[Feyerick:] I grabbed my children and ran. Those are the chilling words from one of the thousands of civilians trying to escape violence in Iraq. Right now ISIS militants are in a fierce fight to try and seize the government complex in Ramadi. Overnight violent clashes intensifying between terrorist and Iraqi forces who say they need more ground help. Let's bring in someone who knows this region very well, CNN military analyst Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. Thank you so much, General. Talk to us about Ramadi and the tactics that are being used by ISIS to gain control.
[Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, Cnn Military Analyst:] Good morning, Deborah. You know, it's going to be a tough fight out there for sure. But I think your listeners need to know that there has been fighting going on for the last several months. While the focus has been on Tikrit, in Saladin Province, the Iraqi Security Forces have all been fighting ISIS in that region. But as they have as ISF has defeated ISIS in Tikrit, some of the forces of ISIS have shifted more to Anbar Province and they are conducting this offensive operation in and around Ramadi. Certainly going to be some tough battles out there. This was what we in the military call an economy of force region for the last several weeks. It's now turning into the Iraqi government's main effort. So they are going to start pushing more security forces out there and certainly the coalition air forces are going to be targeting ISIS targets out in that area.
[Feyerick:] So that's really interesting. So essentially what you're suggesting is that when ISIS doesn't make gains in one area, they simply sort of recombine and move their troops to someplace else. So that's actually a positive thing on some levels.
[Hertling:] Yes. They have become very adaptable in terms of how they are fighting, which is an interesting piece. You never underestimate your enemy. And they are certainly been a little bit nimble in moving forces around. But what's also interesting is it's giving time for Iraqi Security Forces to build back up. They are training several brigades, they put Mr. al-Abadi, the prime minister, in a bit of a little bit of a crunch because he knows he has to secure not only Anbar Province but he has to gain support of the Sunni tribal leaders in that area. That's why we don't see him continuing the fight from Tikrit north to Mosul. He needs to secure Anbar, consolidate his position, gain the support from the Sunnis, show all of the government or all of the people of Iraq that he's actually fighting to pull them together and defeat this scourge.
[Feyerick:] Yet some say that Ramadi is on the brink of collapse. Is that accurate? Because other towns have been in a similar position. But ultimately ISIS had to move on.
[Hertling:] No. I think that's hyperbole. There are certainly members of the provincial council. And I know several of them, Mr. al-Asawi, first of all, who have been screaming the last several weeks for more forces from the Iraqi government. And it's certainly difficult out there as Arwa Damon's report you showed earlier mentions. There's a lot of fighting, there's a lot of refugees. ISIS is in defensive positions. It's going to be tough to get them out of there. It's going to take precision weapons, precision bombings and a lot of house-to-house fighting. But I don't think you're going to see Ramadi fall. It is going to be a tough fight, though.
[Feyerick:] It's interesting because when we saw that map up there, clearly ISIS has more ground than it's had ever before. But you see that inroads are being made and that some ground there, especially in the yellow, is what they are sort of beginning to lose. Kind of interesting there. All right. General Mark Hertling, thank you so much. Really appreciate your insights on that. We'll watch that closely.
[Hertling:] OK. Thank you, Deborah.
[Feyerick:] And of course. And still to come, we may be 18 months from the presidential election, 18 months away but yes, it's already started with a vengeance. What happens when candidates attack? Plus a CEO now a hero to his employees. His motivation to slash his salary and give more than 100 workers a better life.