Carter announced an unprecedented meeting of 26 defence ministers in the anti-IS coalition, plus Iraq, to be held in Brussels in three weeks and warned that he would demand increased efforts. “Kerry said Islamic State has already lost 20-30% of its territory in Iraq and Syria combined and about 40% in Iraq”.
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During his visit, Secretary Carter also placed a wreath at the Place de La Republique in memory of the victims of the Paris terror attacks last November.
“I expect the number of trainers to increase, and also the variety of the training they’re giving”, Carter said.
The French response to ISIS attacks in their very own capital was swift.
“We’re doing more, because we need to do more because we need to defeat ISIL [Daesh]”, Carter told CNBC.
The coalition needs to find different ways to help, beyond trainers, such as by providing military advisors, special forces soldiers, planes and aircraft for aerial intelligence, according to Washington.
At the time, Carter said that instead of continuing the current “Syria Train and Equip” program, the USA will seek to work more closely with capable Kurdish groups, which he called a “more strategic approach”. In addition, the attack also hit some ISIS petroleum oil and lubricant trucks as well as some heavy machine guns.
Ahead of the highly contentious 2003 invasion of Iraq, the administration of George W. Bush was criticized for describing a “Coalition of the Willing” that included tiny countries such as Palau and the Marshall Islands, while major players like France and Germany sat out. “So I think the Turks could do more”.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris hopes that “Russia will concentrate its efforts against [IS] and stop bombing the groups of the uprising [against Assad] who themselves are fighting [IS]”.
The report comes as Defense Secretary Ash Carter said “boots on the ground” could be part of the strategy of U.S.-led coalition’s fight to take back both Mosul and Raqqa.
The US has mapped out a coordinated plan against Daesh for over the next year, and Carter laid out the plans to the ministers during the meeting, which was co-hosted by France.
“Every nation must come prepared to discuss further contributions to the fight”, he said.
General Dunford said the question is “how can we be more integrated in Mosul?”
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A Syrian opposition council backed by Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would not attend internationally-brokered negotiations with the Syrian government, due to start in Geneva on January 25, if a third group took part. “All of us do”, Carter said.
