A day ago, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces seized one of the Islamic State’s operations centers on the outskirts of Ramadi, the Iraqi city that has been under the group’s control since spring.
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“We need these funds to provide and transport ammunition, weapons and other equipment to further enable the progress being made against ISIL in Syria”, Carter said.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter, accompanied by Joints Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. Paul Selva, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, before the Senate Armed Service Committee.
Food supplies used to enter the city from the west, but since Iraqi forces surrounded it, residents are subsisting on meager rations of vegetables and a small quantity of flour distributed by the militants.
“When Ramadi fell in May, it was the last time we saw Daesh take offensive action here in Iraq in any sort of concerted way”, said Brett McGurk, the official in charge of the US-led coalition against Daesh, speaking to reporters Wednesday from the United States embassy in Baghdad.
There also seems to be some doubt about how enthusiastically the Iraqi government has embraced the idea of hosting more US combat troops. “From the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them”.
The capture of the Tameem neighborhood will help Iraq’s military direct its forces as they begin the hard job of clearing the city, said Army Col. Steve Warren, a coalition spokesman in Baghdad.
“This is an important step, but there is still tough fighting ahead”.
But for all the criticism of the administration’s refusal to consider a no-fly zone in northern Syria – which many military experts believe would protect civilians from both the Islamic State and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime forces – Carter sought to point the critique back at the committee. “In the medium-term, by seeming to Americanize the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, we could well turn those fighting ISIL or inclined to resist their rule into fighting us instead”. That’s a strategy that the United States moved decisively toward in October, when it announced it would send dozens of special operations forces to Syria to coordinate with rebels.
“We are very hopeful that Ramadi will be liberated before the end of this year”, he said. But, Carter admitted, a combined Sunni Arab force “has not materialized”.
He said he also asked other nations to contribute to the fight and urged Iraq to “recruit train, arm, mobilise and pay” fighters in local communities.
“The global community – including our allies and partners – has to step up before another attack like Paris”, Carter said.
Geddo said for the last 10 days Iraqi forces have been dropping leaflets on the city advising civilians to leave and head south to an area under Iraqi control.
Some private analysts are skeptical that adding 100 more special operations troops in Iraq will make a significant difference. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said, comparing it to not having intervened to prevent genocide in Rwanda during the 1990s.
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The Iraqi army has begun an attack on the ISIS stronghold and many say they are making ground.
