Well before the fight to Liberate Mosul began in midoctober 2016, military experts warned could this be a very bloody affair, certainly been that and a whole lot more. Now, a war stories team is once again on the front lines of what may well be the last major battle against isis in iraq. Looking at these images of mosul before and after isis, its easy to forget the promise this city once represented to a free iraq including arab muslims, sunni and shia, kurds, christians and yazidis. Its being described as the most complex military operation since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003 by u. S. Led coalition. This time Iraqi Special forces are leading the fight centered in control of mosul. Once a vibrant city of 1. 5 Million People in northwest iraq. An estimated 5,000 Iraqi Military and police are engaged in bloody housetohouse fighting against suicidal isis jihadis. This as urban warfare and close quarter combat among hundreds of thousands of hostage civilians used as human shields. Isis upped its game, ieds and other technologies brought brutal casualties to them. They are fighting hard now as we speak. Reporter congresswoman Martha Mcsally served 26 years in the u. S. Air force retiring as colonel. With six deployments in the middle east including iraq and afghanistan holds the extinction of being the first attack pilot to fly in combat. Mcsally serves on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees. I sat down with her in our nations capitol. We got to cut them off to put them on their heels and shift the momentum. Reporter isis uses drones to direct jihadi suicide Truck Drivers to their targets, with devastating effect. Thats not something thats easily done, it requires a certain degree of sophistication, communications, shouldnt we have those kinds of capabilities to make sure he cant communicate with the truck driver . Absolutely. There is a level of sophistication they are using to do a targeting cycle. To find, fix and finish and communicate. We have capabilities in order to take out command and control. Why shouldnt we be using them now . Thats a great question. There were 10,000 american troops in iraq until december 2011. Boom, they were all gone. The problem is that the Obama Administration was committed to a timeline inclined to leave before the first day of 2012, and we did. And once we did, there was a tsunami. Professor walid phares is also co secretarygeneral of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Group on terrorism. The author of numerous books and middle east terrorism analyst for fox news. Everything in iraq collapsed because of the way we left iraq. When i was out there last year and this year looking at the situation underground, i was told by a good number of particularly kurds that it was fewer than 2,000 isis fighters that actually seized mosul. Is that true . Yes, 2000 or so of jihadists, isis jihadists, came invasion of france, very mobile. In that vacuum, describe what happens with the iraqi army that we trained essentially from 2008 to 2011 and continuing to advise and assist and all of a sudden were gone. What happened to that army . They felt that if they would fall, if they are taken prisoners by isis, theyll be beheaded, killed and nobody would give them a hideout or a place to hide. So they started to run away. In late june 2014 mosul fell to isis and hell on earth began for every man, woman and child in the city. Their choice, submit or be butchered. On friday july 4, 2014 during ramadan prayers at mosuls great mosque, abu bactar albaghdadi declared himself the islamic state. Why did he pick the mosque to deliver his caliphate speech. Mosul was the real capital of the caliphate. Now they call it raqaa. They took over the territory but still this administration stood by and did nothing. It wasnt until august of 2014 they started reluctantly conducting military operations but then it was the pinprick strikes, it was barely going after field enforcements, command and control, ability to finance the operation and bring in foreign fighters, train individuals, take territory, terrorize and kill individuals and expert terror to europe around and the globe. Unfortunately the vacuum which isis has utilized or took advantage of is still there. The fight to rid isis from iraq is personal, born in baghdad, he is the son of kurdish and shiite parents. Until the summer of 2016, he was iraqs ambassador to the United States. Its a new warfare which isis and isil are trying to project. We talk about american led coalition, but no american leaders up there. If you say to me can the war be conducted without the americans, i say not. We constantly here about the u. S. Led 65nation coalition. Ill be darned if i see anybody leading from the United States. Whats the truth of it . Weve got a cobbled together group of factions in iraq as youve seen. Youve got the kurds, the shia militias, the iraqi formal army. Youve got embedded u. S. Advisers, there are some uk and french support going on from the air plus the u. S. Airstrikes and Intelligence Surveillance reconnaissance. But there are others who have a stake in the battle for mosul, including iran. While we were waiting to go through the checkpoint, a convoy showed up. The long convoy of mostly commercial vehicles. In fact, this is one of the provisional military units, a Shiite Militia headed by iranians and the Islamic Revolutionary guard force and the quds force. We were told none of the Shiite Militias are engaged in this fight. Yet there they were, there were people waiting to go into the fight in mosul. What role are the iranians playing in all of this . Appear to be engaged at some level. If there is the enemy of the enemy is my friend and working together to defeat isis, okay, i kind of get that. But what is the end stake . Im concerned about this. We