- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Sending 400 Army Trainers to Iraq ‘Step in Right Direction’ - John Boehner

© AFP 2023 / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE An American military trainer instructs an Iraqi soldier during an exercise on approaching and clearing buildings at the Taji base complex, which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located north of the capital Baghdad, on January 7, 2015
An American military trainer instructs an Iraqi soldier during an exercise on approaching and clearing buildings at the Taji base complex, which hosts Iraqi and US troops and is located north of the capital Baghdad, on January 7, 2015 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said that sending some 400 US military specialists to Iraq to train local forces to better fight against Islamic State militants is a good move, but a more comprehensive strategy should be developed.

Iraqi Sunni volunteers from the Anbar province, who joined Iraq's Popular Mobilisation force as part of government efforts to make the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group a cross-sectarian drive, take part in their first training session at a training base in Amriyat al-Fallujah, on May 8, 2015 - Sputnik International
US Plans to Send 400 Military Trainers to Iraq to Combat ISIL
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Sending some 400 US military specialists to Iraq to train local forces to better fight against Islamic State (ISIL) militants is a good move, but a more comprehensive strategy should be developed, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” Boehner said when asked about US President Barack Obama’s upcoming announcement of his intention to soon send 400 military advisors to Iraq.

Boehner warned that the decision was a “tactical move.”

“But as the president admitted the other day, he has no strategy to win,” he said. “I support the tactical move the president is taking but where is the overarching strategy?”

On Wednesday, The New York Times reported citing American officials that the Obama Administration would announce later in the day its plan to send up to 450 more US military specialists to Iraq to train Iraqi forces to reclaim the recently captured city of Ramadi.

The United States currently has 3,000 troops in Iraq in a training capacity and continues to carry out airstrikes on ISIL positions in Iraq, as well as Syria, where the Sunni radicals have also ceased vast territories.

The airstrikes are part of international US-led coalition efforts to eradicate ISIL, which has become notorious for its brutal tactics and beheadings of western journalists. The coalition was formed by Obama in September 2014, and its military action has been limited to airstrikes.

On the ground, IS fighters are being opposed by Iraqi forces and Kurdish militia. However, despite the joint efforts, ISIL has recently made advances in Iraq, capturing Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province located some 80 miles west of Baghdad.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала