should have planned it in stages, and we should have not left the Iraqis alone.

00:05:53.500 It's almost like handing you a house without a roof.

00:05:56.220 And that's what really happened in Iraq.

00:05:58.320 We had so many projects, so many things that the U.S. military and the Iraqi military and the Iraqi government were working on together.

00:06:05.440 And all of a sudden, we just disappeared and decided to leave.

00:06:08.580 And people like Khalil Amri, Al-Mohandis had a great opportunity to come back.

00:06:15.180 But, you know, sometimes voters will get out there and they'll say, what a noble thing to do to pull troops out.

00:06:20.980 We got to get out of there.

00:06:21.880 Let them figure it out.

00:06:23.080 Because there's two sides to it, right?

00:06:24.440 One side is like, why are we getting involved with everybody's problems?

00:06:27.660 Why should we get involved with everybody's problems?

00:06:29.780 And then there's another side saying, we got to get involved because there's business dealings, human rights, etc., etc.

00:06:35.900 What are your thoughts on both arguments being made?

00:06:38.280 I think Iraq fell a victim because of the competition here between Republican and Democrat.

00:06:43.720 And I think none of them have really looked at the big picture to realize that pulling out the troops would have caused more damage.

00:06:49.220 And you have an example of what happened in Iraq after the troops pulled out.

00:06:51.960 ISIS had the biggest comeback.

00:06:54.620 Perhaps most of the ISIS fighters that you face in Iraq escaped out of prison after the troops pulled out of Iraq.

00:07:00.640 45 days exactly after the troops pulled out of Iraq, over 600 al-Qaeda members escaped out of the Abu Ghraib prison.

00:07:07.540 So this was a comeback for everybody, not just for al-Muhandis, al-Ameri, and Soleimani to have even stronger grip in Iraq.

00:07:14.920 It was a comeback for ISIS and the extremists as well.

00:07:19.500 So it left Iraq open.

00:07:21.980 And Iraq became an easy place for anybody to do whatever they want.

00:07:27.940 Do you think Barack Obama and his administration, when they're making a decision like that, don't you, like we would assume, they have all the intel to know that if we make this decision, here's what could potentially happen.

00:07:37.540 Do you think they know that and then they did it?

00:07:39.760 Or do you think they didn't know that and then they made the decision?

00:07:42.340 It all depends on the advisors that have.

00:07:44.200 You know, I'm expecting as a president of the United States, you should have advisors that evaluate the situation away from the political views.

00:07:51.760 And that's the problem we've been having in America.

00:07:53.980 We should not be evaluating things based on political views.

00:07:58.980 And I think that they knew the consequences, but they were looking to convince the American people and have a win here in the U.S. by pulling the troops.

00:08:07.280 But in Iraq, we didn't win.

00:08:09.860 Many lives were taken.

00:08:11.120 And many Yazidi children were taken as sex slaves.

00:08:14.560 It caused a disaster.

00:08:15.900 Mosul fell under the hands of ISIS.

00:08:19.320 And that's not only to blame it on the Obama administration, also to blame it on the key figures that took over after the pullout of the troops.

00:08:26.480 I mean, al-Maliki, back then, the prime minister of Iraq, he had a part to it.

00:08:31.900 All the corruption that was happening was also part of what's happening.

00:08:35.220 But I believe once the troops pulled out, corruption became at full capacity in Iraq.

00:08:41.120 It went to 100 percent.

00:08:42.540 Full capacity in Iraq?

00:08:43.560 Yeah, absolutely.

00:08:44.280 Worse than Saddam?

00:08:45.580 Oh, absolutely.

00:08:47.040 Okay.

00:08:47.440 Absolutely.

00:08:47.980 I mean, if you think about Saddam, before Saddam was to, if someone, did any of Saddam ministers would dare to steal something during Saddam?

00:08:57.360 Nobody.

00:08:57.880 But all of a sudden, you'll have a country with so many Saddams, and every single one of them is stealing the country in his own way.

00:09:06.020 So the country just went to a chaos.

00:09:08.560 Everybody was stealing.

00:09:09.900 The army, the ministry of oil, everybody was stealing, whatever they are.

00:09:13.560 And, you know, things were getting divided based on the religious background in the Iraqi government.

00:09:17.280 It was not who is qualified in the Iraqi government.

00:09:20.240 It was which political party, which Islamic group that you represent, so you take this ministry, and you steal the hell out of it.

00:09:27.200 That's how it was.

00:09:28.520 So things, are you saying things were smoother in Iraq when Saddam was in the...

00:09:32.640 I wouldn't say, like, you know, things were smoother.

00:09:34.780 Saddam was the only bad guy.

00:09:36.740 Look at it this way.

00:09:37.500 And then all of a sudden, you had all the bad guys that competed against Saddam to take power from Saddam.

00:09:43.680 Because the people who actually came and took part of the Iraqi government of Saddam after Saddam had fell out,

00:09:49.460 it was the people that didn't like Saddam who were living in Iran under the protection of the Ayatollah

00:09:54.500 and mostly were members of the battle corps.

00:09:57.680 And they're not any better.

00:09:58.640 They're just as bad as Saddam Hussein.

00:10:00.460 How worse can things get right now, the way it's going?

00:10:03.260 I think the way it's been going, before the killing of Qasem Soleimani,

00:10:11.940 we expected them to kill every single protester in Iraq, and they would not leave that place.

00:10:18.180 And that's what I always said.

00:10:19.420 They would kill every single Iraqi, and they're ready to do that, before they leave power.

00:10:25.060 Even though...

00:10:25.580 Pre-Soleimani.

00:10:26.300 Pre-Soleimani.

00:10:26.900 Pre-Soleimani.

00:10:28.280 But killing of the Qasem Soleimani has really left Iran in shock right now.

00:10:33.360 The relationships that Soleimani held in Iraq, him and al-Mohendis,

00:10:36.960 were basically the two key figures that held the whole entire Iraqi government.

00:10:42.140 So now Iran has to come back and establish all these.

00:10:45.260 So Iraq right now is under a golden opportunity to actually free itself from the Iranian influence.

00:10:51.040 Do you think they'll do it?

00:10:53.080 I mean, if you have millions of people protesting, and they've been getting shot in the head,

00:10:58.020 you know, hundreds of Iraqis, as you know, has been getting killed,

00:11:00.440 protesting peacefully for their country against the Ayatollah influence in Iraq,

00:11:06.660 and they're still out there protesting as we speak.

00:11:09.820 I think this is a generation that is very different, that did not live under the Saddam regime,

00:11:16.060 is not afraid of anything, they are facing it the way they are.

00:11:20.800 And I think that these are the future for us.

00:11:23.340 But I don't think they will leave peacefully.

00:11:27.220 I don't think they will at that level.

00:11:28.080 You don't think they're going to leave peacefully?

00:11:29.820 No, I don't.

00:11:30.820 Okay, so how much of this, Hamoudi, is the relationship of Saudi Arabia trying to protect their interests

00:11:40.120 with the oil, the second largest reserves in the world,

00:11:43.940 and then they used Iraq as a wall, as a cushion between themselves and Iran,

00:11:49.340 because Iran and Saudi have problems.

00:11:50.880 They do a lot of proxy wars between the two of them.

00:11:53.240 How much of this has to do with oil?

00:11:56.220 How much of it is religion?

00:11:57.420 How much of it is nuclear?

00:11:58.420 How much of it is power?

00:11:59.340 And how much of it is politics?

00:12:00.820 I think, honestly, it has a lot of it to do with politics,

00:12:06.960 it has a lot of things to do with power, and also oil at the same time.

00:12:11.280 Because you have to know that Iran has been under sections recently,

00:12:14.740 but they've been doing a lot of their financing in Iraq behind the table.

00:12:20.100 They've been acquitting a lot of their products.

00:12:23.120 Iran basically uses Iraq as a backyard to take care of their finances.

00:12:28.860 Meaning what?

00:12:29.540 Meaning what?

00:12:30.520 Controlling literally the whole entire Iraqi economy.

00:12:33.700 They're under their control.

00:12:35.260 But is that enough for them to survive?

00:12:37.220 Not enough maybe, but they can use it to kind of lower the pressure of the sections on them.

00:12:43.500 Do you have intel?

00:12:44.400 I mean, you're big on intel.

00:12:45.680 Obviously, we'll talk about your story here.

00:12:47.460 But do you have intel to know what is Iran's ultimate motive?

00:12:53.200 What is it?

00:12:54.180 What are they trying to do?

00:12:56.100 What are they trying to get through?

00:12:57.880 What is their motivation of wanting to get closer to Saudi?

00:13:01.100 Is there anything there?

00:13:02.380 Who are they trying to retaliate to?

00:13:04.540 What is their motive?

00:13:05.520 I think the ideology of the Ayatollah is to have the revolution of Iran from the sea to the river.

00:13:13.980 They want to control the whole Middle East.

00:13:15.900 And that's how it's been for us.

00:13:17.860 Iranian influence has been going all over Iraq.

00:13:19.960 It's been going to Syria.

00:13:21.040 It's going to go into Yemen.

00:13:22.240 And they want to have control.

00:13:23.760 They want to have a representative in every country.

00:13:25.760 In Lebanon, they're everywhere.

00:13:26.660 And I think they want to have that grip over the whole entire Middle East.

00:13:30.620 So I believe it is more over power than it is over everything else.

00:13:35.480 You think it's more power and control over anything else?

00:13:37.880 Absolutely.

00:13:38.560 So not religion, because a lot of times people think Sunnis and Shias don't get along.

00:13:41.760 They actually have a lot of things in common.

00:13:43.080 It's just a couple of things that they defer.

00:13:44.980 Abu Bakr and Ali.

00:13:46.180 It's not a big difference between the two of them.

00:13:48.180 So oil, you're saying it is a little bit of oil, but it's not a lot of oil.

00:13:52.840 Nuclear, Iran doesn't have any nuclear.

00:13:54.840 They may do some stuff.

00:13:55.720 I know you had some dealing yourself with uranium, that you had an issue going on with that.

00:14:00.100 So power and control.

00:14:01.540 Okay.

00:14:02.120 So you get hired to be a consultant.

00:14:05.880 You're in a room with 10 other folks who have intel, decision makers who know a lot about Middle East.

00:14:12.640 Is there ever going to be a time where there will be peace in the Middle East?

00:14:18.060 If yes, how?

00:14:19.700 If no, why?

00:14:22.760 Yes will be if we get rid of Ayatollah and his government.

00:14:26.660 Because as you see the Iranian people, they've been protesting for years trying to have a voice.

00:14:34.040 But they've been getting killed just like how the Iraqis were getting shot in the head.

00:14:38.060 I believe that everybody's been minding their own business, like even the Saudis.

00:14:42.920 Look, the Saudis had some influence in Iraq in their own way, but not to an extent to actually cause you harm.

00:14:50.560 Not to an extent to control you as a country under their wing.

00:14:53.800 But Iran has been trying to control Iraq under their wing for the last, since 2003, literally.

00:14:59.820 So we will have peace if the Ayatollah goes away.

00:15:03.880 Because the Ayatollah's only goal is to control the Middle East with his fist.

00:15:09.380 Is that possible for that to happen?

00:15:12.580 You're talking about a coup or a revolution or a regime collapse.

00:15:14.980 That's what you're talking about.

00:15:16.460 Yeah.

00:15:16.740 Is that possible for that to happen?

00:15:18.040 I think it's impossible for the Iranian people because if they don't have the right backup, they can never do that.

00:15:27.080 As you know, back in 2012 when the Iranians had a protest and what happened to all the protesters that went out and protested against Ahmadinejad back then, they all got put in prison.

00:15:36.620 Because they specialize in how to put a protest away, how to come protest.

00:15:41.200 How to put a protest away.

00:15:42.720 Away.

00:15:42.860 They, the Ayatollah.

00:15:43.940 They're experts.

00:15:44.700 Yeah.

00:15:45.120 And you know, Soleimani was actually the perfect expert.

00:15:48.460 What is the formula?

00:15:49.580 I think the formula is to do certain things that would get your focus away from what you're trying to talk about or ask.

00:15:59.680 And the reason why Soleimani came to Baghdad, because this was a major issue for the Ayatollah.

00:16:07.200 I think that the Ayatollah does not care less if Sunni Iraqis goes out protesting against him.

00:16:15.300 But it terrifies the Ayatollah if Shiite Iraqis goes out protesting against him.

00:16:21.060 Has that started yet or no?

00:16:22.320 Of course.

00:16:23.120 The majority of the protesters that went out to protest were Shiite.

00:16:27.420 Wow.

00:16:27.940 So that terrified them.

00:16:30.500 And that's why they sent Soleimani.

00:16:32.560 And Abu Medel Mohandas, Khalil Amri were shooting people in the head with a sniper.

00:16:39.760 They used all kinds of things against protesters.

00:16:42.620 And the protesters demanded they would not leave their position.

00:16:46.140 So it went out of hand.

00:16:47.740 And Soleimani has established a room in Baghdad into how they can distract the protesters.

00:16:55.000 And the goal was to actually to drag the Iraqi people and the protesters in a confrontation with the American people or with the American government or with the American military.

00:17:06.560 But the protesters were smart enough because the power of the Internet, the power of social media, you have a generation that's completely educated, that is not blind, that don't watch just a couple channels like we used to do in Saddam and with Iran.

00:17:19.920 That's right.

00:17:20.340 And they're very open-minded and they understand politically every single move Soleimani was initiating in Iraq.

00:17:26.360 Perhaps when they attacked the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, the protesters were only about a mile and a half away.

00:17:31.680 But not one protester entered the green zone towards the U.S. Embassy because they knew that would be a trap.

00:17:37.280 Because the goal was to make it look like the Iraqi people attacked the U.S. Embassy.

00:17:41.040 But it wasn't the Iraqi people.

00:17:43.140 These were the Iranian-paid militias.

00:17:45.440 So there are so many goals to drag Iraq in a confrontation with America.

00:17:50.780 But people of Iraq, they're waking up.

00:17:54.540 They don't want any trouble with America anymore.

00:17:56.860 They just want the Iranian influence to go away.

00:17:58.620 And if that goes away, you think things will settle down in the Middle East?

00:18:03.140 Absolutely.

00:18:04.060 In a big way?

00:18:04.900 Absolutely.

00:18:06.220 So somebody's watching this and they are thinking about, okay, what would be the method to a coup?

00:18:11.660 I mean, obviously, you know the Iranian revolution, how it took place in 78, 79.

00:18:15.480 The approach they use, spreading tapes and giving tapes to each other.

00:18:18.860 Yeah.

00:18:19.200 And recording Khomeini's tapes and listening to what he's saying.

00:18:21.800 Listen to what he's saying.

00:18:22.440 The Shah's got all this money.

00:18:23.860 What would be the approach today?

00:18:25.240 I think people have seen everything about the Ayatollah.

00:18:29.580 The truth is already out there.

00:18:32.380 The approach, I think, is to have, to control Iran moves in the Middle East.

00:18:40.500 If we go to negotiation with Iran, we need to make sure Iran does not put its hand in any other country.

00:18:46.940 And if that happens, I think if they leave Iraq alone, Iraq will get someone on its own, no problem.

00:18:52.240 The only reason we couldn't get up on our own is because of the Ayatollah government.

00:18:56.160 So if they were to do it today, you know, I've talked to a lot of family in the Middle East and what their fears are.

00:19:02.320 Parents especially.

00:19:03.600 Parents don't mind with their lives.

00:19:05.160 You know, they're saying, I'm 55 years old, whatever.

00:19:07.580 But the kids, in order for a revolution to happen, you know it's going to happen with students.

00:19:11.840 It's going to happen with kids.

00:19:13.060 Younger generations.

00:19:13.880 Younger generations.

00:19:14.540 It's always been the case.

00:19:15.420 Green movement, it's always been the younger.

00:19:16.600 It's what we have in Iraq right now.

00:19:17.540 Exactly.

00:19:18.260 It's always a younger movement, right?

00:19:19.560 But for that to happen, it's going to cost a lot of lives.

00:19:24.280 It's not going to be, they're not going to do it and it's going to be peaceful.

00:19:26.860 It's not going to be 500 lives.

00:19:28.600 It's not going to be 1,000 lives.