have americans who were killed by the influence of these militias backed by iran, hundreds of them possibly. In the military, you and i call that following, we call that weakness. We have to lead from the front. Reporter the battle for mosul is setting the stage for a whole new arrangement in this part of the world and perhaps even a new country called oh, taking some time off. No, im scheduling time to go to the bank to get a mortgage. Ugh, youre using a vacation day to go to the bank . I know, right . Just go to lendingtree. Com. Get up to five loan offers to compare side by side for free. Wow, thats great. Wait, how did you get in my kitchen . Oh, i followed a raccoon in through your doggie door. [chittering] [gasps] get a Better Mortgage on your schedule. Not the banks. Lendingtree. When banks compete, you win. Just think of him as a big cat. [chittering] with rabies. Were going to be ok. Were going to be ok, sweetheart. Its going to be okay, sweetheart. Were going to be ok. Its going to be ok. Every 8 minutes, the American Red Cross provides a place to stay, Financial Assistance and hope. Help now. Oliver in wartorn iraq, the idea of democratic governance is still a new concept. They are not mature. You helped us to plan this. Oliver Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003 by a coalition of 49 nations, by the numbers, nearly 1. 5 million u. S. Troops served in iraq, Operation Iraqi freedom and operation new dawn claims the lives the nearly 4500 americans and left more than 32,000 wounded. In 2011, the Obama Administration pulled u. S. Troops out. Isis rushed in. The iraqis are paying a great deal for them to be able to cleanse ourselves from isis. Oliver the kurds are the Largest Ethnic Group on earth without a homeland, predominantly sunni, more than 35 million kurds live in iraq, turkey, iran and syria. In iraq, they number about 4. 5 million and have their own troops called the peshmerga. Despite the site of iraqi army that subjected them to genocide under a brutal tyrant. We as the peshmergas, the Kurdish People have been the most effective force on the ground stop them, defeat them and break the myth of this organization. They have really been holding and gaining the territory against isis. Marginalized by the Central Government in baghdad. Iraqs future is complicated. These images say it all about the kurds. April 9th, 2003 u. S. Marine used a tank to topple Saddam Husseins statue in baghdad. A day later, the kurds used their bare hands to tear down another in kirkuk. Saddam hussein used every weapon. He unleashed chemical weapons against the kurds and killed close to 5,000 of them. Oliver Saddam Hussein slaughtered more than 180,000, bodies are still being discovered and the dead are remembered here at the alhanra monument. The kurds are left holding an empty bag of promises held by every u. S. President and western european leader. Basany is the son of kurdistan president marsude barzani. The American People need to know the enormous sacrifice the Kurdish People came ever since isis came crashing across the border. We have 1500 peshmergas killed and 10,000 wounded, thats a total of 11500 people. And as for civilians, the atrocities are unbelievable. Thousands were perished. Oliver this is the military equipment fox news found being used by the peshmerga to fight isis in the spring of 2016. This is an american humvee. The other one they took from isis. We gave this to the iraqi army and the cowards fled and isis captured it from them and you captured it from isis. Since then its only gotten worse. Because six iraqi divisions abandoned their posts and left equipment. In a matter of weeks, isis was a fullblown army. Oliver isis exposes risks and gaps in iraqi politics. Where do you see this going . Somewhat has not worked in iraq for a number of seasons. A, we are a tribal type, this is not important factor in our calculation. Oliver largest refugee crisis since world war ii. Its a crisis of europeans, crisis for turkey, jordan and certainly for the 1. 3 Million People that the kurds are having to put up with all on their own, no help. No help. Kurdistan has 1. 3 to 1. 5 Million People in a small area. Crushing their economy. Oliver the kurds sense another chance for their own nation. A dream repeatedly denied going back to the ashes of world war i when a secret agreement drawn up between Great Britain and france divvied up the ottoman empire. Is this a chance to draw up new borders . Not a frenchman and a brit, drawing the maps in versailles. The agreement shaped the just the reminder president Woodrow Wilson was the First American president or the only president ever that called for the selfdetermination of the Kurdish People at that time. Unfortunately it was never realized. Oliver just a few days ago, your father drew a map, which we have here, is this a map of terrain that could be the start for a kurdish homeland . These are the trenches done by the peshmergas and the burms that were built to provide additional security to defend against isis. This is not a political line but we do believe that in principle, baghdad and erbil should come to agreements about their relations. Oliver go inside mosul to see how isis targets those t t t t t this is the silverado special edition. This is one gorgeous truck. Oh, did i say theres only one special edition . Because, actually theres 5. Aaaahh ooohh uh holy mackerel. Wow. Nice. Strength and style. Which ones your favorite . laughter come home with me trade up to the silverado all star edition and get an average total value of eight thousand one hundred fifty dollars when you find your tag. Find new roads at your local chevy dealer. Oliver as iraqi forces engage isis fighters in close combat on the streets of mosul, a Million People are still trapped from the city. Driving on the outskirts of town, we