Obama on Fighting ISIS: ‘We Don’t Yet Have a Complete Strategy’ (Video)

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
By Steven T. Dennis
Posted June 8, 2015 at 11:16am

A frustrated President Barack Obama said he needs the Pentagon and the Iraqis to form a strategy to ramp up training of Iraqi troops to take on ISIS after the terror group’s recent gains.  

“We’re reviewing a range of plans for how we might do that,” Obama said at a press conference after the G-7 summit Monday. “When a finalized plan is presented to me by the Pentagon, then I will share it with the American people. “We don’t yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis as well,” he said.  

The remark comes nearly a year after the president said he didn’t yet have a strategy to defeat ISIS, also known as the Islamic State or ISIL, and weeks after the White House denied Obama was considering changing his strategy.  

The broader strategy still seems set, with Iraqis taking the lead.  

Obama didn’t go into detail on what the new strategy would mean for U.S. soldiers, but additional personnel heading back to Iraq seems likely if Iraq follows through with efforts on its side, including outreach to Sunni tribes.  

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