00:19:29.900 You know that part.

00:19:30.880 Yeah.

00:19:31.780 How do you describe that to somebody to say, if you want democracy, you've got to go through it?

00:19:35.500 Or is it part of the recipe where it's going to be painful for a period?

00:19:39.220 It's nothing comes for free.

00:19:41.480 I've been telling my fellow Iraqis that if you think you're going to get it peacefully because they've been protesting peacefully, it's not going to happen.

00:19:51.060 They're armed.

00:19:51.860 They have weapons.

00:19:53.160 They have organized militias, organized army.

00:19:56.240 They control the leadership of the whole entire country of Iraq, like the leadership of the Iraqi military as well right now.

00:20:01.940 It's not going to work unless blood is going to be shed because they're not going to leave, they're not going to leave peacefully.

00:20:09.560 And they have tried, the Iranian influence in Iraq have tried all its cards right now.

00:20:16.380 They have ran through all of it.

00:20:17.780 They called the protestant at Bathurst, which is Saddam Hussein, political party, Bathurst.

00:20:21.680 But you can't call somebody who's a 20-year-old a Bathurst who actually was born right after Saddam had gone away.

00:20:28.060 They don't know what the Bath party is.

00:20:29.720 So they've been accusing them with all kinds of names, all kinds of accusations, but they ran out of it.

00:20:36.220 Now, they have accused them of being agents of the United States.

00:20:39.400 They have accused them of being spies.

00:20:41.140 Who believes it?

00:20:41.940 Are the Iranian people believing that?

00:20:43.720 I don't think the Iranian people believe in that.

00:20:45.540 I think the Iranian people are pretty smart and they know exactly what the Iraqi people want.

00:20:53.760 Our problem as Iraqis is not with the Iranian people.

00:20:57.020 Our problem is with the Iranian government.

00:21:00.000 And that's the difference.

00:21:00.600 Our problem with the ideology of Ayatollah.

00:21:02.780 I think Iran would be a beautiful country if the Ayatollah wasn't in it.

00:21:06.760 Let me ask you a question.

00:21:07.600 Would you see 82% support that Ghassam Soleimani had when he passed away, the Iranian?

00:21:12.740 And then, you know, well, a lot of people are afraid of voting for the guy similar to what Trump is,

00:21:16.540 that a lot of Trump voters will never publicly say, I'm a Trump supporter, you know,

00:21:19.780 and then they go vote and they don't talk about it because they're worried about politics within work.

00:21:23.960 How much of Iranians, out of their 80-something million that they have, their country,

00:21:29.660 how much of their population supports Ayatollah's philosophy, religion, approach of governing a nation?

00:21:37.340 I don't believe the majority of the Iranian people supports that.

00:21:40.220 What's majority, 60%?

00:21:41.360 I believe a lot less than that, that supports the Ayatollah.

00:21:45.340 I'm a huge believer in that.

00:21:46.360 Less than 50% support him.

00:21:48.260 Absolutely.

00:21:48.860 30% supports him?

00:21:50.220 Have a revolution in Iran and you'll find out.

00:21:53.960 Only reason I'm asking this question is because there's a big difference between 50-50.

00:21:57.880 Because 50, and America right now is what?

00:22:00.200 Say 45-45 and 10 in the middle independent libertarians, which they'll go, you know, swing,

00:22:06.460 they'll go this way or the other way, right?

00:22:07.680 But you've got 45-45, Republican, Democrats, right?

00:22:10.480 Yeah.

00:22:11.920 Do you think it is a 50-50 split?

00:22:14.060 Or do you think it's more 30% that support Ayatollah and 70% cannot wait for the regime to fall and collapse?

00:22:19.820 I think 70% cannot wait for the regime to, cannot wait for the regime.

00:22:22.980 Because look what, an example of Saddam Hussein.

00:22:25.100 What did Saddam Hussein convince the people?

00:22:27.040 That the majority of Iraqis want him in power.

00:22:28.840 He expected to fight for six months defending Baghdad.

00:22:32.440 And it took him how long for him to fall down?

00:22:34.560 Three weeks.

00:22:36.460 Because if you tell the people and convince them that everybody support you,

00:22:41.320 people can't suppress their opinions in Iran.

00:22:43.500 You don't know how some of the Iranians feel.

00:22:45.480 I reached to some of the Iranians inside of Tehran on social media,

00:22:49.260 and I asked them, and secretly they would tell me what they feel.

00:22:51.920 But I know when they go to their social media,

00:22:54.440 they're supporting Qasalaimani,

00:22:55.560 they're supporting the Ayatollah of Iran because they're afraid to.

00:22:59.020 And I understand that methodology because I lived under that kind of control.

00:23:03.020 I lived under Saddam Hussein.

00:23:04.380 And God, if you open your mouth during Saddam Hussein, you'll be gone.

00:23:08.260 So I think that way deep inside of the Iranian people's heart

00:23:12.780 is they don't want the Ayatollah.

00:23:14.520 They want their country back.

00:23:16.360 Now, let me give you the other devil's advocate question for you as well.

00:23:19.860 Just curious to know what you'll say about this.

00:23:21.180 You just said, you know, a mistake was made in 2012

00:23:24.740 when Barack Obama pulled the troops,

00:23:26.200 and the next thing you know, it went from one Saddam Hussein

00:23:28.700 to 100 Saddam Husseins being in Iraq, and it's in shambles, right?

00:23:32.160 Okay, ISIS came back up, et cetera, et cetera.

00:23:34.180 Okay, great.

00:23:35.280 Somebody may say, okay, if there's a revolution in Iran,

00:23:38.260 who is the voice?

00:23:40.180 Who replaces it?

00:23:42.360 Who becomes the new leader?

00:23:45.220 At least at that time, there was a candidate, and it was Khomeini.

00:23:49.600 Khomeini is going to come,

00:23:50.520 and he was somebody people can rally behind for them.

00:23:54.800 And against Mossadegh, with the help of CIA, it was the Shah, right?

00:23:58.760 People rallied behind Shah is going to make Iran more westernized

00:24:01.700 and give women more power, et cetera, et cetera.

00:24:04.780 One, don't you need a personality like that for that to happen?

00:24:08.560 Like you need somebody to rally behind.

00:24:10.560 Yeah, who is that person today?

00:24:11.620 I don't think Iran's got somebody like that today.

00:24:13.160 You know, Iran does not have,

00:24:14.600 but I think that's what the Iranian people needs to figure out.

00:24:17.400 Because if you look into the protests in Iraq,

00:24:22.480 they figured this out.

00:24:23.780 They were out protesting for about a month or so,

00:24:27.540 and then they figured out,

00:24:28.500 we can't just keep asking for something

00:24:29.840 that we don't know what we're asking for.

00:24:31.460 We need to appoint a person that we think

00:24:33.800 is the right leader for this country.

00:24:35.860 Who's we?

00:24:36.580 We is who?

00:24:37.260 As Iraqis.

00:24:37.980 So, Iraqis actually have found an Iraqi politician

00:24:42.040 that has not been under the Iranian influence.

00:24:46.660 And this person...

00:24:47.620 Sunni or Shia?

00:24:48.260 He's actually a Shia, but he is not a religious guy.

00:24:51.700 Okay.

00:24:52.120 He is more of a kind of a...

00:24:54.420 He's just like a liberal mentality.

00:24:56.780 Got it.

00:24:57.180 He's not under the Iranian influence.

00:24:58.940 Perhaps he's been speaking against the Iranian influence.

00:25:01.220 And he has a very long history

00:25:06.960 of speaking against the religious figures.

00:25:10.160 The problem with what's ruining Iraq right now

00:25:11.960 is the religious figures in politics.

00:25:15.200 And I think that the Iranian people,

00:25:17.660 they have plenty of figures that are not religious,

00:25:20.500 that wants to help Iran as a country.

00:25:24.440 And I think that if the protesters in Iran figure this out,

00:25:27.780 this could become a possibility.

00:25:29.060 But I don't think the Ayatollah would leave peacefully.

00:25:32.600 That would never happen.

00:25:33.420 And we all know that.

00:25:34.820 Where would he go if he did leave?

00:25:36.720 Like, let's just say, you know, the Shah leaves.

00:25:40.080 Shah goes here.

00:25:41.220 You know, he goes to all these different places

00:25:43.320 where he's welcome.

00:25:44.540 Where does the Ayatollahs go if they leave Iran?

00:25:47.700 He has nowhere to go.

00:25:48.680 That's the point.

00:25:49.240 So, that's what I'm saying is that

00:25:50.380 Ayatollah would never leave peacefully.

00:25:52.100 I think the Ayatollah will fight all the way to the end.

00:25:57.180 And as I said, is they are ready to kill

00:25:59.740 every single citizen of Iran or Iraq or anywhere else

00:26:04.500 before they can leave.

00:26:06.560 I don't think they care.

00:26:07.680 I think they believe in the ideology of the revolution.

00:26:11.140 They believe the religious ideology.

00:26:14.120 And I think they love their ideology

00:26:16.040 more than they love their own people.

00:26:18.160 They love the ideology more than they love their own people.

00:26:20.860 Absolutely. Indeed.

00:26:22.720 I think that's what been...

00:26:25.020 It's a shame.

00:26:25.740 Yeah. That's what had been in Iraq.

00:26:28.000 It's a shame.

00:26:28.740 So, let me ask you.

00:26:29.740 So, now we talk about Barack Obama.

00:26:31.280 Now, let's talk about President Trump.

00:26:33.020 And in the past, you've been critical of President Trump

00:26:35.040 with him putting the, what do you call it,

00:26:37.540 the Muslim ban and what that was like.

00:26:40.240 But what are your thoughts about what he's doing today

00:26:42.420 with the sanctions he put?

00:26:43.740 And what he did in April of 2019 with the IRGC

00:26:48.320 because Soleimani was a part of it

00:26:50.320 and he categorized him as a terrorist, etc.

00:26:52.660 It's a terrorist organization.

00:26:53.820 What do you think about the approaches

00:26:55.160 he and his administration to have taken

00:26:57.040 the last eight and a half months?

00:26:58.580 I think before the election,

00:27:02.000 I wasn't really sure of President Trump.

00:27:04.740 After the election, he has proven to me

00:27:07.460 that everything I wanted to see to happen

00:27:09.260 is specifically in Iraq or the rest of the Middle East

00:27:12.860 specifically is where I am looking at

00:27:15.600 is everything I wanted to do, he did it.

00:27:18.240 And that's the power of asking the right people,

00:27:21.760 talking to military advisors,

00:27:23.360 understanding from people of experience.

00:27:26.200 And I think that's why I gave President Trump a five star

00:27:28.860 because he has proven to me

00:27:30.980 that everything he was doing is for a purpose.

00:27:34.160 And I think that President Trump

00:27:35.840 has been going on the right direction

00:27:38.060 when it comes to the Middle East.

00:27:39.840 And for that, I supported him on the travel ban

00:27:44.000 because there was a reason why.

00:27:46.420 You supported him on the travel ban?

00:27:48.140 I endorsed President Trump officially

00:27:49.980 on the travel ban, actually.

00:27:51.480 Got it. And the reason for it?

00:27:52.860 Because we did have individuals

00:27:54.380 that we battled in Iraq as a terrorist

00:27:56.220 and ended up coming inside of the United States.

00:27:58.520 Some of them went to court here

00:27:59.620 and were arrested by the FBI.

00:28:01.740 And there's a reason that we had to do that

00:28:03.640 because during Obama's time,

00:28:06.860 we canceled some of the background checks

00:28:08.520 they were supposed to do

00:28:09.400 on some of these individuals.

00:28:10.820 You have to know when Al-Qaeda member

00:28:12.380 run away in Iraq,

00:28:14.840 when they're putting an arrest against him

00:28:18.420 and they end up running out of the country,

00:28:19.760 they end up going where?

00:28:21.160 They leave Iraq, goes to either Jordan.

00:28:23.600 They used to go to Syria back in the day.

00:28:25.660 And from there,

00:28:26.760 we started taking refugees off for the UN.

00:28:29.240 And some of them

00:28:31.000 end up coming to this country.

00:28:33.060 That's kind of like

00:28:34.020 very...

00:28:36.680 That's very weak.

00:28:39.520 You know, I think that we need

00:28:41.040 to protect ourselves

00:28:42.040 as a country here

00:28:42.840 because our enemies

00:28:44.340 want to come here.

00:28:45.220 They want to come inside of this country.

00:28:47.320 And some of them

00:28:49.260 that I have known

00:28:50.400 and seen personally

00:28:51.960 end up making it to the U.S.

00:28:53.700 And I couldn't believe my eyes.

00:28:54.920 I couldn't believe what I heard

00:28:55.820 when I found out they were here.

00:28:57.120 So I am not against refugees in a way.

00:29:00.460 But I wanted to say,

00:29:01.780 but I want to make sure

00:29:02.920 we have a very strict process.

00:29:05.000 We can bring fine, good people

00:29:06.800 from the Middle East

00:29:07.660 just like myself.

00:29:09.100 I'm an immigrant myself.

00:29:10.280 Like, came to this country,

00:29:11.660 started all over again.

00:29:13.080 And we need to bring people

00:29:14.320 who would be a great addition

00:29:15.940 to this country.

00:29:17.020 But I'm against people

00:29:18.000 who would come to this country

00:29:19.060 and want to harm it

00:29:20.160 and will make life

00:29:21.160 for people like myself

00:29:22.200 extremely difficult.

00:29:23.400 So you support his decisions he made.

00:29:25.480 You support the sanctions

00:29:26.900 he put.

00:29:27.440 He keeps increasing

00:29:28.140 the sanctions on Iran.

00:29:29.380 He's supporting,

00:29:29.920 he's telling other U.N. nations,

00:29:32.480 hey, tighten your own restrictions

00:29:34.120 with Iran.

00:29:34.680 Don't do business with them.

00:29:36.600 These are all moves

00:29:38.200 being made by somebody

00:29:39.600 who would like to see

00:29:40.580 an internal regime collapsing.

00:29:43.480 This is just a formula.

00:29:44.560 If you look at the formula

00:29:45.360 on how to make a cheesecake,

00:29:46.560 you put that together,

00:29:47.320 boom, you have,

00:29:47.660 this is the recipe

00:29:48.760 on how to create a coup,

00:29:50.640 you know,

00:29:50.980 people against the regime,

00:29:52.480 you know,

00:29:52.880 a revolution.

00:29:53.680 Is that kind of the direction

00:29:56.280 you're seeing that going?

00:29:57.360 Absolutely.

00:29:57.960 Okay, so you're seeing...

00:29:59.620 I think he put a zip tie

00:30:00.920 on the Ayatollah's neck

00:30:02.200 and slowly

00:30:03.400 he is closing that zip tie

00:30:06.780 tighter and tighter and tighter.

00:30:08.600 And as you can see

00:30:09.580 what's been happening in Iran

00:30:10.660 in the last 48 hours,

00:30:12.840 that's an example

00:30:13.920 to show you that

00:30:14.760 this is the way

00:30:16.260 to get the Iranian people

00:30:18.320 to make a move

00:30:19.080 towards the Ayatollah.

00:30:20.040 You know, Venezuela,

00:30:21.580 I have a lot of people

00:30:22.240 in our company

00:30:22.720 that are from Venezuela,

00:30:23.800 okay?

00:30:24.560 And they came here,

00:30:25.180 they love their country,

00:30:25.940 just like Iranians

00:30:26.620 love their country.

00:30:27.360 I'm sure there's

00:30:27.940 somewhere inside

00:30:28.580 that you love Iraq

00:30:30.420 and your family

00:30:31.180 and your two uncles

00:30:32.800 that were killed

00:30:33.340 by Saddam's regime.

00:30:34.560 I mean, listen,

00:30:35.000 there's an emotional connection,

00:30:36.080 affinity to the land

00:30:36.840 that you have, right?

00:30:37.600 Exactly, yeah.

00:30:37.960 But then you got to do

00:30:38.600 what you got to do.

00:30:39.220 You got to move on

00:30:39.800 and go take yourself.

00:30:40.880 You have kids,

00:30:41.360 I have kids.

00:30:41.820 You want to have them

00:30:42.280 be in a safer place.

00:30:45.400 Venezuela has got two regimes.

