Joel - thank you for that very interesting interview.

The PMU groups look strong now, just as ISIS once did, but the question remains as to how militarily effective they can be and if they have the sort of funding and structure from Iran or the Iraqi government to actually entrench themselves over primarily Sunni or mixed areas in northern Iraq and Anbar.

Tikrit will eventually fall, but can this ragbag of organizations actually take and hold ground over time, especially in Sunni areas, without conducting a widespread ethnic cleansing campaign? And even if such a campaign could actually take place, what Shia settlers will venture from the south voluntarily to hold disputed ground?

Iran's help has helped Assad hold on in Syria, but they haven't been enough to hold the regime army together or prevent the widespread militia-zation of Assad forces. As we see in Syria, these militias do not have the 3Ci or logistical capabilities to undertake a decisive offensive onto unfamiliar ground. I doubt that this exists in Iraq either.