Obama sticks with attacks by air

He says Islamic State ‘nimble’ in Iraq, Syria, long slog ahead

President Barack Obama speaks to reporters after receiving an update on the campaign against the Islamic State during a visit to the Pentagon on Monday.
President Barack Obama speaks to reporters after receiving an update on the campaign against the Islamic State during a visit to the Pentagon on Monday.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama acknowledged Monday that the Islamic State extremists have been "particularly effective" at recruiting volunteers to fight in Iraq and Syria but pledged to stay on track with his current strategy even though it "will not be quick" in bringing about the group's defeat.

photo

AP

President Barack Obama’s staff walks past the presidential limo to enter the Pentagon, where the president was to receive an update on the Islamic State group at the Pentagon on Monday.

Speaking at the Pentagon with his top military commanders at his side, Obama lauded the success of the 5,000 airstrikes against Islamic State positions and the efforts to cut off funding for the militant group.

But he insisted that Iraqi forces must ultimately be responsible for defeating the extremists with U.S. advice and assistance -- but not combat troops.

"This is a long-term campaign. ISIL is opportunistic, and it is nimble," he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State. "It will take time to root them out. Doing so must be the job of local forces on the ground, with training and air support from our coalition."

Obama was joined onstage by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, head of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.

The president's remarks came after a meeting with top leaders at the Pentagon as the U.S. tries to help Iraqi security forces reverse the gains the militant group has made in recent months.

Over the weekend, the U.S. stepped up the airstrikes against the extremist group, attacking dozens of Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq. The flurry of activity coincided with calls from the extremist group for followers to design and carry out their own attacks around the world. The extremists also claimed responsibility for recent attacks on a Tunisian hotel and Kuwaiti mosque.

On Monday, activists and Islamic State-linked social media outlets reported that the extremist group has regained control of a northern Syrian town captured by Kurdish fighters two weeks ago.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Islamic State fighters seized Ein Issa and nearby areas before noon Monday.

The fall of the town -- described as being "liberated" on Islamic State-associated outlets -- occurred after the main Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG, captured wide areas in northern Syria from the extremists, including the border town of Tal Abyad, once a main point for the extremists' trade and smuggling of foreign fighters.

Earlier Monday, the Islamic State released a new video claiming to show the killing of two Syrian men in the militants' stronghold of Raqqa, purportedly for spying on the group.

The Islamic State has killed hundreds of people since it declared aself-styled caliphate in June last year with the city of Raqqa as its de facto capital.

The video, which was posted on an Islamic State-linked Facebook page, shows two young men in orange jumpsuits, saying they filmed and photographed Islamic State-held areas in Syria and sent footage to a person abroad.

They identify themselves as 21-year-old Faysal Hussein Habibi and 20-year-old Bishr Abdul-Azim and say they received $400 per month for the filming. The two are then tied to a tree, after which masked gunmen shoot them in the head at close range.

The video could not be independently verified, but it was posted on a page known to be linked to the militant group.

Concerned about the ability of Iraqi security forces to fight the extremists, Obama announced earlier this summer that he would send 450 additional troops to help train and assist local fighters in the capital of Anbar province, where Islamic State militants have dealt blows to the Iraqi central government.

Critics of the administration say Obama's strategy isn't working and that it's time for the president and his team to rethink it.

"ISIL is not 10 feet tall," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a statement. "It can be, and must be, defeated. But that will never happen if we continue to delude ourselves about our current campaign."

McCain noted the Islamic State continues to gain territory and warned that no "responsible ground force" exists in Iraq or Syria to take and hold ground from the extremists.

But senior administration officials said Monday that the president is committed to his current strategy and that he was not going to the Pentagon to discuss possible changes in it.

"There is no situation on the ground that has prompted this," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday. The White House is "mindful" of the many risks in Iraq and Syria, Earnest said, adding that "the fact is, our national security professionals are always vigilant."

At the Pentagon, Obama said it would take more than just military might to win the fight against Islamic State.

"There's a cause, a coalition that's united countries across the globe, some 60 nations including Arab partners," Obama said. "Our comprehensive strategy against ISIL is harnessing all elements of American power across our government -- military, intelligence, diplomatic, economic development and, perhaps most importantly, the power of our values."

Information for this article was contributed by Christi Parsons of Tribune News Service and by staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 07/07/2015

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