00:30:48.300 You got Maduro

00:30:48.860 and you got Gaido, right?

00:30:50.020 So today,

00:30:51.040 Gaido is a voice

00:30:52.120 that people can get behind

00:30:53.500 and people can vote

00:30:55.000 and people can rally

00:30:57.100 behind a figure.

00:30:59.440 I don't know

00:31:00.620 if an opportunity

00:31:01.220 like this for Iran

00:31:02.160 is going to come too often,

00:31:03.620 like what they have right now.

00:31:04.780 I mean,

00:31:05.140 it's not like it comes

00:31:06.020 once every three years.

00:31:07.520 I don't think

00:31:07.900 an opportunity like this

00:31:08.700 with the way

00:31:09.120 the sanctions have been put

00:31:10.060 because in order for Iran

00:31:11.000 to have the opportunity

00:31:12.460 for a coup

00:31:13.000 or a revolution

00:31:13.540 or a regime collapse,

00:31:14.860 there has to be sanctions.

00:31:16.040 There has to be pressures.

00:31:16.960 The government has to be tightened.

00:31:18.040 There has to be a lot of fear

00:31:19.780 from the top

00:31:20.540 and U.S. has to create

00:31:22.420 the sanctions.

00:31:22.980 So if another president

00:31:23.700 gets elected

00:31:24.240 and they remove the sanctions,

00:31:25.820 Iran is going to start

00:31:26.460 doing business again

00:31:27.160 around the world

00:31:27.700 with their oil.

00:31:28.640 Exactly.

00:31:29.140 They're not going to be afraid

00:31:29.880 of their people right now.

00:31:31.000 But my worries is

00:31:32.340 Venezuela has a figurehead.

00:31:34.500 Iran doesn't have a figurehead.

00:31:35.900 Exactly.

00:31:36.200 And I would certainly hope

00:31:38.160 if they do want

00:31:38.800 to see something happen,

00:31:40.260 they have to be more urgent

00:31:41.620 than they've ever been

00:31:43.440 to rally behind a personality.

00:31:46.060 I think the Iranian people

00:31:47.660 needs to be extremely careful

00:31:49.200 on any steps

00:31:50.840 they would take right now

00:31:51.940 during their protest

00:31:53.080 against Ayatollah

00:31:53.960 because you need to go back

00:31:55.500 in history

00:31:55.880 and figure out

00:31:56.440 when Musawi

00:31:57.080 and Ahmadinejad

00:31:57.920 were competing

00:31:58.420 against each other,

00:31:59.260 what was the point

00:32:00.140 of that election?

00:32:01.500 What happened

00:32:01.980 to all the Iranian activists

00:32:03.120 that went on

00:32:03.660 and spoke against Ayatollah?

00:32:06.280 Where are they now?

00:32:07.920 They're gone.

00:32:08.560 They're gone, yeah.

00:32:09.360 Because that was an opportunity

00:32:10.320 to actually figure out

00:32:11.440 who are the enemy

00:32:12.680 of Ayatollah.

00:32:13.820 And I think they need

00:32:15.060 to be careful

00:32:15.580 because this is what

00:32:16.840 Ayatollah did in Iraq.

00:32:18.520 And as we speak,

00:32:19.560 just in the last 24 hours,

00:32:21.460 they have assassinated

00:32:22.480 over 10 Iraqi reporters.

00:32:24.500 In the last 24 hours.

00:32:25.460 In the last 24 hours.

00:32:26.560 As we speak,

00:32:27.260 they're assassinating people

00:32:28.240 right now in Iraq

00:32:28.960 because their goal

00:32:29.880 is to find out

00:32:30.880 the activists,

00:32:32.580 the most active voices

00:32:34.080 in these protests

00:32:35.220 get rid of them

00:32:35.980 and once they're gone,

00:32:36.800 these protests

00:32:37.300 become just a loose cannon.

00:32:39.220 And they go away.

00:32:40.320 And that's been the style

00:32:41.400 that Ayatollah has been using.

00:32:42.900 He did it in Iraq

00:32:43.700 and literally,

00:32:45.320 I think the protesters

00:32:46.680 in Iraq

00:32:47.140 don't realize this by now,

00:32:48.580 but most of their

00:32:49.360 important figures

00:32:49.980 who started this protest

00:32:51.060 are gone.

00:32:52.660 They've been buried.

00:32:54.620 And the Iranian people

00:32:55.520 need to be careful

00:32:56.800 and they need to be sure

00:32:58.200 who would they appoint

00:32:59.580 as a figure.

00:33:00.020 That's the part I agree with

00:33:01.420 because you can't get

00:33:02.240 behind the wrong person.

00:33:03.260 You've got to figure out

00:33:03.860 and you cannot move.

00:33:05.320 You've got to be

00:33:05.980 having meetings right now

00:33:06.740 figuring out

00:33:07.120 who you're going to be doing.

00:33:07.820 There's some people in the U.S.

00:33:09.420 that would like to go out there

00:33:11.980 and shop Halabi's,

00:33:13.000 you know,

00:33:13.220 Reza Shah-Halabi's son.

00:33:14.740 There's been conversations

00:33:15.540 about him wanting to do it.

00:33:16.720 I think it's going to take

00:33:17.960 a lot of people coming together

00:33:19.820 to decide who they want

00:33:20.680 to do it with.

00:33:21.360 Let me ask you,

00:33:22.120 who is Iran scared

00:33:23.700 the most of

00:33:24.500 in the Middle East?

00:33:25.640 Of course, U.S.

00:33:26.460 they're not happy

00:33:27.020 about the way Trump's

00:33:27.780 making the decision,

00:33:29.400 putting on the sanctions.

00:33:30.640 But who is Iran

00:33:31.500 afraid of in the Middle East?

00:33:33.000 I think

00:33:33.460 there is not an individual

00:33:35.500 that Iran is afraid of

00:33:37.060 in the Middle East,

00:33:37.780 but Iran

00:33:38.480 and the Ayatollah

00:33:39.600 specifically

00:33:40.260 is afraid

00:33:41.720 of his own Shiite

00:33:43.540 in the Middle East

00:33:44.860 to turn against him

00:33:45.740 because that's what

00:33:46.460 happened in Iraq.

00:33:48.060 And you have to know

00:33:48.880 that Shiite Iraqis

00:33:50.640 do not follow the Ayatollah.

00:33:52.720 They follow

00:33:53.360 al-Sistani in Iraq.

00:33:55.160 They do not have

00:33:56.000 the same belief

00:33:56.720 as the Ayatollah.

00:33:57.980 Perhaps the Ayatollah

00:33:58.740 has appointed himself

00:33:59.740 as the biggest religious figure

00:34:01.660 for Muslims,

00:34:02.780 but we do have

00:34:03.740 a very small percentage

00:34:05.480 in Iraq

00:34:05.980 that are the followers

00:34:06.800 of the Ayatollah

00:34:07.580 and they're the ones

00:34:08.520 that control

00:34:08.920 the Iraqi government

00:34:09.680 and the ones

00:34:10.680 that he appoint

00:34:11.420 to the rest of Iraq.

00:34:13.500 So I think

00:34:14.520 that Iran

00:34:15.300 is afraid

00:34:16.000 of its own believers

00:34:18.480 to turn against them.

00:34:20.020 And that's what

00:34:20.540 I think

00:34:21.020 terrifies the Ayatollah

00:34:22.760 to see Shiite

00:34:24.060 protesting

00:34:24.680 against the Iranian government.

00:34:26.660 I only ask

00:34:27.220 because I wonder

00:34:27.980 who the people

00:34:28.880 protesting

00:34:29.460 would need

00:34:30.180 their support

00:34:31.580 to help them

00:34:32.260 that take place.

00:34:33.520 Right?

00:34:34.020 Because not every

00:34:35.100 country around the world

00:34:36.720 would like to see

00:34:37.360 Iran's empire fall.

00:34:38.820 Not all of them.

00:34:39.700 There are some

00:34:40.060 that may not want to do

00:34:40.840 because they'll have

00:34:41.320 control over the oil.

00:34:42.680 You know,

00:34:43.100 some nations over there

00:34:44.740 may help and support

00:34:45.660 more China, Russia.

00:34:46.700 It depends

00:34:47.140 because it's yes and no,

00:34:48.280 but it's not fully in.

00:34:50.000 It'll be interesting

00:34:50.580 to see

00:34:51.060 who the people

00:34:52.300 can go

00:34:52.820 to have some backing

00:34:53.960 that gives them

00:34:55.400 courage to go up

00:34:56.560 against Ayatollah's regime.

00:34:58.500 It has to be different

00:34:59.840 than the Iraqi experiment.

00:35:01.380 Like in Iraq,

00:35:02.000 we do have this individual

00:35:02.980 who is part of

00:35:03.620 the Iraqi government

00:35:04.320 and he's been living

00:35:05.000 in England.

00:35:06.200 He is educated.

00:35:07.880 He's a fearless person.

00:35:09.500 But for Iran,

00:35:10.440 I do not believe

00:35:11.560 it will be somebody

00:35:12.440 from inside of Iran.

00:35:13.860 It has to be an Iranian

00:35:14.740 who is not inside of Iran.

00:35:16.440 Because if he's inside of Iran,

00:35:17.940 you know that person

00:35:18.680 will be under the influence.

00:35:19.500 So somebody from the outside

00:35:20.620 has to go into Iran.

00:35:21.620 Absolutely.

00:35:22.440 Absolutely.

00:35:22.980 That will be the perfect way

00:35:24.900 so you know this person

00:35:26.260 is not part of Atalaat.

00:35:28.240 It's not part of

00:35:28.880 the Iranian intelligence.

00:35:29.760 It's not somebody that,

00:35:31.400 you know,

00:35:31.820 they haven't played this game

00:35:32.940 before.

00:35:33.940 Ayatollah has done this before.

00:35:35.500 Ayatollah, right now,

00:35:36.400 I think his next move

00:35:37.380 is he will try to appoint somebody

00:35:38.860 that secretly is under his control.

00:35:41.600 And that's what I'm afraid for,

00:35:42.920 for the Iranian people.

00:35:43.740 Then you're not doing anything.

00:35:45.120 You're not achieving anything.

00:35:46.320 At that point.

00:35:47.340 So it would have to be somebody

00:35:48.300 that the Ayatollah

00:35:49.260 cannot psychologically control.

00:35:51.380 It's a very small window they got.

00:35:52.740 I don't think it's a big window.

00:35:53.680 It's a touchdown.

00:35:53.980 I think it's a very small window

00:35:55.360 they got here.

00:35:56.300 You're so close,

00:35:57.480 but you know.

00:35:59.500 It's a very hard touchdown

00:36:00.680 for the Iranian people.

00:36:01.660 I know.

00:36:01.960 But it's possible

00:36:02.860 if they find the right personality

00:36:04.660 and support that personality

00:36:06.740 against Ayatollah.

00:36:08.500 And I think that it's possible.

00:36:10.040 The shot clock is ticking, though.

00:36:11.800 Yeah.

00:36:12.140 The shot clock is ticking.

00:36:13.200 That's the biggest thing.

00:36:13.980 And it's all about the leadership

00:36:15.300 of the protesters.

00:36:17.620 That's why...

00:36:18.380 It's all about the leadership

00:36:19.300 of the protesters.

00:36:20.100 What do you mean by that?

00:36:20.780 It's like they have to have

00:36:21.760 a leadership.

00:36:22.440 They have to have a people

00:36:23.360 that can actually decide

00:36:24.620 what to do.

00:36:25.820 Because if you keep protesting,

00:36:26.800 you can just keep protesting.

00:36:28.300 You need a rally cry.

00:36:29.260 You need somebody at the top

00:36:30.380 that's painting a picture.

00:36:30.960 You need smart people

00:36:31.820 that know exactly

00:36:32.960 where they can move.

00:36:33.940 And that's how

00:36:34.800 the Iraqi protesters

00:36:35.660 have actually been figuring out

00:36:36.740 things over the last few days.

00:36:39.380 So let's go back to your story.

00:36:40.540 So for you,

00:36:41.020 you were born and raised

00:36:42.340 in Iraq, right?

00:36:43.900 And you are right now 34,

00:36:46.960 which means you were born

00:36:48.080 in what year?

00:36:48.860 You were...

00:36:49.280 1986.

00:36:50.120 1986.

00:36:50.980 So take me from the point

00:36:53.320 of you're 12 years old

00:36:54.860 and you get arrested.

00:36:56.000 What happened there

00:36:57.120 with your experience in Iraq?

00:36:58.220 You know,

00:36:59.380 when I was born in Iraq,

00:37:01.020 I grew up in Iraq

00:37:02.600 really not knowing

00:37:03.420 what kind of world

00:37:04.580 I was living in.

00:37:05.540 But the older I was getting

00:37:06.860 in Iraq,

00:37:07.540 I was realizing that

00:37:08.920 there wasn't really

00:37:10.040 much freedom

00:37:10.720 that I was living under.

00:37:12.300 Because you watch

00:37:13.000 the elders being afraid

00:37:14.020 of every single move

00:37:15.040 they want to make.

00:37:16.280 This is during Saddam.

00:37:17.160 During Saddam.

00:37:17.880 It was a very well

00:37:19.060 policed country.

00:37:21.100 But this way,

00:37:21.560 I mean,

00:37:21.700 we have over like

00:37:22.400 35 different

00:37:23.300 intelligent agencies

00:37:24.200 under Saddam

00:37:24.800 that policed

00:37:25.300 the whole country.

00:37:26.320 So people were afraid

00:37:27.340 to talk to their own wives

00:37:29.420 about Saddam.

00:37:30.460 People were afraid

00:37:30.980 to talk to their own parents.

00:37:32.720 People didn't have

00:37:33.420 a trust on each other

00:37:35.060 completely.

00:37:36.460 And people were afraid.

00:37:38.180 So when I opened

00:37:39.140 my eyes in Iraq,

00:37:40.320 I watched a family

00:37:41.780 that's being afraid,

00:37:43.180 couldn't trust me,

00:37:44.220 couldn't trust each other.

00:37:44.980 Your own family?

00:37:45.600 Absolutely.

00:37:46.160 Every single family in Iraq.

00:37:48.220 Every single family in Iraq.

00:37:50.220 We had brothers

00:37:51.180 that put their brothers away

00:37:53.380 and they wrote a report

00:37:54.580 to the Ba'ath party.

00:37:56.240 What they did is they...

00:37:57.080 What's the level

00:37:57.620 of loyalty, though?

00:37:58.340 Who are you loyal to?

00:37:59.480 It has to be only Saddam

00:38:00.860 because Saddam

00:38:02.280 had made the rules

00:38:02.980 of that if you don't

00:38:04.040 report anything

00:38:04.980 that you heard,

00:38:06.480 you're part of it

00:38:07.420 and you'll get executed

00:38:08.160 just like the other person.

00:38:09.620 So some people

00:38:10.220 can get killed

00:38:11.020 just for the fact

00:38:11.980 they heard something

00:38:12.700 negative, I guess.

00:38:13.840 How old were you

00:38:14.300 the first time you saw that

00:38:15.100 or witnessed it

00:38:15.820 in execution?

00:38:17.020 I mean,

00:38:17.580 I was like around

00:38:18.580 11 years old

00:38:19.300 because Saddam

00:38:19.880 actually used to take...

00:38:21.760 Some of the people

00:38:22.720 that used to get executed,

00:38:23.960 they used to take kids

00:38:25.020 out of school

00:38:25.500 to witness it.

00:38:26.180 What's the outcome?

00:38:27.440 What's the purpose

00:38:27.940 of doing that?

00:38:28.380 Psychologically to make you think

00:38:29.880 before you do anything

00:38:30.660 against the government.

00:38:31.180 Got it.

00:38:31.880 It's a psychological move

00:38:33.200 and it was to make you think.

00:38:35.220 What emotion was it

00:38:36.320 of producing in you

00:38:37.200 as the 11-year-old kid?

00:38:38.720 Were you...

00:38:39.340 I didn't want to watch death.

00:38:41.360 I didn't want it.

00:38:42.400 I want to watch it.

00:38:43.240 But most of your teachers

00:38:44.040 are Ba'ath party members

00:38:44.900 and they tell you what to do.

