I'm John Batch with my colleague Bill Rajo of the Foundation for the Defense of

Democracy and our colleagues Seth Fransman also of FDD, Chief Four Correspondent for the Jerusalem Post.

Bill, you have a question for Seth about Hezbollah.

Yes, Seth, you mentioned the malicious, Sibahawk, one of the most dangerous militias in Iraq, mentioned that it would

attack US forces, Huthies also threatened to weigh in.

Do the Israelis, first of all, can these, can the Iraqi militias serve as a strategic

death?

Could they enter Lebanon to engage with Israeli forces?

And do the Israelis take the threats from the Iraqi militias, the Syrian militias and

the Houthis seriously?

Well I think in terms of the first part of that question the Iraqi militias may have you know

a hundred thousand men under arms however these are people with you know lightly

armed men that are whose experience is primarily fighting ISIS or doing it or

pulling guard duty in Nineinnava province or something.

I mean, they're not up to what Hezbollah standards are or even Hamas standards maybe and

that means they're certainly not to fighting Israel.

I think that evidence shows also Iraq has in the last 70 years a few times tried to participate in

conflicts with Israel and Iraqi units have not come off so well.

So I would say the idea that these militias will be crossing from Iraq to drive to Lebanon

in busloads of men, it's a nice idea for them.

They may like to claim that they're not you know

kind of cannon fodder or something I mean they're not to say that they could not you know

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