Zebari, who was the former foreign minister, described the fall of Anbar to the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group as a "setback.
"The fall of Anbar was a setback we are trying to remedy," he said. "The government, al-Hashid [Popular Mobilization units] and the international coalition are exerting great efforts to recapture Ramadi."
Ramadi, which is the capital of Anbar, fell to ISIS on May 17 after the army deserted the city.
Meanwhile,
...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment...
Zebari said Iraqi forces alongside with the Shiite volunteers, known as Popular Mobilization units, were "advancing in multiple axis" to regain Ramadi.
He also said the "international coalition has increased the pace of armament and air strikes, and we have clear commitment from them to increase the arming and training of Sunni tribes in Anbar and this is one of the conditions to defeat ISIS."
Sunnis in Iraq have long criticized the government, especially that of former Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014...
, of stripping them of arms, in a move they say makes them vulnerable to bully boys.
Zebari's comments came after the White House on Wednesday said the United States will send up to 450 more troops to Iraq to boost the training of local forces.