00:38:45.800 And if you don't,

00:38:47.780 a whole report

00:38:48.340 could be written against you.

00:38:49.420 You know,

00:38:49.680 it could end your life.

00:38:50.760 It could end your family life.

00:38:52.120 So you really didn't have

00:38:53.460 much to say.

00:38:54.760 You had no options

00:38:56.040 other than following.

00:38:57.720 Perhaps some of my teachers

00:38:58.660 had a gun

00:39:00.520 in their belt

00:39:02.320 when they walked to class

00:39:03.240 because they were

00:39:03.740 Ba'ath party members.

00:39:05.420 And what kind of argument

00:39:07.120 would you have

00:39:07.540 with that teacher?

00:39:08.380 None.

00:39:09.180 You just followed

00:39:10.360 and that's what it was

00:39:11.780 until I kind of got

00:39:13.500 the real taste of it

00:39:14.360 when I got arrested

00:39:15.100 at age 12.

00:39:16.040 When you were 11,

00:39:16.700 you saw that.

00:39:17.200 You went home.

00:39:17.820 Did you tell your mom,

00:39:18.460 Mom, this is what I saw today?

00:39:19.520 This is what I saw dad today?

00:39:20.660 No.

00:39:21.080 Nothing was getting discussed

00:39:22.200 at home

00:39:22.580 because I know my parents

00:39:23.760 would not answer me.

00:39:25.040 So what is your relationship

00:39:26.000 with your mom and dad

00:39:26.860 at the time?

00:39:27.500 Like how are you speaking to them?

00:39:28.640 What are the conversations like?

00:39:29.940 Just the normal conversations.

00:39:31.740 I'm hungry.

00:39:32.380 We know not to talk

00:39:33.180 about anything in politics.

00:39:34.400 We know not to talk

00:39:35.100 anything about them.

00:39:36.000 Zero.

00:39:36.500 They would not hear you.

00:39:38.220 They would actually turn around

00:39:39.200 and tell you something

00:39:39.800 that you knew it's fake.

00:39:41.600 So there was no point

00:39:42.520 to talk about it.

00:39:45.560 You couldn't talk

00:39:46.420 about Saddam anywhere.

00:39:47.380 We had examples

00:39:47.960 that says the walls have ears.

00:39:50.340 Even the walls.

00:39:51.280 Even the walls

00:39:52.180 had work for Saddam

00:39:53.900 and you can't talk

00:39:54.800 to anything about it.

00:39:55.520 So they taught everybody

00:39:56.720 essentially to be snitches

00:39:58.200 is what they did.

00:39:59.060 Exactly.

00:39:59.520 He wanted everybody

00:40:00.340 to be a snitch.

00:40:00.900 Exactly.

00:40:01.140 And reporting.

00:40:02.340 Reporting was massive

00:40:03.680 during Saddam time.

00:40:04.960 Like people writing reports

00:40:06.480 secretly to the Ba'ath Party member

00:40:07.940 and the Ba'ath Parties

00:40:09.500 kind of put that up

00:40:10.340 to whoever it is

00:40:11.120 and reports

00:40:12.360 were being reading

00:40:12.880 to each other.

00:40:13.400 We had family members

00:40:14.340 that reported each other.

00:40:16.520 So it was

00:40:17.060 very well policed country

00:40:20.700 and he wanted it this way.

00:40:22.060 This was his

00:40:22.520 psychological formula.

00:40:23.640 Who is his example?

00:40:24.720 Who did he learn from?

00:40:26.300 I would think

00:40:27.920 you know

00:40:29.120 there's a lot

00:40:30.500 of controversies

00:40:31.260 that you know

00:40:32.240 Saddam was an agent

00:40:34.160 of a foreign country.

00:40:35.080 that Saddam

00:40:35.640 I think Saddam

00:40:36.980 was not

00:40:37.640 a stupid guy.

00:40:39.220 He was smart.

00:40:40.420 He was extremely smart

00:40:41.360 and intelligent wise

00:40:42.680 the way he looked at people

00:40:45.500 he was

00:40:47.480 man

00:40:47.940 do you have to know

00:40:48.420 Saddam worked as the head

00:40:49.400 of the Iraqi intelligence

00:40:50.220 before he became

00:40:51.020 a deputy or a president

00:40:52.740 in Iraq

00:40:53.320 during the 70s.

00:40:54.520 he had a natural

00:40:56.560 instincts

00:40:58.380 and he established

00:40:59.960 all this formulas

00:41:01.700 to actually

00:41:02.960 even

00:41:03.500 even his own family members

00:41:05.640 if they did something

00:41:06.460 against him

00:41:07.060 he would know

00:41:07.940 just by the way

00:41:08.460 he looked at them.

00:41:10.240 And that's the kind of guys

00:41:10.980 Saddam was saying was.

00:41:12.840 Just by the way

00:41:13.600 he looked at them.

00:41:14.740 Did anybody ever do

00:41:15.840 an investigation on him

00:41:17.220 to see what inspired him?

00:41:18.160 What did he study?

00:41:18.780 What books did he study?

00:41:19.680 Who did he follow?

00:41:20.960 Which style of leadership

00:41:21.960 did he admire?

00:41:23.180 Was there any kind

00:41:24.740 of stories there

00:41:25.360 that gives insight on him?

00:41:26.900 No.

00:41:27.660 Actually

00:41:27.960 he was

00:41:28.880 you know

00:41:29.440 when he was in prison

00:41:30.460 when he was out

00:41:31.380 in Egypt

00:41:32.200 he has read a lot of books

00:41:34.040 he's very

00:41:34.420 well educated

00:41:35.800 even though

00:41:36.660 he earned his military rank

00:41:38.320 in a kind of fast way

00:41:39.480 for being the president

00:41:40.780 but I think

00:41:42.420 he was very well educated

00:41:44.400 very well balanced

00:41:46.560 and

00:41:47.760 he is

00:41:49.680 a very different

00:41:50.980 unique

00:41:51.560 person psychologically

00:41:53.180 and I think

00:41:54.820 that's how he controlled

00:41:55.900 Iraq

00:41:56.900 that's how he controlled

00:41:57.780 every single person

00:41:58.720 that worked under him

00:41:59.560 even his own family members

00:42:00.780 were terrified of him

00:42:01.960 that they didn't know

00:42:02.580 what his next move would be

00:42:03.660 so

00:42:04.420 he policed this country

00:42:06.020 in a

00:42:07.600 very unique way

00:42:09.120 where he turned

00:42:10.320 every single person

00:42:11.980 into informant.

00:42:14.460 So 12 years old

00:42:15.160 what happened to you

00:42:15.820 when you got arrested?

00:42:17.180 I was walking out of school

00:42:18.820 and I came out of school

00:42:20.900 and it was a common thing

00:42:21.780 down there

00:42:22.140 if you are not

00:42:23.460 an important figure

00:42:24.300 of society

00:42:24.920 usually the people

00:42:26.360 who are like

00:42:26.820 in the Ba'ath party

00:42:27.560 or part of the Saddam's government

00:42:29.200 their kids would have

00:42:30.320 like a military color

00:42:31.680 Mercedes

00:42:32.200 that would pick them up

00:42:32.960 with two Republican guards

00:42:34.320 if you are not

00:42:35.740 one of these people

00:42:36.540 you will be walking home

00:42:37.620 you'll be walking the 10 miles

00:42:39.060 or whatever the miles

00:42:39.840 that you have to walk to school

00:42:40.880 and it was a common thing

00:42:42.040 for Ba'ath party members

00:42:43.820 to stop you

00:42:44.540 and interrogate you

00:42:45.220 in the street

00:42:45.660 this was a common thing

00:42:46.880 they can stop

00:42:47.560 they can talk to you

00:42:48.340 they can take

00:42:49.500 whatever they have

00:42:50.100 what you have in your pocket

00:42:51.040 and you don't have much

00:42:52.360 to say

00:42:52.920 to do that

00:42:54.200 so it was a police officer

00:42:55.740 there was three police officers

00:42:57.320 that actually approached me

00:42:58.280 and one of them

00:42:59.060 looked different

00:43:00.520 than the others

00:43:01.540 and that's the way

00:43:02.300 to actually distinguish

00:43:03.180 a Ba'ath party member

00:43:04.060 something about them

00:43:05.500 always looked different

00:43:06.260 than average people

00:43:07.160 the way they dress

00:43:08.460 the way they have

00:43:09.500 their badges

00:43:10.460 on their chest

00:43:11.560 the way they would dress

00:43:13.780 is a very different way

00:43:15.920 the way they would talk

00:43:16.800 you can feel it

00:43:17.380 in the tone

00:43:17.860 this is someone

00:43:18.760 of a power

00:43:19.420 and when he approached me

00:43:20.940 he asked me if I smoked

00:43:21.940 because it was a common thing

00:43:23.100 teenagers smoked in Iraq

00:43:24.500 and if I have any cigarettes

00:43:25.800 I didn't have anything

00:43:26.680 and I had money in my pocket

00:43:28.220 and he asked me

00:43:28.740 he's like

00:43:28.900 well do you have any money

00:43:29.580 I can go get some cigarettes

00:43:30.640 and I said

00:43:32.080 no I don't have anything

00:43:33.080 and I just kept walking

00:43:33.920 so he put his car

00:43:35.880 in front of me

00:43:36.420 got out

00:43:36.960 and he came to me

00:43:38.580 and he said

00:43:38.880 turn around

00:43:39.360 and started searching me

00:43:40.700 and he found money

00:43:43.100 that I kept in my pocket

00:43:44.180 and it was about 250 diners

00:43:46.820 that I had in my wallet

00:43:47.720 I had other money

00:43:48.900 that I would keep in my socks

00:43:50.020 knowing this would happen

00:43:51.560 at any time

00:43:52.600 and I kind of felt

00:43:54.100 at that point

00:43:54.700 that for me

00:43:56.040 this meant the world

00:43:56.800 this was like money

00:43:58.480 I put away over months

00:43:59.620 to buy myself a shoe

00:44:00.820 you know

00:44:01.820 during the sanctions

00:44:02.700 under Saddam

00:44:03.760 that things were very difficult

00:44:05.620 you know

00:44:06.160 I was walking with a messed up shoe

00:44:08.100 and that was open

00:44:09.280 from the front

00:44:09.760 I couldn't even walk properly

00:44:10.880 and this was money

00:44:12.800 from holidays

00:44:13.440 and everything

00:44:14.060 people would give you away

00:44:15.440 and just kind of

00:44:16.240 put it together

00:44:16.860 to eventually

00:44:18.500 have the price

00:44:19.960 that would match

00:44:20.560 towards a used shoe maybe

00:44:23.320 and when he took it away

00:44:25.600 I felt like

00:44:26.360 I didn't want to keep my voice

00:44:28.740 shut anymore

00:44:29.840 so I end up

00:44:31.260 trying to take my money back

00:44:32.660 and I cursed him

00:44:34.300 and when he hit me

00:44:35.940 this was a big thing

00:44:37.280 in our culture

00:44:37.760 once you curse him

00:44:38.480 I cursed him bad

00:44:39.280 and he grabbed me

00:44:41.040 and threw me in the truck

00:44:41.980 and drove me

00:44:43.360 for about 45 minutes

00:44:44.480 into the Iraqi Ministry of Interior

00:44:46.340 inside of a prison

00:44:47.440 and what was it like

00:44:49.020 when you went in?

