WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier on Monday, President Barack Obama said in a press conference at the Pentagon that the United States has no current plans to send further troops abroad and is planning to accelerate the delivery of anti-tank weapons to Iraq.
Obama explained Sunni volunteer fighters might become a new force against the Islamic State.
“There is no compelling reason to believe that anything we are currently doing will be sufficient to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL [Islamic State].”
The United States has led a Coalition of some 60 nations that has conducted more than 5,100 airstrikes against the Islamic State since August 2014.
McCain argued, however, that US airstrikes have been irrelevant in making any real progress against Islamic State long-term, and none of the airstrikes suggest any real path to success in the fight against the terrorist group.
The Senator explained that while the United States may dominate the skies, the Islamic State continues to hide in urban areas to avoid airstrikes, and uses the internet and social media to recruit more followers. McCain also said the US efforts to train Sunni tribes, Iraqi Security Force members, as well as moderate Syrians should be much more robust in order to have a tangible effect against the terrorist group.
He said Obama’s military commanders must be more frank with him about the reality of the war on the ground against the Islamic State.
