iraqi troops are going there. they are intending to fight isis on the ground. these are iraqi troops trained by united states troops. the question, though, are are they properly armed and trained to fight isis on the ground without u.s. backing? well, the u.s. is backing them with air power. air power. but what about on the ground? that s the question. on the ground and i know one of the special forces senior officers who has been involved in training the sunni tribes for some period of time over in iraq. and these folks, they would not put them into combat if they were not ready. the last thing they want to see is a defeat. as it looks now, they are rolling up isis. they are now within about a half mile of the government complex, which is probably going to be fort apache for isis in ramadi. it includes sunni muslims trained by the united states. how crucial, critical, is this ground fight in moving forward?
if the islamic states controlling ramadi, and they have since may, they control the border here and they control the border here, now that s important, it s important because they can get fighters from raqqa. they can also toll and tax any industry, any goods that are coming across the border. so this is why ramadi is so strategically important. it s also got a number of sunni tribes, over 40, part of the anbar awakening counsel. they re absolutely key. and to influence those and to give those sunni tribes the stability will enable to the iraqi security forces to be able to drive the islamic state out. so a lot going on in ramadi at the moment. michael kaye, thanks for breaking that down for us. up next, we ll turn to politics. we ll break it down for you. when heartburn hits
the other thing is the deal to get the better actors out. how much intelligence did russia have before carrying out the air strike? good question. because what they did was they didn t use gps-guided bombs. they didn t use anything like that. they used rockets. ten rockets. rockets come either from an aircraft in a dive or a helicopter. you have to know the building. rockets are not very accurate. you have to deliver them up close and personal. so you think they knew he was there? absolutely. the target? absolutely. and also that probably means they had eyes on the ground. watching him go in that building, knowing that the building was. and the guys who delivered the weapons had to be close. they had to find the buildings. like i said, the rockets are not guided, they have to put them on the building. we have to move to ramadi.
iraqi forces say they are closing in on a pair of strongholds in ramadi. captain chuck nash joins me next to talk about what it means for the big picture. i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that s why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business. that s huge for my bottom line. what s in your wallet?
to minimize civilian casualties and that s why this is such a great test. account city be retaken without an extraordinary loss of civilian life? and once the iraqi forces have control of the area, will they treat the civilian/sunni population well? that s what this game is all about. taking the city back is just part of the struggle. the main challenge is to make sure the iraqis in ramadi make sure they re part of a new iraqi. the white house has been criticized. but now we re seeing a steady push for ramadi. talk about the timing of this and the political implications of why this is happening now. the military officials with whom i speak, the americans, say there is no doubt that progress could have been fast er but wit