00:44:49.880 it was scary

00:44:50.400 I went to an area

00:44:51.620 that I never been

00:44:52.220 12 years old

00:44:52.600 I mean I

00:44:53.120 they drove for about 45 minutes

00:44:55.900 and I still remember

00:44:56.520 the conversations

00:44:57.180 between the two guards

00:44:58.920 that were sitting

00:44:59.540 in the back

00:45:00.100 and him

00:45:00.520 and they said

00:45:01.340 hey he's just a kid

00:45:02.580 he's only 12

00:45:03.820 why don't you just

00:45:04.560 kick him in the head

00:45:05.980 and let him go home

00:45:06.680 and he said

00:45:07.520 if you guys keep talking

00:45:08.400 I'll put you where

00:45:08.980 I'm putting him tonight

00:45:09.680 and I realized

00:45:11.120 at that point

00:45:11.540 I wasn't going home

00:45:12.160 that night

00:45:12.560 and it came to

00:45:14.000 a checkpoint

00:45:14.540 which is a place

00:45:15.900 actually I used to see

00:45:16.920 going by

00:45:17.440 but you're not allowed

00:45:18.160 to go inside of that place

00:45:19.260 and it was the Iraqi

00:45:20.180 Ministry of Interior

00:45:21.560 and once I passed

00:45:23.180 the checkpoint

00:45:23.620 and I drove about

00:45:25.080 it drove about

00:45:26.380 like a mile and a half

00:45:27.880 this was all the

00:45:29.600 intelligence headquarters

00:45:32.560 all the scary stuff

00:45:34.600 that you heard about

00:45:35.520 but you never seen

00:45:36.340 and I got pulled

00:45:38.760 into a slide door

00:45:39.660 that opened

00:45:40.200 and I went inside

00:45:41.060 and it was a prison

00:45:43.160 but I wouldn't say

00:45:44.000 it looked like

00:45:44.360 an American prison

00:45:45.060 it actually looked

00:45:45.920 like a zoo

00:45:46.380 it's cages

00:45:47.140 and I saw cages

00:45:48.880 like it was just

00:45:49.940 cages and fences

00:45:51.560 and there was

00:45:52.220 concrete buildings

00:45:53.380 behind the cages

00:45:54.160 and I sat there

00:45:56.600 in the car

00:45:57.080 they took me out

00:45:58.360 and I went to a room

00:45:59.700 and they gave me

00:46:00.940 a pen and a paper

00:46:01.900 and they said sign

00:46:02.680 and I looked around

00:46:04.560 all my angles

00:46:05.880 of the room

00:46:06.380 there were people

00:46:06.900 with bats

00:46:07.560 wearing a uniform

00:46:09.100 wearing the exact

00:46:10.200 same uniform as he is

00:46:11.520 most of them

00:46:12.740 carry the same

00:46:13.340 last name that he had

00:46:14.440 they were actually

00:46:15.480 from the same tribe

00:46:16.300 and when I took

00:46:18.620 the pen

00:46:18.960 it was dark

00:46:19.580 I was terrified

00:46:21.100 I took the pen

00:46:22.180 and I signed

00:46:22.760 later on

00:46:23.820 I found out

00:46:24.240 I signed on a paper

00:46:24.880 stating that

00:46:25.500 I was an entire

00:46:26.160 government

00:46:26.540 that attacked

00:46:27.280 a police officer

00:46:28.900 and a bath party

00:46:29.560 member to kill him

00:46:30.440 so I was not being

00:46:31.860 treated as a child

00:46:32.760 I got treated

00:46:33.420 as an enemy

00:46:34.440 of the state

00:46:35.040 once I signed

00:46:35.700 that paper

00:46:36.160 and I walked

00:46:37.280 into prison

00:46:37.780 so then what happened

00:46:39.020 how long were you

00:46:40.000 in there

00:46:40.320 I was there

00:46:40.860 for about three weeks

00:46:41.700 three or four weeks

00:46:42.620 how'd you get out

00:46:43.160 my family have found out

00:46:45.060 so I had actually

00:46:45.800 about 250

00:46:46.500 in my socks

00:46:47.560 that I kept

00:46:48.180 and they didn't

00:46:49.900 find out about

00:46:50.420 the money

00:46:50.740 I went inside

00:46:51.480 and the prisoners

00:46:52.660 asked me

00:46:53.820 they're like

00:46:54.100 hey are you

00:46:54.660 fighting with somebody

00:46:55.500 are you helping

00:46:56.240 somebody

00:46:56.660 why are you here

00:46:57.700 you're a kid

00:46:58.620 are there any

00:46:59.120 other kids there

00:46:59.840 or you're the only kid

00:47:00.440 I was just walking

00:47:03.300 into a bunch

00:47:03.920 of prison

00:47:04.380 full of adults

00:47:05.040 and it's not like

00:47:05.580 an American prison

00:47:06.140 it's like a warhouse

00:47:07.020 that's full of people

00:47:08.260 perhaps they didn't

00:47:09.180 have a place to sleep

00:47:10.680 everybody kind of

00:47:11.560 slept in a different

00:47:12.300 angle

00:47:12.680 because they just

00:47:13.660 kept people

00:47:14.080 there was no beds

00:47:15.040 there was no pillows

00:47:15.700 how many people

00:47:16.220 in the place

00:47:16.680 I would say

00:47:17.200 about maybe 300 people

00:47:18.260 and there was

00:47:20.260 one bathroom

00:47:20.940 and I was terrified

00:47:22.280 and one of the prisoners

00:47:23.120 asked me

00:47:23.640 he said like

00:47:24.340 why did they bring you here

00:47:26.760 I said I just refused

00:47:27.500 to give my money

00:47:28.180 and they couldn't believe it

00:47:29.620 were they protective

00:47:30.980 of you

00:47:31.440 the prisoners

00:47:32.120 they were good to you

00:47:32.680 they were actually

00:47:33.280 so I had a prisoner

00:47:34.100 help me out

00:47:34.720 and I said

00:47:35.140 I'm dying

00:47:37.380 I don't care

00:47:37.800 what happens to me

00:47:38.460 I'm dying just to

00:47:39.500 let my family know

00:47:40.820 where I am

00:47:41.540 because then they

00:47:42.600 can do something

00:47:43.220 or at least

00:47:44.280 just the family to know

00:47:45.080 I felt at that point

00:47:45.880 my life is over

00:47:46.580 and I told him

00:47:49.300 that I have some money

00:47:50.000 in my pocket

00:47:50.460 I have kept in my socks

00:47:51.820 and he said

00:47:53.060 you know what

00:47:53.480 give me the money

00:47:54.140 I gave him the money

00:47:55.520 he went and called

00:47:56.240 one of the guards

00:47:56.860 at night

00:47:57.260 after everybody went away

00:47:58.440 and there was a guard

00:47:59.740 that actually cleaned

00:48:00.800 the office

00:48:01.580 of the commanding officer

00:48:03.260 in that prison

00:48:04.180 and there was a landline

00:48:06.260 in there

00:48:07.540 and you know back then

00:48:08.620 that nobody can tell

00:48:09.680 if they used your landline

00:48:10.700 or not

00:48:11.120 and he told me

00:48:12.080 that person took money

00:48:13.220 and he could make

00:48:14.540 a phone call

00:48:15.000 so they gave that guard

00:48:16.880 the money

00:48:17.340 I saw the prisoner

00:48:18.800 hand him the money

00:48:19.540 I gave him the phone number

00:48:20.960 of our landline

00:48:21.800 and I was praying

00:48:22.820 that somebody

00:48:23.420 one of my family members

00:48:24.580 would answer the phone

00:48:25.280 because they'll probably

00:48:25.880 be looking for me

00:48:26.640 it was late at night

00:48:27.580 and I didn't come

00:48:28.920 from school

00:48:29.460 and they were actually

00:48:30.220 looking all over the place

00:48:31.300 and my brother

00:48:31.920 answered the phone

00:48:33.580 and I asked him

00:48:34.020 please to let me know

00:48:34.760 who would answer the phone

00:48:35.800 to know that he called them

00:48:37.060 my brother answered the phone

00:48:38.400 and he told them

00:48:40.100 that he's in prison

00:48:40.940 this is where he is

00:48:41.920 and my family started

00:48:42.960 coming to the prisons

00:48:44.760 trying to negotiate

00:48:45.520 with the commanding officer

00:48:46.580 in prison

00:48:47.080 to give him money

00:48:48.160 and would smash the reports

00:48:49.400 because if the report

00:48:50.400 doesn't get smashed

00:48:51.140 that was going to go

00:48:51.760 to a bigger court

00:48:52.800 and I was going to get

00:48:54.120 probably executed

00:48:54.880 and Saddam's government

00:48:56.540 could care less

00:48:57.360 how old you were

00:48:58.040 once you're considered

00:48:58.840 an enemy of the state

00:48:59.740 you're an enemy of the state

00:49:00.920 permanent

00:49:01.220 I was being treated

00:49:02.240 as a fighter

00:49:02.740 now at this point

00:49:03.760 what feeling is it

00:49:05.640 producing in you

00:49:06.420 is there hate

00:49:07.780 is there anger

00:49:08.480 is there animosity

00:49:09.420 what are you feeling

00:49:10.160 I would say

00:49:11.040 I entered that prison

00:49:12.140 a child

00:49:12.640 I did not leave

00:49:13.480 the same

00:49:14.040 when I walked away

00:49:15.620 from that prison

00:49:16.400 and when my

00:49:18.300 you know

00:49:18.880 I actually didn't know

00:49:19.700 where they were taking me

00:49:20.320 when they took me out of prison

00:49:21.120 I was being tortured

00:49:22.380 I was being hit

00:49:23.040 I came out

00:49:24.420 and I was in a really bad shape

00:49:25.920 and I thought

00:49:26.800 they were going to finish me

00:49:27.520 right there

00:49:27.880 that's what I thought

00:49:28.760 they took me out to an area

00:49:30.080 I'd never been

00:49:30.740 in three weeks

00:49:31.620 and a slide door open

00:49:33.600 and I saw my dad

00:49:36.260 and I think at that point

00:49:38.900 I was just

00:49:40.280 in a very different stage

00:49:42.820 of my life

00:49:43.340 and when I left that prison

00:49:45.200 I didn't know

00:49:46.760 what was happening

00:49:47.220 during that time

00:49:47.780 I didn't know

00:49:48.100 any negotiations

00:49:48.940 between my family

00:49:49.860 or the commanding officer

00:49:50.720 in prison

00:49:51.180 and when I left that place

00:49:53.300 I don't think my life

00:49:54.280 has ever been the same

00:49:55.000 I left that place

00:49:57.120 completely

00:49:57.900 carrying hate

00:50:00.180 against these individuals

00:50:01.220 because I saw

00:50:02.040 their

00:50:02.440 their violence

00:50:04.760 they carried

00:50:05.660 against

00:50:06.020 these people

00:50:06.240 feeling of revenge?

00:50:07.200 Absolutely

00:50:07.600 absolutely

00:50:08.600 were your uncles

00:50:09.840 already killed

00:50:10.400 at this point

00:50:10.860 or no?

00:50:11.380 they were already dead

00:50:11.960 yeah

00:50:12.140 so that's already

00:50:13.540 and the amount of hate

00:50:15.480 that produced

00:50:16.100 wasn't close to the amount

00:50:17.080 of hate

00:50:17.360 that produced

00:50:17.780 you being in jail

00:50:18.400 absolutely

00:50:18.980 because I saw

00:50:19.840 how they treated you

00:50:21.660 how they treated you

00:50:23.700 they tried to get

00:50:24.780 conventions out of you

00:50:25.660 you didn't have

00:50:26.280 and I didn't even know

00:50:28.160 what to say

00:50:28.520 at that point in my life

00:50:29.280 I didn't even know

00:50:30.000 what to give them

00:50:30.500 and if they asked for something

00:50:31.800 I would have gave it to them

00:50:32.620 if they asked me to sign

00:50:33.720 on a hundred papers

00:50:34.400 I would sign it

00:50:34.960 just to not get beating

00:50:36.160 and not get hit

00:50:36.820 and when they hit you

00:50:37.840 they hit you hard

00:50:38.420 they don't care

00:50:39.360 they treat you

00:50:40.400 as an animal

00:50:41.400 and that's the people

00:50:43.160 that controlled you

00:50:44.940 and ruled your country

00:50:45.960 do you remember any of it

00:50:46.900 until today?