see signs of explosive devices planted by isis just waiting to kill. These red flags alongside this road are an indication what the challenge is here. Theyll say this area has been secured, meaning there are no isis troops left in it, but its not cleared. Secured but not cleared means there are tens of thousands of improvised explosive devices, some of which have been found and marked. The red flag on the right side. Oliver but many more have yet to be found. The people that are cleaning the mines and ieds are not well protected. The majority of the engineering teams working with the peshmergas are going out there without protection and many have lost their lives because a single mistake is enough to kill you. Oliver isis has hidden the deadly ieds everywhere, even in childrens toys, both u. S. And iraqi leaders called the tactics despicable. They poison the air that iraqi children breathe. Theyve lit a bunch of oil fires that also poison the air. Theyve used vehicleborne improvised explosive devices and detonated them in iraqi areas. The government urges residents to remain in the city, over 90,000 fled there hell and earth under isis. Aid reaches some of them through nongovernmental organizations or ngos, they arent getting help from baghdad, everything, the food, the water, even the support for the soldiers protecting them is all coming from the Regional Government at kurdistan or ngos like the free kurdish rangers and samaritans purse. Theres 500 sets of boots and water. Each box has meals for ten people or one family. Oliver meet dave eubank, one of the American Relief workers risking his life to help the refugees, hes a former special army rangers officer, they deliver aid and medical care to oppressed ethnic minorities in burma, sudan and now mosul. On the de facto border of kurdistan and iraq, and put the lines up as theyre fighting isis on both sides. This line, they went back and cleared the villages, all the small towns in between and finally bashica. This is the place that they come, we can bring them food and water and they get vetted and searched and sheep get fed and move to refugee camp there. Oliver how many isis suicidal jihadis are inside mosul . Id say over 5,000. Oliver humanitarian workers here are constantly threatened with attacks. Shortly after our interview, isis militants open fire on dave and his team as they were handing out food in east mosul. Gunshots sent terrified civilians running for cover. The iraqi army attacks and theyre still somewhere out there. Now were back, isis is still there, were back a little. Oliver the work being done by ngos is crucial as winter sets in. Temperatures are dropping and conditions increasingly dire, there is a shortage of fuel and food in the city. As many as 650,000 people are left without water after major pipe lines were destroyed in the fighting. Tens of thousands are seeking camps like this one, where there is food, shelter and medical care. The harsh medical care is jihadis may be hiding among the refugees. Even in this hell, there are small moments of joy when some families are reunited with loved ones. This is my family, these are my people. I cannot describe the feeling, even my voice fails me. Ive lost my voice. I have talked to people who, i mean, elderly men and seeing their grandchildren for the first time are not able to recognize children because they burned so much. Oliver up next on war stories, a rodney and his new business. He teaches lessons to stanley. And thats kind of it right now. But rodney knew just what to do. He got quickbooks. It organizes all his accounts, so he knows where he stands in an instant. Ahhh. Thats a profit. Which gave him the idea to spend a little cash on some brilliant marketing ha, clever. Wow, look at all these new students way to grow, rodney know where you stand instantly. Visit quickbooks. Com. I mess around in the garage. I want to pay more to file my taxes. I want my tax software to charge me at the last second. Paying 60 to file my taxes was the highlight of my day. And you just saw footage of me flipping burgers. Want to charge me extra to itemize my deductions . No problem. I literally have too much money. Said no one ever. File for free with credit karma tax. Free to start, free to finish. Creditkarma. Com tax. A big tax Company Needs that 50 way more than me. Do you a, hire a tutor. Bonjour announcer b, enforce a french only rule at home. J. Announcer or c, watch some foreign films. [man and girl snoring] when it comes to parenting, there are no perfect answers. But thats ok, because you dont have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. Teens in foster care will love you just the same. Oliver in bartela, east of mosul, we met up with ed serving as advisers to the iraqi army. The town was recently liberated from the claws of isis by coalition forces. Whats the assignment for your battalion in this brigade . Were partnered with the Iraqi Counterterrorism service on an advise and assist mission. Two parts to that, were providing our best military advice to partners to best optimize their plan, advice on integration and surveillance and reconnaissance. One of the things weve noticed here is a distinct lack of medical support for them. You get a couple of ambulances over there. Yesterday we watched them racing back from the front with terribly wounded guys. Two american ngos had none of their own, is that something we should be doing . So there is an iraqi and Coalition Combined casualty collection point, so where they evacuate the casualty by coalition medics. Oliver the two american medics in action are pete reed from new jersey and californian derek coleman. So the casualty that just left here, how long is it going to take for him to get to a real hospital . 40 minutes through the next civilian casualty collection point from there to abou