Despite pledges from President Obama and top U.S. officials to “accelerate” the war against ISIS, the Pentagon admitted Monday that it had retaken only five percent of ISIS-held territory in Iraq in the past five months.
President Obama announced at the Pentagon in December that 40% of ISIS-held territory in Iraq had been recaptured by Iraqi security forces backed by thousands of airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition, a number that officials repeated for five months. On Monday, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said 45% of ISIS territory had been taken back in Iraq, or a modest 5% gain from December.
Cook said 16-20% of ISIS-held territory had been taken from ISIS in Syria, a similar estimate given in January.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said last week that it was unlikely ISIS would be pushed out of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, during the Obama administration.
Despite the modest gains against ISIS, Cook said Secretary of Defense Ash Carter was “satisfied” with the pace of operations. When asked why the hundreds of additional forces announced by Carter last month were not on the ground in Iraq, Cook said, “We always anticipated there would be some sort of lag time between decisions and ultimately implementation.”
President Obama announced at the Pentagon in December that 40% of ISIS-held territory in Iraq had been recaptured by Iraqi security forces backed by thousands of airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition, a number that officials repeated for five months. On Monday, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said 45% of ISIS territory had been taken back in Iraq, or a modest 5% gain from December.
Cook said 16-20% of ISIS-held territory had been taken from ISIS in Syria, a similar estimate given in January.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said last week that it was unlikely ISIS would be pushed out of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, during the Obama administration.
Despite the modest gains against ISIS, Cook said Secretary of Defense Ash Carter was “satisfied” with the pace of operations. When asked why the hundreds of additional forces announced by Carter last month were not on the ground in Iraq, Cook said, “We always anticipated there would be some sort of lag time between decisions and ultimately implementation.”
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