00:50:47.260 absolutely

00:50:47.980 like do you wake up

00:50:48.800 in the middle of the night

00:50:49.420 flashbacks or no

00:50:50.260 you don't have those

00:50:51.040 things anymore

00:50:51.600 since you feel safer

00:50:52.620 no not flashback to prison

00:50:54.380 but actually

00:50:55.140 I would say

00:50:56.900 after they have

00:50:58.380 broken me

00:50:59.080 I became less afraid of them

00:51:00.400 I was way less afraid

00:51:03.680 of them

00:51:04.380 leaving that prison

00:51:05.800 and to this day

00:51:06.900 you know

00:51:07.140 after even I became

00:51:08.180 an intelligent

00:51:08.660 not everybody's like that though

00:51:09.440 yeah some people

00:51:11.080 you know

00:51:11.440 some people are

00:51:12.520 gonna walk away

00:51:14.380 they're gonna

00:51:14.880 you know

00:51:15.440 be a victim

00:51:16.260 but for me

00:51:17.160 I was

00:51:18.380 less afraid of them

00:51:19.920 yeah

00:51:20.420 when that typically happens

00:51:21.880 you produce

00:51:22.420 either somebody

00:51:23.280 that confines

00:51:24.600 and you know

00:51:25.100 kind of gets quiet

00:51:26.720 and stays

00:51:27.620 doesn't say anything

00:51:28.360 because they're afraid

00:51:28.980 but you can also

00:51:30.080 produce a true believer

00:51:31.260 that never forgets

00:51:32.160 the way you're treated

00:51:32.760 absolutely

00:51:33.200 and that stays with them

00:51:34.160 it's obviously

00:51:34.500 that's what happened

00:51:35.060 with you

00:51:35.480 yeah

00:51:35.820 so now you leave

00:51:36.420 at 17 years old

00:51:37.600 what gave you the opportunity

00:51:39.680 at that time

00:51:40.260 it's 1998

00:51:41.300 you're 12 years old

00:51:42.440 Saddam is still

00:51:43.500 running Iran

00:51:44.760 03 is when his regime falls

00:51:47.300 right

00:51:47.540 because he's 79

00:51:48.180 2003

00:51:48.720 what's happening

00:51:50.080 during this time

00:51:50.800 because I know

00:51:51.340 you said in one place

00:51:52.220 where you said

00:51:52.600 I thought Saddam

00:51:53.180 was gonna live 500 years

00:51:54.300 yeah

00:51:54.600 and regime

00:51:55.120 was never gonna change

00:51:55.900 exactly

00:51:56.320 when it happened

00:51:57.180 to you

00:51:57.580 do you remember

00:51:58.200 the moment

00:51:58.620 where you were at

00:51:59.500 when that took place

00:52:00.300 yeah

00:52:00.640 I was in my house

00:52:01.340 I was in my house

00:52:02.200 and I opened my front door

00:52:03.800 and there was

00:52:04.020 an American soldier

00:52:04.620 standing there

00:52:05.220 and that's

00:52:07.280 what everybody was scared

00:52:08.680 to make one move

00:52:09.620 towards that American soldier

00:52:10.680 because they thought

00:52:12.400 that the Americans

00:52:12.920 would pull out

00:52:13.440 like 1991

00:52:14.340 and that Saddam

00:52:15.620 would be coming back

00:52:16.580 to take revenge

00:52:17.180 after people

00:52:17.660 so people were very hesitant

00:52:18.880 people couldn't process

00:52:20.300 the point that

00:52:20.860 Saddam's gone actually

00:52:21.820 this tyrant

00:52:23.340 that controlled Iraq

00:52:24.160 for 35 years

00:52:24.880 is gone

00:52:25.500 it's over

00:52:26.300 people couldn't believe

00:52:27.360 that fact

00:52:28.260 but when I opened that door

00:52:29.380 and I saw an American soldier

00:52:30.580 kind of like

00:52:31.400 I was at a point

00:52:34.380 where I just

00:52:35.080 wanted to kind of

00:52:35.820 pinch myself

00:52:36.280 I couldn't believe it

00:52:37.020 let me ask you a question

00:52:37.920 you said something

00:52:38.560 I was reading it as well

00:52:39.560 where you asked

00:52:40.980 the soldier that came to you

00:52:42.140 you guys gonna leave

00:52:43.000 no we're not gonna leave

00:52:43.700 we're gonna stay here

00:52:44.480 is there a feeling

00:52:46.240 of let down

00:52:47.180 when the American troops

00:52:48.380 would come

00:52:48.920 you felt safe

00:52:49.740 and then they left

00:52:50.440 you felt heartbroken

00:52:51.280 because the soldiers

00:52:51.940 didn't care

00:52:52.300 you feel that experience

00:52:53.580 when they leave

00:52:54.100 you're heartbroken

00:52:54.720 absolutely

00:52:55.080 I gave you my trust

00:52:56.140 I thought you guys

00:52:56.840 were gonna take care of me

00:52:57.580 but now America

00:52:58.240 lets you down again

00:52:58.860 absolutely

00:52:59.200 I mean 1991

00:53:00.020 this is what happened

00:53:00.880 this is why

00:53:01.480 thousands of Iraqis died

00:53:02.860 because they thought

00:53:04.140 Americans were going

00:53:04.920 all the way down

00:53:05.340 to Baghdad

00:53:06.360 and then they pulled out

00:53:07.360 and Saddam came after

00:53:08.660 what he did to them

00:53:09.440 he buried them alive

00:53:10.260 Kamakal Ali came over

00:53:11.520 his cousin

00:53:12.420 and buried everyone alive

00:53:13.520 that didn't fight

00:53:14.300 against Americans

00:53:14.940 so there was a doubt

00:53:18.160 for the Iraqi people

00:53:19.800 there was a doubt

00:53:20.660 that we can't really

00:53:22.140 trust the Americans

00:53:22.880 if they would really

00:53:23.520 take him out

00:53:23.980 maybe he'll come back

00:53:24.900 but for me

00:53:25.920 as I got that assurance

00:53:26.880 from that American soldier

00:53:27.880 I said are you guys staying

00:53:28.880 or this is just another comeback

00:53:30.880 like 1991

00:53:31.560 so he said he's staying

00:53:32.440 what's your next move

00:53:33.340 next move

00:53:34.500 actually I opened

00:53:34.960 the rest of the door

00:53:35.620 we started having a conversation

00:53:37.320 because if he said no

00:53:38.740 I would have shut down the door

00:53:39.660 and walked away

00:53:40.180 but when he said yes

00:53:41.260 I opened the rest of the door

00:53:42.180 and I started asking him a question

00:53:43.300 and I had about like maybe

00:53:46.340 I walked with that soldier

00:53:47.700 as he was moving

00:53:48.460 and I asked him a lot of questions

00:53:50.740 I asked him all the questions

00:53:52.280 that I needed to ask

00:53:52.900 that they were not leaving

00:53:53.920 now at this time

00:53:54.760 do you know a lot

00:53:55.400 have you been inspired

00:53:56.700 to want to do your own due diligence

00:53:57.920 yeah because you knew things

00:53:59.360 but you couldn't talk about them

00:54:00.360 perhaps I learned English

00:54:01.740 but I was never able to speak it

00:54:03.000 that was the first time

00:54:03.940 I ever spelled an English word

00:54:06.520 does anybody know

00:54:07.200 the internal rage

00:54:08.940 that is being created

00:54:09.820 in you during this time

00:54:10.640 or does your mom and dad know

00:54:12.220 no

00:54:12.700 are they saying

00:54:13.080 how much do you John

00:54:13.660 just relax

00:54:14.340 you know

00:54:14.640 no I actually was

00:54:15.500 I kept a very

00:54:16.720 I was so oppressed

00:54:19.300 after leaving prison

00:54:21.080 because anything

00:54:21.980 what I would do

00:54:23.140 I would die immediately

00:54:24.360 anybody I would run

00:54:25.900 if I run to the wrong person

00:54:26.900 so my life went to like

00:54:28.860 a chaos after

00:54:30.080 did you go to school

00:54:31.140 was a lot of self-education

00:54:32.520 I went to school

00:54:33.860 and I would

00:54:35.040 I would tell you

00:54:35.680 I have

00:54:36.200 I went from being an A student

00:54:38.220 to an F student

00:54:39.580 I couldn't care anything about

00:54:41.000 but how'd you learn English

00:54:42.100 though

00:54:42.300 I was studying at home

00:54:43.640 oh so that's what I'm saying

00:54:44.520 you became a self-starter

00:54:45.340 yeah I started home

00:54:46.520 my dad has a library

00:54:47.560 oh he has a library

00:54:48.540 he has a library

00:54:49.280 and actually his books

00:54:49.880 he got from England

00:54:51.100 when he was in England

00:54:52.060 now what was he

00:54:53.100 religion wise

00:54:53.820 what is your dad

00:54:54.720 my dad was actually

00:54:56.060 a Shiite

00:54:57.360 but he was

00:54:57.960 he was like an atheist

00:54:58.760 but he didn't tell anybody

00:54:59.920 he was an atheist

00:55:00.580 but he didn't tell anybody

00:55:01.200 and your mom

00:55:01.700 my mom was a Sunni

00:55:02.980 yeah

00:55:03.240 your mom was a Sunni

00:55:04.080 yeah was a Sunni

00:55:04.760 and by the way

00:55:05.240 Saddam was a Sunni

00:55:06.100 right

00:55:06.340 he was a Sunni

00:55:07.300 yeah he was a Sunni

00:55:08.040 even though

00:55:08.420 yeah

00:55:08.820 yeah

00:55:09.320 so okay

00:55:10.200 so then

00:55:11.020 you're following him

00:55:12.780 you're kind of

00:55:13.360 asking all these questions

00:55:14.340 et cetera et cetera

00:55:14.940 what's your next move

00:55:15.860 after that

00:55:16.280 because I know

00:55:16.840 the Iraqi military

00:55:18.140 is getting started

00:55:18.860 you're the 19th soldier

00:55:19.860 how does that part

00:55:20.920 take place

00:55:21.480 they made an announcement

00:55:23.200 on the radio

00:55:23.760 they were looking for new members

00:55:25.500 to join the new Iraqi military

00:55:26.920 after they let go

00:55:27.700 of the old Iraqi military

00:55:28.720 I felt

00:55:29.780 my freedom

00:55:31.320 wasn't going to come free

00:55:32.700 I wasn't just going to sit home

00:55:34.960 and freedom was going to come

00:55:35.960 all the way

00:55:36.340 if I wanted to have a constitution

00:55:37.980 for the first time in my life

00:55:39.220 that would protect

00:55:39.920 my right

00:55:40.920 as a child

00:55:42.020 somebody has to go out

00:55:43.600 and fight for it

00:55:44.220 and my generation

00:55:45.120 was just at the door

00:55:46.280 and I decided

00:55:48.640 I was going to go

00:55:49.300 join the new Iraqi military

00:55:50.320 because I didn't want to sit home

00:55:51.720 and wait for somebody

00:55:53.180 to control me again

00:55:54.540 because you know

00:55:55.200 Al Qaeda had entered Iraq

00:55:56.740 the Ba'ath party members

00:55:58.120 started slowly turning

00:56:00.100 into religious figures

00:56:01.980 from a loyalist

00:56:03.280 to sit down

00:56:03.760 to more religious figures

00:56:05.260 because anything against America

00:56:06.560 becomes automatically

00:56:08.360 a religious movement

00:56:09.360 and I wanted to go

00:56:11.860 and fight against these guys

00:56:14.540 equally

00:56:14.960 in an equal battle

00:56:15.900 gun to gun

00:56:16.960 Were you recruiting?

00:56:18.580 Was I'm sorry?

00:56:19.580 Were you recruiting?

00:56:20.740 No

00:56:21.140 The new military was recruiting?

00:56:22.820 The new Iraqi military

00:56:24.160 was recruiting

00:56:24.720 actually the American military

00:56:25.980 they were doing

00:56:26.740 who processing the recruiting

00:56:27.800 In that time

00:56:28.620 how are you viewed

00:56:29.240 in the community?

00:56:30.000 Are you voiced?

00:56:30.760 Do you have pull?

00:56:31.380 Do you have influence?

00:56:32.280 No, nothing

00:56:32.840 You're just a 17 year old kid

00:56:34.200 It's a quiet person

00:56:35.020 you never heard anything from me

00:56:35.820 Nothing

00:56:36.140 No one knows

00:56:37.220 what you're thinking about?

00:56:38.260 Nobody

00:56:38.660 So it's not like

00:56:39.260 you're playing soccer outside

00:56:40.540 you got 50 friends

00:56:41.480 you're the cool guy

00:56:42.140 nothing

00:56:42.520 Came from inside

00:56:43.480 a dark room in the house

00:56:45.740 straight to the Iraqi military

00:56:46.920 Got it

00:56:48.760 So 90 Iraqi military

00:56:50.180 19 people

00:56:51.220 19 soldiers there

00:56:52.340 Where does that relationship go

00:56:55.940 with you

00:56:56.680 then becoming a sergeant major

00:56:58.300 at 19 years old

00:56:59.440 where the typical sergeant major

00:57:01.080 is 40 or 50 years old

00:57:02.180 Exactly

00:57:02.420 You're getting that responsibility

00:57:03.220 at 19 years old

00:57:04.040 Exactly

00:57:04.340 Why would they trust you

00:57:05.500 to be a sergeant major?

00:57:06.480 In 2000

00:57:07.080 You know

00:57:07.500 in 2003

00:57:08.420 when they established

00:57:09.200 the first battalion

00:57:10.900 of the Iraqi military

00:57:11.720 which I was a member of

00:57:12.820 people were actually

00:57:14.540 encouraged to do something

00:57:15.640 but once Al Qaeda

00:57:17.120 and Islamic movements

00:57:19.100 realized that

00:57:19.760 they were going to have

00:57:20.380 people of an Iraqi background

00:57:22.480 fighting side by American

00:57:25.000 that was more dangerous

00:57:26.340 to them

00:57:26.640 because we didn't have

00:57:27.300 a digital database

00:57:28.060 in Iraq

00:57:28.420 you couldn't tell who's who

00:57:29.340 you couldn't tell anybody

00:57:30.300 We have that instinct

00:57:31.960 to know

00:57:32.520 what area you come from

00:57:34.600 where you live in Iraq

00:57:35.500 We can tell

00:57:36.100 if you're actually

00:57:36.560 if you're a Bat Party member

00:57:38.060 if you're a Republican Guard officer

00:57:39.820 we can just tell

00:57:40.440 by talking to you

00:57:41.140 or what areas you come from

00:57:42.480 or what neighborhood

00:57:43.140 do you live in

00:57:43.780 because your social status

00:57:45.260 is what determines

00:57:46.220 who you are

00:57:46.760 So that was scary

00:57:47.960 for all these groups

00:57:49.260 to see Iraqis

00:57:51.060 that would come fight

00:57:52.020 with Americans

00:57:52.640 and they actually

00:57:53.380 I got in the first shipment

00:57:54.760 that got sent to Karakush

00:57:57.140 which is actually

00:57:58.540 near the Iranian borders

00:57:59.460 to be trained

00:58:00.280 by an American company

00:58:01.500 called MPRI

00:58:02.320 American Retired Vietnam Veterans

00:58:04.200 mostly Marines

00:58:06.000 and Army Veterans

00:58:07.220 and the second shipment

00:58:08.960 that was supposed

00:58:09.480 to make it to the base

00:58:10.160 got blown up

00:58:10.720 by a car bomb

00:58:11.280 and from that moment

00:58:12.960 everybody was discouraged

00:58:14.300 to join the Iraqi military

00:58:16.440 and in 2004

00:58:17.760 I went to Haifa Street

00:58:20.140 which was the most dangerous

00:58:21.380 two miles on Iraq

00:58:22.280 during that time

00:58:23.060 and to retrieve bodies

00:58:24.720 of new Iraqi recruits

00:58:26.240 that actually just came in

00:58:27.680 to fill an application

00:58:28.600 so that's how much

00:58:29.740 they were focused

00:58:30.480 on Iraqis joining

00:58:32.300 the fight

00:58:32.900 with Americans

00:58:33.580 side by my side

00:58:34.460 and in a long battle

00:58:36.120 I had 29 soldiers

00:58:37.180 I left there with 9

00:58:38.040 I was shot here in my eye

00:58:40.080 I had a shrapnel

00:58:40.700 above my right eye

00:58:41.580 I had a shrapnel

00:58:42.120 on my knees

00:58:42.740 and once they started

00:58:45.600 the killing

00:58:46.140 towards Iraqi soldiers

00:58:47.240 working with Americans

00:58:48.240 the Iraqi people

00:58:49.300 automatically became

00:58:50.220 discouraged

00:58:50.740 from that idea

00:58:52.060 because people have families

00:58:53.120 they would go home

00:58:54.180 at the end of the day

00:58:54.860 and that's where

00:58:55.320 they can get you

00:58:56.000 hurt you

00:58:56.780 or hurt your family

00:58:57.580 so 50% of people

00:58:59.780 in my unit in 2004

00:59:01.000 after that battle

00:59:01.740 quit their job

00:59:02.560 did they ever come

00:59:04.120 after your family

00:59:04.720 or no?

00:59:05.280 I never went home

00:59:06.000 so when's the last time

00:59:07.520 you saw your parents?

