U.S. Help in Iraq Continues to Fight ISIS Terrorists
By Rakesh Raman
The U.S. army general Martin E. Dempsey observes that trends in Iraq are moving in the right direction, as Iraqi forces are maintaining their momentum against the militants of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS).
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was addressing a Pentagon news conference Thursday.
Referring to the recent Tikrit offensive carried out by the coalition military forces, Dempsey said it was a good step and assured that U.S. will continue consulting with Iraq’s leadership as it plans and conducts operations.
As ISIS is expanding its regime, the terrorist outfit believes that it’s an independent country now. Of late, John Cantlie – a hostage-turned-spokesman for ISIS – said the ISIS Caliphate is now an independent country.
Cantlie argued, “as uncomfortable as it may be for many in the West, there’s little reason why the State shouldn’t be considered a country. Countries can be born in days, in hours during a coup, or in minutes at the signing of a paper, they have been for centuries.”
Cantlie has expressed his views in the recent issue of Dabiq, a monthly magazine of the Islamic State.
[ Read: Is Islamic State an Independent Country, Now? ]
But the U.S. is satisfied with the achievements of U.S.-led coalition forces that are fighting against the world’s most formidable terrorist organization.
“I’m encouraged by the commitment of the coalition,” Dempsey said. “There’s been an addition of 300 Australian troops and 100 New Zealand troops to the training mission, and that will certainly contribute to the outcomes we all seek.”
Those forces join the international partnership capacity mission, which includes the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States, he added.
The chairman briefly outlined the military offensive going north of Baghdad through Diyala and into Tikrit, Beiji, and eventually up near Kirkuk from Anbar province.
By Rakesh Raman, the managing editor of RMN Company
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