US President Barack Obama acknowledges that the United States and its allies don’t have a “complete strategy” in pushing back the ISIL terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
"We don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis as well about how that recruitment takes place, how that training takes place," Obama said Monday during concluding remarks at the G7 summit in Germany.
The US president said “some progress” has been made but it was “not enough.”
Obama said his top national security team was still working to finalize plans to train Iraqi forces battling ISIL.
"We want to get more Iraqi security forces trained, fresh, well equipped, and focused," he said. "We're reviewing a range of plans for how we might do that, essentially accelerating the number of Iraqi forces that are properly trained and equipped and have a focused strategy and good leadership."
Obama and other leaders of the Group of Seven industrial nations wrapped up a summit in the Bavarian Alps, Germany, where they addressed world challenges, including the war on ISIL.
US President Barack Obama (left) walks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the Schloss Elmau castle resort near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in southern Germany on June 8, 2015. (AFP photo)
Earlier in the day, Obama met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to discuss the approach against the terrorist organization.
"ISIL is going to be driven out of Iraq and ultimately it is going to be defeated," Obama told Abadi.
Obama reiterated the US pledge to step up training and assistance to Iraqi troops so they can carry out offensive operations against ISIL.
"The challenges we face continue to be significant," he said. "We have seen successes, but we have also seen setbacks."
Prime Minister Abadi said he was confident ISIL would be defeated in his country, describing the fall of Ramadi last month as a short-term gain for the Takfiri group.
Recent setbacks in Iraq and Syria have raised serious doubts about Obama’s strategy, months after he announced an open-ended military air campaign to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the ISIL forces by enlisting the support of scores of allies.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/3786
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