00:59:08.500 so when I

00:59:08.920 in 2003

00:59:10.040 when I left to go

00:59:10.880 to get recruited

00:59:11.300 I never went home

00:59:11.920 I never went home

00:59:13.660 because if I went home

00:59:15.800 I would get captured

00:59:16.540 people would know

00:59:17.220 I'm in the military

00:59:18.320 so maybe it was

00:59:20.060 an advantage for you

00:59:20.800 for nobody to know

00:59:21.460 who you were

00:59:22.000 exactly

00:59:22.360 to be a quiet guy

00:59:23.040 nobody knew anything

00:59:24.180 even in the Iraqi military

00:59:25.280 nobody knew

00:59:26.080 because I never went home

00:59:26.920 truly the ones

00:59:27.860 that were under

00:59:28.500 the danger

00:59:30.640 is the one

00:59:31.300 that had kids

00:59:31.980 and family

00:59:32.400 and they had to go home

00:59:33.220 on leave

00:59:34.060 and that's the dangers

00:59:35.380 is that

00:59:35.940 most of the people

00:59:36.800 I was fighting with

00:59:37.400 were Kurds

00:59:38.520 they came from Kurdistan

00:59:39.540 so the neighborhoods

00:59:40.160 are safe

00:59:40.740 some of them

00:59:41.520 were the south of Iraq

00:59:42.520 they didn't have Al Qaeda

00:59:43.640 they didn't have all these

00:59:44.620 you know

00:59:45.200 like the Sunni

00:59:45.840 kind of extremists

00:59:47.840 in their areas

00:59:48.500 people who lived in Baghdad

00:59:50.260 they were the biggest target

00:59:51.120 some of them

00:59:51.640 would go home

00:59:52.200 and never come back

00:59:52.860 and we never found

00:59:53.780 what happened to them

00:59:54.440 so I never went home

00:59:57.100 and I just stayed in uniform

00:59:58.340 and after that battle

01:00:00.140 I got

01:00:00.540 received a battlefield promotion

01:00:02.060 I became a sergeant major

01:00:04.000 in the Iraqi military

01:00:04.760 and within a week

01:00:06.720 the American Special Forces

01:00:07.880 requested me

01:00:08.600 to become

01:00:09.080 the Iraqi MOD

01:00:10.420 Command Sergeant Major

01:00:11.380 because I was the only

01:00:12.420 NCO that spoke English

01:00:13.860 at that point

01:00:14.480 you were the only NCO

01:00:15.320 that spoke English

01:00:15.920 at that point

01:00:16.400 at that point

01:00:16.860 and at what point

01:00:17.520 did you start providing

01:00:18.340 intel to the US

01:00:19.220 when did that

01:00:19.940 2005

01:00:20.320 when I actually got appointed

01:00:21.520 to the Iraqi MOD

01:00:22.300 2005

01:00:23.520 you would be

01:00:25.240 how old in 2005

01:00:26.460 some 19 years old

01:00:27.440 yes

01:00:27.700 19 years old

01:00:28.060 so at 19 years old

01:00:29.040 you're not providing intel

01:00:29.920 to US

01:00:31.060 I became official

01:00:32.140 intelligent asset

01:00:32.920 for the US intelligence

01:00:33.760 and who are you

01:00:34.600 communicating with

01:00:35.340 you're communicating with

01:00:36.340 I know a lot of your

01:00:37.040 information would go

01:00:37.700 to the White House

01:00:38.260 President Bush

01:00:38.840 have a lot of your

01:00:39.540 briefings would be given

01:00:40.600 to him

01:00:40.880 general

01:00:41.240 you know

01:00:42.240 you got a lot of these

01:00:43.300 in the beginning

01:00:44.020 it was actually

01:00:44.840 strictly to the US

01:00:46.620 military intelligence

01:00:47.320 strictly to the US

01:00:49.180 military intelligence

01:00:49.740 strictly in the beginning

01:00:50.340 that was like

01:00:50.940 the beginning

01:00:51.380 when I got recruited

01:00:52.360 is it because

01:00:52.960 they still don't trust you

01:00:53.880 it's kind of like

01:00:54.400 no I don't think

01:00:55.720 it was

01:00:55.980 it was about a trust

01:00:57.440 it was that

01:00:58.040 I was just the right

01:00:59.040 candidate

01:00:59.480 in that building

01:01:00.580 because

01:01:01.060 these were Americans

01:01:02.420 their job was to build

01:01:03.420 the infrastructure

01:01:03.920 of the Iraqi military

01:01:04.660 they would cross

01:01:05.740 every single day

01:01:06.500 from an area

01:01:07.100 called the grain zone

01:01:07.840 which is a US

01:01:08.680 controlled area

01:01:10.020 to the MOD

01:01:11.140 which is a next door

01:01:12.280 to the grain zone

01:01:13.060 so once the Americans

01:01:14.380 come into this building

01:01:15.440 this is not considered

01:01:16.260 a US base

01:01:17.920 50 about 50 of them

01:01:20.100 but one thing

01:01:21.260 they didn't realize

01:01:22.460 that the American government

01:01:23.380 meant that

01:01:23.820 the terrorist organization

01:01:26.220 in Iraq

01:01:26.560 started forming themselves

01:01:27.440 as a political party

01:01:28.240 you have people

01:01:29.400 in the government

01:01:29.880 that actually works

01:01:30.560 with Al Qaeda

01:01:30.980 you have people

01:01:31.420 in the government

01:01:31.760 that works with Iran

01:01:32.500 you had

01:01:34.000 literally every single

01:01:36.880 one of your enemies

01:01:39.740 inside of that building

01:01:40.460 but the Americans

01:01:41.520 did not know

01:01:42.280 how to react

01:01:43.240 or how to deal with that

01:01:44.480 because this was

01:01:45.340 new for them

01:01:45.920 I was basically

01:01:47.260 the only candidate

01:01:48.020 for them

01:01:48.580 that was a young age

01:01:49.840 never been in the old government

01:01:51.040 never been in the old

01:01:51.840 Iraqi military

01:01:52.540 and spoke English

01:01:54.120 and was more of

01:01:54.840 the Americanized NCO

01:01:56.200 someone who was trained

01:01:57.100 strictly by the Americans

01:01:58.120 and I was basically

01:02:00.480 the assurance

01:02:01.900 to their safety

01:02:02.660 being in the building

01:02:03.520 how did they not know

01:02:05.500 that you're providing intel

01:02:06.860 on the Iraqi side

01:02:08.820 the enemy side

01:02:09.540 not necessarily

01:02:10.260 on the US side

01:02:11.920 how were you able

01:02:13.060 to get the intel

01:02:13.760 and provide it to them

01:02:14.580 without them knowing

01:02:15.300 that you're the one

01:02:15.760 that's providing intel

01:02:16.480 for them

01:02:16.880 because nobody knew

01:02:19.040 I had anything

01:02:20.300 to do with Americans

01:02:21.000 my job was to be

01:02:21.760 the command sergeant major

01:02:22.600 to provide security

01:02:23.580 for the building

01:02:24.580 from inside

01:02:25.200 and outside of the building

01:02:26.080 how are you

01:02:26.980 when are you meeting

01:02:27.560 with the US

01:02:28.060 to give them the intel

01:02:29.120 or the information

01:02:29.740 so in 2005

01:02:30.960 my main job

01:02:33.080 was to protect

01:02:33.740 the intelligent team

01:02:34.800 that was there

01:02:35.380 to collect intel

01:02:36.500 inside of the building

01:02:37.380 later on

01:02:39.040 when I got recruited

01:02:40.520 by the OGA agents

01:02:42.820 there was nothing

01:02:43.940 I would not have

01:02:45.120 any communications

01:02:45.840 in that building

01:02:46.360 with any Americans

01:02:47.180 howsoever

01:02:47.640 perhaps the Americans

01:02:49.140 were told

01:02:50.140 not to speak to me

01:02:51.120 if they see me

01:02:51.540 in the hallway

01:02:51.960 and I would only meet

01:02:53.240 them in the green zone

01:02:54.040 in a secure location

01:02:54.940 about six miles

01:02:55.960 from that place

01:02:56.620 nobody followed you

01:02:57.480 to know where you're going

01:02:58.220 nobody was paranoid of you

01:02:59.840 because they don't have

01:03:00.060 the green zone badges

01:03:00.520 I was the only one

01:03:01.480 with the access

01:03:02.160 to the area

01:03:02.780 who gave you a green zone badge

01:03:03.380 Americans

01:03:03.800 but wouldn't that be

01:03:05.300 a tip

01:03:05.640 to know that you

01:03:07.260 nobody knew

01:03:07.900 I had that kind of access

01:03:08.700 nobody knew

01:03:09.280 you had that kind of access

01:03:10.020 nobody knew

01:03:10.880 and there was nobody

01:03:11.400 following you

01:03:12.400 no of course

01:03:12.960 I would know

01:03:13.700 I was trained

01:03:14.760 to make sure

01:03:15.240 that no one follows me

01:03:16.240 because there are

01:03:16.880 certain people

01:03:17.440 that had access

01:03:18.120 inside of the green zone

01:03:19.040 but certain places

01:03:21.400 I would go inside

01:03:22.480 of a US bases

01:03:23.460 in the green zone

01:03:24.260 and areas where

01:03:25.480 no Iraqi local nationals

01:03:27.600 would exist

01:03:28.140 now who were

01:03:28.800 some of the most

01:03:29.280 dangerous people

01:03:29.900 that you associate

01:03:30.540 yourself with

01:03:31.060 at the time

01:03:31.620 that were people

01:03:33.120 that could you know

01:03:33.920 cause create

01:03:34.660 a lot of havoc

01:03:35.600 back then

01:03:36.860 it was members

01:03:37.320 so we had a list

01:03:38.780 of all the operators

01:03:39.860 that were operating

01:03:40.540 inside of the MOD

01:03:41.360 but our number one

01:03:42.600 and number two

01:03:43.040 of course is Al Qaeda

01:03:43.940 and the Islamic State

01:03:44.820 operatives back then

01:03:45.580 which later on

01:03:46.120 became ISIS

01:03:46.760 these individuals

01:03:48.400 were extremely dangerous

01:03:49.300 they were not just there

01:03:50.240 to collect intelligence

01:03:51.100 they actually

01:03:51.700 had the potential

01:03:52.800 to hurt Americans

01:03:53.760 so

01:03:54.500 some of the individuals

01:03:56.540 that I actually

01:03:57.720 went toe-to-toe with

01:03:59.320 was Sabah Dilemi

01:04:00.160 which was known

01:04:01.000 to be a terrorist

01:04:01.680 in the Ambar province

01:04:02.620 which was actually

01:04:03.660 inside of the building

01:04:04.300 as well

01:04:04.660 they were killing

01:04:05.260 Americans in the Ambar province

01:04:06.440 but they got access

01:04:08.060 through the Iraqi

01:04:09.060 Minister of Defense

01:04:10.600 to be inside of the building

01:04:11.820 and they all have badges

01:04:14.140 and they tried to

01:04:15.140 kidnap an American officer

01:04:15.940 from inside of the building

01:04:16.760 in 2005

01:04:17.480 and you're in the middle

01:04:18.580 of all this stuff

01:04:19.300 yeah I mean

01:04:20.360 at that age

01:04:20.920 at 19 years old

01:04:21.940 I know I was dying

01:04:23.320 you accepted it

01:04:25.120 I had a car bomb

01:04:26.540 blowing up

01:04:26.940 every single day

01:04:27.540 at my checkpoint

01:04:28.000 I had suicide bombers

01:04:29.540 blowing up

01:04:29.900 that's just in the front checkpoint

01:04:30.980 I'm not talking about

01:04:31.680 the bad people inside

01:04:32.580 I had mortars

01:04:33.780 I had katushas falling

01:04:34.860 my chance of me dying

01:04:38.080 was any day

01:04:38.980 I would come out

01:04:40.100 at 6 o'clock in the morning

01:04:41.240 to the checkpoint

01:04:41.800 and every single day

01:04:43.160 I would have something

01:04:43.920 that goes on

01:04:44.560 so I was going to die anyway

01:04:46.880 it's just

01:04:48.000 customize your own death

01:04:49.360 how do you want to go down

01:04:50.560 and for me was

01:04:51.900 if I can cause them

01:04:53.240 as much damage

01:04:53.940 as possible

01:04:55.160 I would do so

01:04:56.460 and I think

01:04:58.220 to this day

01:04:58.940 I believe

01:04:59.580 I was the only

01:05:00.580 intelligent asset

01:05:01.620 in Iraq

01:05:02.460 that Al Qaeda

01:05:04.100 and all these

01:05:04.980 terrorist organizations

01:05:05.640 could not kill

01:05:06.620 because I was a military soldier

01:05:08.760 I was protected

01:05:10.180 by my soldiers

01:05:10.840 I was protected

01:05:11.300 by my teams

01:05:11.980 I don't go to leave home

01:05:13.380 I don't put on uniform

01:05:14.360 like the rest of the Iraqi officers

01:05:15.460 you sleep in at the barracks

01:05:16.120 every night?

01:05:16.600 I sleep in a place

01:05:17.420 where they think I sleep

01:05:18.260 but I sleep somewhere else

01:05:19.200 where were you sleeping?

01:05:20.440 I was sleeping

01:05:20.960 in a different building

01:05:21.700 than where my room was

01:05:22.300 in a building

01:05:22.820 in a building

01:05:23.340 so I slept actually

01:05:25.140 in an area where

01:05:25.820 there's nobody

01:05:26.960 was living there

01:05:28.200 I would actually

01:05:28.840 enter my room

01:05:29.500 and I would leave

01:05:29.960 through a window

01:05:30.480 and I would go sleep

01:05:31.800 where my other place is

01:05:33.100 because I couldn't trust

01:05:34.060 anybody in the inside

01:05:34.960 what kind of a life

01:05:35.440 do you have at that time?

01:05:36.120 do you have any kind

01:05:36.580 of a personal life?

01:05:37.420 anything?

01:05:37.740 nothing

01:05:38.140 nothing?

01:05:39.560 completely no life

01:05:40.700 no friend

01:05:41.380 no women

01:05:42.060 no girl

01:05:42.700 no family

01:05:43.480 no one to talk to

01:05:44.740 nothing

01:05:45.120 once I became

01:05:46.240 an intelligent asset

01:05:47.240 for the US intelligence

01:05:48.120 I became a machine

01:05:49.540 for how long

01:05:50.720 did that last?

01:05:51.800 until from 2005

01:05:52.920 to 2007

01:05:53.800 you almost have to

01:05:55.620 have no feelings

01:05:56.220 to be able to

01:05:56.780 do that job

01:05:57.600 really there was

01:05:59.080 no feelings about it

01:05:59.920 I think the joy

01:06:00.980 for me personally

01:06:02.160 it was seeing

01:06:03.300 those guys go down

01:06:04.300 that was the joy

01:06:06.040 for me

01:06:06.400 I enjoyed every bit

01:06:07.620 of it

01:06:07.800 I wasn't

01:06:08.220 when did you know

01:06:09.160 that your purpose

01:06:10.240 you served your purpose

01:06:11.280 like when was it

01:06:12.060 when you said

01:06:12.540 I finally got my vengeance

01:06:14.760 was there ever a feeling

01:06:15.780 like that for you?

01:06:16.640 until today

01:06:17.080 until today

01:06:17.780 until today you don't have it

01:06:18.700 until today

01:06:19.060 I actually cried

01:06:20.320 when I left the MOD

01:06:21.200 when they told me

01:06:22.560 that I had to leave

01:06:23.300 and one of my

01:06:24.180 intel sources

01:06:25.920 one of my team members

01:06:26.680 got killed

01:06:27.080 they shot him in the head

01:06:27.900 and there was a message

01:06:29.080 to let me know

01:06:29.820 that we'll wait for you

01:06:30.620 forever

01:06:30.940 until you come out

01:06:31.600 of this building

01:06:32.060 and

01:06:33.340 I didn't want to leave

01:06:35.720 and the only reason

01:06:37.560 that my friend died

01:06:38.500 because

01:06:39.400 I decided to stay

01:06:40.680 07

01:06:42.460 at what point

01:06:43.160 did you come to the States?

01:06:44.140 2008

01:06:44.640 so you followed

01:06:45.980 how did you come here?

01:06:46.980 what was the

01:06:47.460 the US government

01:06:48.300 brought me here

01:06:48.880 they brought out you?

01:06:49.840 ok

01:06:50.780 and then

01:06:51.800 from there

01:06:52.400 do you have a career here?

01:06:54.420 what do you

01:06:54.660 how do you make your money?

01:06:55.520 your job?

01:06:55.900 I came here in 2008

01:06:57.900 and I went straight

01:06:58.840 to doing training

01:06:59.580 on insider threat

01:07:00.340 as you know

01:07:00.820 I was like the only

01:07:01.480 intelligent asset

01:07:02.180 that was operating

01:07:03.140 with individual

01:07:04.340 that would work with you

01:07:05.340 or enemy

01:07:05.900 that would work with you

01:07:06.580 within the same area

01:07:07.740 so I came here

01:07:09.500 and I started doing training

01:07:10.800 for the US military

01:07:12.860 training them

01:07:13.440 on insider threat

01:07:14.140 contractor?

01:07:15.020 training them

01:07:15.720 specifically

01:07:16.560 US military advisors

01:07:18.180 who are working

01:07:18.780 with the Iraqi military

01:07:19.640 as a consultant

01:07:20.340 as a trainer

01:07:21.560 as a culture advisor

01:07:22.540 as a consultant

01:07:24.360 till today

01:07:24.940 I've been doing that

01:07:26.220 for about 10 years

01:07:26.980 and when my book

01:07:28.600 kind of got released

01:07:29.780 I became a motivational speaker

01:07:31.940 and I started becoming

01:07:33.160 more of an entrepreneur

01:07:33.860 investing in myself

01:07:34.740 but I did this

01:07:36.020 out of love

01:07:36.520 to the military

01:07:37.200 you know

01:07:37.600 they used to pay me

01:07:38.620 whatever

01:07:38.860 and I used to go

01:07:39.540 even if I didn't get paid

01:07:40.740 I would still go

01:07:41.460 I felt it was a duty

01:07:42.600 for me

01:07:43.120 to return the favor

01:07:45.380 that the United States

01:07:46.800 have done for me

01:07:47.320 what's next for you

01:07:47.860 you're 34 years old

01:07:48.760 I mean motivational speaking

01:07:49.720 you can do that

01:07:50.460 but it's not like

01:07:51.260 you know

01:07:52.040 when you got

01:07:52.540 the kind of life experience

01:07:53.600 that you got

01:07:54.200 you know

01:07:54.440 sometimes there's a temptation

01:07:55.440 to want to do something bigger

01:07:56.560 like what's long term

01:07:58.020 aspirations for you?

01:07:59.720 next thing for me

01:08:00.600 I would believe

01:08:01.660 is politics

01:08:02.320 and that's what

01:08:03.500 most of my fans

01:08:04.380 have been asking

01:08:04.840 here or

01:08:05.660 here

01:08:05.980 absolutely

01:08:06.980 no aspirations

01:08:08.000 ever to go back

01:08:09.020 no absolutely

01:08:09.640 zero

01:08:10.180 I'm done

01:08:10.880 you found your home

01:08:11.760 I can never go back

01:08:13.080 okay

01:08:13.580 even if a revolution

01:08:15.020 takes place

01:08:15.680 and things get settled

01:08:16.500 could be

01:08:16.880 you know

01:08:17.320 if the young generation

01:08:18.920 of Iraq win

01:08:19.600 yeah

01:08:19.800 it could be a possibility

01:08:20.380 I can go back to visit

01:08:21.320 so I got a question for you

01:08:22.740 I have the map here

01:08:23.720 okay

01:08:24.200 so obviously

01:08:25.320 when most people

01:08:26.680 look at this map

01:08:27.520 you know

01:08:28.480 it's just kind of like

01:08:29.120 okay

01:08:29.380 it's the Middle East

01:08:30.080 you got Saudi Arabia

01:08:31.020 Yemen

01:08:31.400 you know

01:08:32.120 you got Kuwait

01:08:33.140 Dubai

01:08:34.540 you got Jordan

01:08:36.620 Israel

01:08:37.120 Lebanon

01:08:37.540 Syria

01:08:37.980 Iraq

01:08:38.340 Iran

01:08:38.540 how do you look at this

01:08:39.920 when you see this map

01:08:40.820 what's the first thing

01:08:41.660 you think about

01:08:42.200 and look at

01:08:42.560 when you see this map

01:08:43.280 I hope it won't insults anybody

01:08:46.500 no

01:08:47.220 it's all good

01:08:47.760 but

01:08:47.980 I look

01:08:49.940 of neighbors

01:08:51.660 that we shouldn't have

01:08:52.740 you look at neighbors

01:08:54.000 that you shouldn't have

01:08:54.640 yeah

01:08:54.920 it's just have never been

01:08:56.820 you know

01:08:58.780 like some of them

01:08:59.360 has not done

01:08:59.980 but I would say

01:09:00.560 you know

01:09:00.800 like

01:09:01.100 when you look at

01:09:02.920 Saudi Arabia and Iran

01:09:03.860 is

01:09:05.140 it's two neighbors

01:09:06.440 that

01:09:06.760 never done

01:09:08.460 you any good

01:09:08.860 these have never done

01:09:10.920 you any good

01:09:11.380 no

01:09:11.680 why them

01:09:12.300 why Saudi Arabia

01:09:14.080 why Saudi Arabia

01:09:14.980 I think Saudi Arabia

01:09:16.060 recently has changed

01:09:17.200 its politics

01:09:18.240 towards Iraq

01:09:19.240 they have been helpful

01:09:20.140 which I want to say

01:09:20.860 in the last few years

01:09:21.820 but before they weren't

01:09:23.300 you know

01:09:23.540 before

01:09:23.920 you know

01:09:24.720 from 2003 up to 2000

01:09:26.900 and maybe

01:09:27.480 you know

01:09:27.940 13, 14

01:09:29.600 it was

01:09:31.660 just as much

01:09:32.500 the same intention

01:09:33.080 as Iran

01:09:33.480 they were actually

01:09:35.340 taking care of their business

01:09:36.420 and their conflict

01:09:36.980 with Iran

01:09:37.380 in Iraq

01:09:38.080 and it cost Iraqis

01:09:39.580 a lot of Iraqis

01:09:40.160 their lives

01:09:40.520 how do you view Israel

01:09:41.540 Israel

01:09:43.020 I had a plenty

01:09:44.480 of respect for Israel

01:09:45.440 I think Israel

01:09:46.820 as a small country

01:09:48.040 has established itself

01:09:49.240 and

01:09:50.240 producing something

01:09:51.940 good for their own people

01:09:52.900 they're coming with

01:09:54.040 technologies

01:09:54.600 they're coming with

01:09:55.160 something that's great

01:09:55.980 whenever the Arabs

01:09:57.140 learns to do the same thing

01:09:58.260 they will do great

01:09:58.860 for their nations

01:09:59.440 I don't believe

01:10:02.360 by the way

01:10:02.820 Israel

01:10:03.280 is behind every problem

01:10:04.860 in the Middle East

01:10:05.440 as it's a norm

01:10:06.260 we have in the Middle East

01:10:07.180 if someone's

01:10:08.520 bathroom door breaks

01:10:09.740 they will blame Israel

01:10:10.760 for it

01:10:11.240 but that's been

01:10:12.020 a psychological

01:10:12.720 who's they?

01:10:14.460 governments

01:10:14.860 I know

01:10:15.420 but when you say

01:10:16.160 they will blame

01:10:16.940 who is they?

