"Putin Tried To BUY Me" - The War Expert Who REFUSED To Betray America

The speaker recounts a past experience advising intel officers on their orders for Baghdad, specifically regarding Sadr City, a Shia area. He warned that a military entry into Sadr City would likely double suicide terrorism and worsen the situation. Instead, he recommended focusing on the main Sunni neighborhoods. While he can't definitively say his advice was followed, Sadr City was never entered militarily, and the "volcano" of terrorism was capped. However, he attributes the resurgence of ISIS to the Obama administration's neglect of the Anbar awakening in 2010-2011, allowing the Shia Maliki government to crush Sunni forces. His goal has always been to offer alternative strategies, not just criticize. He also discusses turning down invitations from Iranian and Russian state TV, as well as significant sums of money. He explains that after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, he decided against appearing on Russian state media like RT, viewing it as an act of clear aggression. He applies the same principle to Iran, refusing trips there. He believes in maintaining independence and not becoming a "pawn" for any political entity, foreign or domestic. He then details an incident in 2014 where a New York law firm offered him a substantial amount of money to file Freedom of Information Act requests about economic sanctions on Russia. Upon asking about their client, he learned it was Rosneft, a Russian oil and gas conglomerate closely tied to Putin. He immediately declined, refusing to do work that would essentially serve Putin's interests. He reported this incident to the US government, emphasizing his principle of not engaging in activities that compromise his independence, especially when dealing with foreign state-linked entities. He underlines that in today's monitored world, such activities are already known to intelligence agencies.