| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Dempsey: battle with ISIS starting to turn |
| 2014-11-16 |
| The United States' top military officer told American troops on a surprise visit to Baghdad on Saturday that the momentum in the battle with ISIS was "starting to turn", but predicted a drawn-out campaign lasting several years. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was visiting Iraq for the first time since President Barack Obama responded to ISIS advances this summer by ordering troops back into a country they left in 2011. Dempsey told the troops the US military had helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces "pull Iraq back from the precipice". "And now, I think it's starting to turn. So well done," Dempsey told a group of Marines at the US embassy in Baghdad. Dempsey said it had been crucial to show ISIS was not an unstoppable, 10-foot-tall force and instead "a bunch of midgets running around with a really radical ideology". He was hardly triumphant, however. Earlier, he visited a Joint Operations Centre and watched a live video feed of a location showing the ISIS' black flag waving. Dempsey repeatedly made the point that military force could not root out ISIS unless Iraq's government manages to work across the Sunni-Shia divide. Building trust would take time. So would the US mission, he said. "How long? Several years," said Dempsey. Dempsey, who also met top Iraqi officials, said he wanted to find out whether the Iraqis believed they could win recruits for a programme the United States hopes to get under way next year to re-train Iraqi units. "I want to get a sense from them on whether they believe our timeline is feasible," Dempsey said. After meeting senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad including Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, Dempsey traveled to Irbil, capital of the Kurdistan semi-autonomous region in the north. US troops will also train Kurdish forces. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 See also BIGNEWSNETWORK > [Reuters] IRAQ WILL NEED [minima?]80,000 GOOD TROOPS TO RETAKE LOST TERRITORY: US GENERAL [US JCoS Chair Dempsey]. "GOOD" = Well-trained, Well-led, Well-equipped, Reliable, + whom are Dedicated or Believe in their Cause. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2014-11-16 22:16 |
| #6 "So righting social wrongs and picking political winners and losers is more important that stopping murderous Islamic jihadists?" To this Administration, yes, Mr. B. But you knew that. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2014-11-16 21:19 |
| #5 "Starting to turn" is Pentagon-speak for "they got Warsaw, but we stopped the bastards at Stalingrad." |
| Posted by: Pappy 2014-11-16 18:09 |
| #4 It means power is develing too a different group of lunatics. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-11-16 12:53 |
| #3 "Starting to turn" is an interesting choice of phrase. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-11-16 04:50 |
| #2 "Dempsey repeatedly made the point that military force could not root out ISIS unless Iraq's government manages to work across the Sunni-Shia divide." So righting social wrongs and picking political winners and losers is more important that stopping murderous Islamic jihadists ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-16 00:42 |
| #1 "Dempsey repeatedly made the point that military force could not root out ISIS unless Iraq's government manages to work across the Sunni-Shia divide." So, when, exactly, has this ever worked out well for the U.S? |
| Posted by: Whurong Flomosh7989 2014-11-16 00:14 |