U.S. Commander: Iraqi Military Months Away From Offensive

Photo: Lieutenant General James L. Terry

Iraqi Military Months Away From Offensive, U.S. Commander Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Iraq’s security forces probably won’t be able to start retaking territory from Islamic State for months, the top U.S. commander for Iraq and Syria operations said.

While the Sunni extremists are “probably on the defensive” after more than 1,200 airstrikes by the U.S. and allies, Iraq’s army needs more time to rebuild, Army Lieutenant General James Terry, commander of Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel yesterday in Kuwait.

“It’s hard for me to say when exactly it’s going to be,” Terry said of an eventual Iraqi offensive against Islamic State fighters, who seized much of western Iraq and took Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in June. “The current plan has it, I think reasonably, in months,” he said.

Read more ....

My Comment: Gen. James Terry sounds very confident .... We've got ISIS playing defense, U.S. general says (CNN). But considering what has happened in the past few years .... I would not be.