01:10:18.180 people

01:10:18.620 because they're used to it

01:10:20.120 they've been soaked

01:10:20.720 in this ideology

01:10:21.740 to say it's all

01:10:22.700 Israel's fault

01:10:23.480 yeah absolutely

01:10:23.900 I still have people

01:10:24.800 in Iraq that tell me

01:10:25.720 like oh I think

01:10:26.380 Israel is behind this

01:10:27.320 and I'm like

01:10:27.700 you'll be crazy

01:10:28.380 to think that

01:10:28.920 who gets credit for that

01:10:29.760 mainstream media

01:10:30.460 as it goes back to media

01:10:31.420 or at the top?

01:10:32.500 the Ayatollahs

01:10:34.300 the people who are

01:10:35.700 against Israel

01:10:36.280 the enemy of Israel

01:10:37.080 benefit out of that

01:10:38.100 but I don't believe

01:10:38.900 that's actually

01:10:39.460 a reality or true

01:10:40.640 Israel does not have

01:10:42.360 any interest

01:10:43.020 in some of the things

01:10:44.000 that are happening

01:10:44.500 but their enemies

01:10:45.640 would like to blame it

01:10:46.360 on them

01:10:46.660 so you saw

01:10:47.820 World War III

01:10:48.460 was trending

01:10:48.940 1.59 million times

01:10:50.540 it was trending

01:10:51.540 on Twitter

01:10:51.980 hashtag being used

01:10:53.040 is there any likelihood

01:10:55.380 of anything crazy

01:10:57.020 taking place

01:10:57.680 with war

01:10:58.200 coming out of

01:10:58.820 the Middle East

01:10:59.340 any chances

01:11:00.420 of that taking place

01:11:01.180 where it leads

01:11:01.600 to a big war

01:11:02.320 it could

01:11:03.100 if Ayatollah

01:11:05.140 gets more aggressive

01:11:05.800 I think if Ayatollah

01:11:07.380 does not

01:11:08.180 pull his hands

01:11:09.680 out of those countries

01:11:11.100 or the Middle East

01:11:12.060 in general

01:11:12.560 I can see that

01:11:14.500 I can see that

01:11:16.500 not countries

01:11:17.900 going against Iran

01:11:18.740 I can see each country

01:11:20.200 going against

01:11:21.560 its own

01:11:22.480 that's what I see

01:11:23.620 you can see

01:11:24.300 each country

01:11:25.060 going against its own

01:11:26.120 because in Iraq

01:11:27.000 we're not

01:11:28.100 in Iraq

01:11:28.920 we're not going

01:11:29.340 against the Iranian people

01:11:30.300 we're going against

01:11:32.060 the people

01:11:32.460 that are being appointed

01:11:33.220 our own people

01:11:34.080 that are being appointed

01:11:34.760 by Ayatollah

01:11:35.540 so

01:11:36.240 and that's been the goal

01:11:37.880 is to keep us divided

01:11:38.940 the only way

01:11:39.980 we can break out of that

01:11:40.860 is to be united

01:11:41.820 and not

01:11:42.840 care about

01:11:43.660 what our backgrounds are

01:11:44.740 and just to look at

01:11:45.540 we're Iraqis

01:11:46.220 doesn't matter

01:11:46.920 where you come from

01:11:47.540 you know

01:11:48.220 if you're Yazidi

01:11:48.840 Shabak

01:11:49.260 if you're Sunni

01:11:49.940 Shiite

01:11:50.340 Christian

01:11:51.340 whatever you are

01:11:52.080 it doesn't matter

01:11:53.200 once we learn

01:11:53.880 to look at that

01:11:54.440 we can break out

01:11:55.180 of the chains

01:11:55.660 Ayatollah put on us

01:11:56.760 how often

01:11:57.540 when you were in Iraq

01:11:58.220 and you went to school

01:11:58.900 how often would they

01:11:59.540 talk about the

01:12:00.020 Strait of Hormuz

01:12:00.640 like was that

01:12:01.160 a typical conversation

01:12:02.340 or not really

01:12:03.040 actually we looked at it

01:12:04.240 just in geography

01:12:04.940 yeah

01:12:05.320 we know that

01:12:07.180 the gulf

01:12:09.800 we call it the gulf

01:12:10.620 yeah

01:12:10.920 I know that

01:12:12.340 Iranians call it

01:12:13.020 the Persian gulf

01:12:13.620 Arabs call it

01:12:14.800 the Arabian gulf

01:12:15.640 you call it the gulf

01:12:16.620 I just call it the gulf

01:12:17.700 because I really don't know

01:12:18.940 where the truth is

01:12:19.760 and sometimes

01:12:20.200 you really have to think

01:12:21.120 you can't go with

01:12:21.820 your emotions

01:12:22.380 when it comes to

01:12:23.440 what you've been told

01:12:24.200 sometimes you really have to think

01:12:25.440 geographically

01:12:26.160 who where does this area

01:12:27.700 belong to

01:12:28.240 but I think Iran

01:12:30.000 has been using this

01:12:31.380 as a pressure point

01:12:34.700 on the rest of the world

01:12:36.160 and it needs to be a way

01:12:38.360 where this place

01:12:38.980 needs to be utilized

01:12:39.720 this place

01:12:40.400 needs to be controlled

01:12:41.080 it's a method of bullying

01:12:42.960 it's a method of leverage

01:12:44.060 for them

01:12:44.480 it's a method of them

01:12:45.280 putting the fear

01:12:45.980 because

01:12:46.420 when you got

01:12:47.860 most of the oil

01:12:49.580 in Asia

01:12:50.300 coming from here

01:12:51.460 China

01:12:51.900 all those guys

01:12:52.480 are relying on this

01:12:53.360 they are very worried

01:12:55.160 about conflict

01:12:55.980 being here

01:12:56.460 because

01:12:56.740 and that means

01:12:57.260 they're going to be

01:12:57.760 paying the price

01:12:58.440 because

01:12:58.760 China doesn't have

01:13:00.060 as much oil

01:13:00.560 as they think

01:13:00.980 they do

01:13:01.240 I mean look what

01:13:01.480 happened in the UK

01:13:02.100 recently

01:13:02.540 you know

01:13:02.880 they easily took

01:13:04.860 a British ship

01:13:05.980 out of the place

01:13:06.820 that's right

01:13:07.320 and they use it

01:13:08.740 to actually

01:13:09.180 to

01:13:09.920 they use it

01:13:11.800 to pressure

01:13:12.200 certain countries

01:13:12.940 in Europe

01:13:13.360 and in the Middle East

01:13:15.180 too

01:13:15.400 these are interesting

01:13:18.560 times man

01:13:19.260 I mean

01:13:19.500 I look at the people

01:13:20.720 of Iran

01:13:21.160 and they message me

01:13:22.800 and we talk

01:13:23.340 all the time

01:13:23.980 regularly

01:13:24.540 and you feel

01:13:26.060 for them

01:13:26.380 because I lived

01:13:26.860 there for 10 years

01:13:27.560 and I know

01:13:28.240 what it was like

01:13:29.580 to be a kid

01:13:30.360 and we're going

01:13:30.860 against Saddam

01:13:31.600 so Iran's going

01:13:32.260 against Iraq

01:13:32.820 and Saddam is bombing

01:13:33.720 this whole 8 years

01:13:34.780 and I'm living

01:13:36.120 in the capital

01:13:36.740 we're getting bombed

01:13:37.380 we're going to

01:13:37.740 the city of Karaj

01:13:38.600 at the time

01:13:40.120 everywhere you're going

01:13:41.260 bombing

01:13:41.640 it's a lot of fear

01:13:44.220 that it puts in kids

01:13:45.460 but there's a lot

01:13:47.220 of true believers

01:13:47.860 that came out of it

01:13:48.640 that are also

01:13:49.220 looking forward

01:13:49.960 to seeing a revolution

01:13:50.820 take place

01:13:51.520 to possibly go back

01:13:53.000 and visit their homeland

01:13:53.860 it will be very

01:13:54.880 very interesting

01:13:55.660 to see

01:13:56.200 what happens

01:13:57.420 here in Iran

01:13:58.120 in the next

01:14:00.080 3, 6, 12 months

01:14:02.220 12 months

01:14:02.920 yes

01:14:03.200 I think if Iran

01:14:04.640 fixes itself

01:14:05.760 the rest of the Middle East

01:14:07.500 will be automatically

01:14:09.040 in peace

01:14:09.740 if the Iranian people

01:14:11.960 make that change

01:14:13.560 it's a change

01:14:14.240 for every nation

01:14:14.920 in the Middle East

01:14:15.560 that's how I feel

01:14:16.360 yeah

01:14:18.640 I think

01:14:19.300 for that to happen

01:14:20.280 a lot of it

01:14:22.940 has to do

01:14:23.740 with U.S.

01:14:25.200 depending on

01:14:25.840 who's running

01:14:26.380 the regime here

01:14:27.340 switches politics

01:14:28.940 on who they support

01:14:29.920 it becomes too much

01:14:30.740 about politics

01:14:31.540 and when Iran

01:14:33.720 was good

01:14:34.600 with the Shah

01:14:35.680 being there

01:14:36.280 and there was peace

01:14:37.240 I mean obviously

01:14:37.680 nothing is perfect

01:14:38.340 you're talking about

01:14:38.700 Saddam Hussein

01:14:39.140 had 35 different

01:14:40.020 military intelligence

01:14:41.300 while the Shah

01:14:43.920 had Savak

01:14:44.600 but I think

01:14:46.400 if it goes back

01:14:47.620 to good

01:14:48.280 the people

01:14:49.560 that have been

01:14:50.320 abusing these nations

01:14:51.740 with oil

01:14:52.340 if they get out

01:14:53.600 of the way

01:14:53.960 and don't do

01:14:54.320 the bullying

01:14:54.680 and the games

01:14:55.360 I think it can

01:14:56.460 stay peaceful

01:14:57.020 but if it doesn't

01:14:57.740 there's always

01:14:58.180 going to be

01:14:58.520 another Khomeini

01:14:59.940 another Saddam Hussein

01:15:01.320 to inspire

01:15:02.000 where they're growing up

01:15:02.840 looking up to these guys

01:15:03.860 and they want to be

01:15:04.400 the next one

01:15:04.820 I want to be

01:15:05.180 the next Soleimani

01:15:05.940 I don't think

01:15:09.060 it's going to be

01:15:09.480 as easy as

01:15:10.300 if Iran is peace

01:15:12.040 Middle East

01:15:12.480 is going to be peace

01:15:13.040 I think it's going

01:15:13.700 to be a good

01:15:14.800 40, 60 year

01:15:16.500 of control

01:15:17.380 before that takes place

01:15:18.400 because you've got

01:15:18.900 to get the generations

01:15:19.660 to have more peace

01:15:20.420 in them

01:15:20.760 if you don't take

01:15:22.100 this government

01:15:22.620 you're going to have

01:15:23.400 maybe a hundred

01:15:24.300 Zayatullah

01:15:24.820 for the next decade

01:15:25.660 I agree with you

01:15:26.780 I agree with you

01:15:27.620 it's not going to change

01:15:28.480 and that's why I think

01:15:29.240 we expect things

01:15:30.340 to come peacefully

01:15:31.100 but

01:15:31.440 oh it's not going to be

01:15:32.540 it's not going to be

01:15:32.980 it's going to be

01:15:33.720 very, very ugly

01:15:35.180 one time I sat down

01:15:36.460 with a guy

01:15:36.840 this guy's a billionaire

01:15:37.540 his family's worth

01:15:38.380 3.9 billion dollars

01:15:39.300 and I'm trying to do

01:15:39.900 business with them

01:15:40.500 and we're sitting down

01:15:41.120 I'm in insurance

01:15:41.520 I'm coming up

01:15:42.120 I'm 30 years old

01:15:42.920 he at the time

01:15:44.020 is the son of this family

01:15:45.240 that's worth 3.9 billion dollars

01:15:46.560 he sits there with me

01:15:47.340 he says listen Patrick

01:15:48.040 here's the difference

01:15:49.160 between us and you

01:15:50.540 we know you want us

01:15:51.880 to do this deal with you

01:15:52.900 we'd love to do it

01:15:54.000 but for us

01:15:55.020 I wake up every morning

01:15:56.900 with one job

01:15:58.100 my job is to protect

01:15:59.500 our family's billions

01:16:01.080 your job is to

01:16:02.340 make billions

01:16:03.220 it's a different situation

01:16:04.600 you need to take risks

01:16:06.240 we don't need to take risks

01:16:07.640 I think there's a lot of nations

01:16:09.100 that don't want to see

01:16:10.180 a lot of movement here

01:16:11.020 because any kind of risks

01:16:12.860 hurts them

01:16:13.840 they would much rather

01:16:15.000 be at peace

01:16:15.800 but these guys

01:16:16.780 the Iranian populace

01:16:18.060 has to be looking at it

01:16:18.920 as a coming up

01:16:20.400 with the opportunity

01:16:21.220 for them

01:16:21.780 they're fighting

01:16:22.580 for their future

01:16:23.360 freedom

01:16:24.120 and it's going to take

01:16:25.200 some courage

01:16:25.640 and guts and risk

01:16:26.360 to be able to make

01:16:26.900 that happen for themselves

01:16:27.580 we've got to learn

01:16:28.060 to take losses

01:16:28.660 it's inevitable

01:16:29.880 it's easy for you

01:16:30.860 not to say

01:16:31.260 we're sitting over here

01:16:31.940 for them to watch

01:16:32.620 and say

01:16:32.820 you don't know

01:16:33.120 what it's like

01:16:33.440 to be the parent

01:16:33.980 or the kids

01:16:34.380 and all this other stuff

01:16:35.120 but at the same time

01:16:36.340 it is what it is

01:16:36.980 look

01:16:37.200 final thoughts

01:16:38.040 I watched a documentary

01:16:39.020 the first military

01:16:39.860 intelligence documentary

01:16:40.760 that was done

01:16:41.320 it was very interesting

01:16:42.460 on Amazon

01:16:42.920 and the book as well

01:16:44.200 I highly recommend you

01:16:45.720 if you want to know

01:16:46.320 more about what's going on

01:16:47.320 today

01:16:47.600 and I think it's something

01:16:48.400 for you to find out

01:16:49.220 for yourself

01:16:49.700 you got to go study

01:16:50.900 some of these things

01:16:51.720 in today's times

01:16:53.360 probably

01:16:54.080 I'd say probably

01:16:55.780 more than in the last

01:16:57.140 19 years

01:16:59.100 18 years

01:17:00.040 since 9-11 happened

01:17:00.900 I think it's probably

01:17:01.780 more important today

01:17:02.940 to study the conflicts

01:17:03.900 taking place

01:17:04.400 in the Middle East

01:17:04.900 today

01:17:05.180 than probably

01:17:06.240 in the last 10 or 15 years

01:17:07.320 having said that

01:17:08.100 Hamoudi

01:17:08.440 thank you so much

01:17:09.580 for coming out

01:17:10.100 and sharing your intel

01:17:10.860 with the rest of us

01:17:11.520 and some of the information

01:17:12.260 and experiences

01:17:12.640 with the rest of us

01:17:13.320 my pleasure

01:17:13.800 it's an honor to be here

01:17:14.720 it's been a blast

01:17:15.280 thanks everybody

01:17:16.040 for listening

01:17:16.600 and by the way

01:17:17.120 if you haven't already

01:17:17.780 subscribed to

01:17:18.460 Valuetainment on iTunes

01:17:19.760 please do so

01:17:21.080 give us a 5 star

01:17:22.400 write a review

01:17:23.280 if you haven't already

01:17:24.080 and if you have any

01:17:24.760 questions for me

01:17:25.700 that you may have

01:17:26.240 you can always find me

01:17:27.320 on Snapchat

01:17:27.840 Instagram

01:17:28.660 Facebook

01:17:29.360 or YouTube

01:17:30.060 just search my name

01:17:31.000 PatrickBitDavid

01:17:31.940 and I actually do

01:17:33.200 respond back

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01:17:36.740 with that being said

01:17:37.600 have a great day today

01:17:38.640 take care everybody

01:17:39.360 bye bye

Valuetainment - February 28, 2020

Episode 436： American Spy From Iraq Opens Up

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