Obama, foreign military chiefs coordinate ISIS plans
President Barack Obama on Tuesday told military leaders from more than
20 countries working with Washington to defeat Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) militants that he was deeply concerned about the radical
group’s advances at the north Syrian town of Kobani and in western Iraq.
But Obama did not hint any changes to what he saw as a long-term
strategy that would see ups and downs in the months ahead, even as
pressure builds for the coalition to stop ISIS from taking control of
more territory.
“This is going to be a long-term campaign,” Obama told the defense
chiefs during a meeting at Andrews Air Force Base, outside Washington.
He spoke after US-led air strikes had pounded ISIS targets around
Kobani near the Turkish border, where Kurdish fighters are struggling to
repel an onslaught by the radical Islamist group.
He said at this point there was a focus on the fighting in Anbar,
adding: “And we’re deeply concerned about the situation in and around
the Syrian town of Kobani, which underscores the threat that [ISIS]
poses in both Iraq and Syria.”
US troops had battled hard to secure Anbar against Al-Qaeda militants
during the Iraq war but it is now at risk of being taken over by ISIS
militants.
“Coalition air strikes will continue in both of these areas,” Obama said.
The meeting of military chiefs from 22 countries included
representatives from Turkey and Saudi Arabia and was led by General
Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A US military official told Reuters after the talks that there was an
acknowledgement that ISIS was making some gains on the ground, despite
the air strikes. But there was also a sense that the coalition, working
together, would ultimately prevail, the official said.
“In the short term, there are some gains that they have been able to
make. In the long term, that momentum will be reversed,” the official
said, adding the coalition would adjust its tactics as ISIS fighters
increasingly blend into the population and become harder to target.
Alistair Baskey, spokesman for the White House National Security
Council, said the meetings were “part of ongoing efforts to build the
coalition and integrate the capabilities of each country into the
broader strategy.”
Obama said the campaign was still in its early stages.
“There will be
days of progress and there are going to be some periods” of setbacks,
he said, but added that “our coalition is united behind this long-term
effort.”
The US military announced that US and Saudi planes had carried out 21
air strikes in the last two days near Kobani, the most intense attack
yet after days of air strikes.
US Central Command said the strikes on the militants’ staging areas,
compounds and armed vehicles, were meant to hit supply lines and stop
reinforcements. It said the situation was fluid but the Kurdish militia
was “continuing to hold out.”
The White House said representatives from Australia, Bahrain,
Belgium, Britain Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy,
Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States
attended the closed meetings.
Having Turkey at the table was critical.
Ankara has come under
pressure to play a more active role against ISIS, and this week agreed
to help equip and train some Syrian armed groups fighting the militants,
as well as the Syrian government.
US and Turkish officials say talks are under way between the two
countries on allowing the use of Turkish facilities for countries
engaged in the campaign against ISIS.
Source: aawsat.net
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