NBC correspondent Richard Engel described the rapidly deteriorating situation in Iraq Thursday on Andrea Mitchell Reports, calling it probably the "most complicated foreign policy challenge that President Obama is going to have to deal with" during his tenure.
Mosul, a city of nearly 2 million inhabitants, was seized by an al Qaeda-linked group Tuesday in yet another disaster for the Iraqi government's attempt to maintain its grip on power and security, and Engel described the extremist actions by the group, known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
"They are seizing weapons, they are seizing money in the city of Mosul, which has now become their stronghold in Iraq," Engel said. "Today, they were on the streets handing out gasoline, and as they go from town to town, other Sunnis -- not necessarily as radical as they are -- tribal clerics, tribal elders are joining them. "
In January, the key Iraqi city of Fallujah fell to al Qaeda as well.
Full remarks:
RICHARD ENGEL: The most dangerous thing that I've seen is that this group of very radical insurgents; some parts of ISIS are even more extreme than al Qaeda. They post pictures on social media of people they've beheaded. I've seen pictures that they've posted of horrible things. I'll just leave it at that. They are winning support as they go from town to town. They are seizing weapons, they are seizing money in the city of Mosul, which has now become their stronghold in Iraq. Today, they were on the streets handing out gasoline, and as they go from town to town, other Sunnis -- not necessarily as radical as they are -- tribal clerics, tribal elders are joining them. These are other people who have a grievance with al-Maliki. These are people who feel that Maliki is representing Shia interests, he's representing Iran's interests and are siding with this very disgusting organization that is able to take advantage of the situation. And then you have the Kurds, a large portion of the population who are carving out their own state and just took a major oil field today. This is probably the most complicated foreign policy challenge that President Obama is going to have to deal with as president.