British Hostage John Cantlie Mocks Obama in New Video, Says Americans "Bankrupt of Intelligence"

In an Islamic State (ISIS) video posted on the Internet on March 19, 2016, British photojournalist John Cantlie, held hostage by ISIS for over three years, showed the wreckage of what he said was media kiosk that "cost about 50 dollars to build" in Mosul, Iraq, and said: "If this is what Obama meant when he talked about degrading and ultimately destroying ISIS, it's clear he's got a long way to go yet." Mocking the American airstrikes, he said in the 3.5-minute video: "The Americans are so bankrupt of intelligence that this is all they have left to target."

John Cantlie: "Hello. I'm John Cantlie and today we are in Mosul in Iraq. As the war between the Islamic State and the U.S.-led coalition continues, the Americans have launched a surprising new tactic against the mujahideen. Using their 30-million-dollar F-18s and 100-thousand-dollar missile systems, they have begun targeting not tanks, not trucks, not even the mujahideen, but Islamic State media kiosks. This used to be one such media kiosk, targeted and destroyed the other day on this busy high street. The kiosks are used to distribute pamphlets and information regarding the Islamic State and serve to expose some of the lies and propaganda the Western media continues to peddle in their never-ending mission to target the image of the Islamic State. It's not much to look at because it cost about 50 dollars to build and now it's been flattened by the collective might of the American war machine.

"And one has to ask oneself, why bother? Is it a ruse by the CIA to somehow undermine the Islamic State's message to the Muslims of Mosul and therefore somehow diminish their control of the city? Is it perhaps to strike fear into the hearts of the mujahideen, thereby abandoning any ideas to build another dozen kiosks to replace this one? No. It's because the Americans are so bankrupt of intelligence that this is all they have left to target. And such attacks speak of the completely failed strategy of the U.S. air campaign if this is all they can target.

"And the dangers it poses to the civilians of Mosul are enormous. These kiosks are in the heart of this ancient city and are located in some of the busiest residential and shopping districts like this one. And yet some intelligence chief in the pentagon decided that this pile of twisted metal, which is about 10 feet by 15 feet, was a valid and worthwhile military target, regardless of the danger to civilian life. The U.S. are desperate for any success in their air campaign that continues in the skies over the caliphate. And here it is. After 20 months and five billion dollars, America has successfully destroyed an Islamic State media kiosk. If this is what Obama meant when he talked about degrading and ultimately destroying ISIS, he's clearly got a long way to go yet.

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"And you know, it's really just amazing given the amount of money that America is spending on this war that will go to the effort of destroying a small shack like this in the middle of Mosul and putting all the people that live around here in huge danger. This is all a residential area, these are all houses over there, shops here, a lot of them. The noise you can hear in the background is them having to fix the damage from the bomb strike here the other day. Such attacks prove the failed strategy of the American air campaign if this is all they can target. And the risks to Mosul's population are enormous. These kiosks are in the heart of the ancient city. They are located in some of the busiest residential and shopping areas like this one."