Obama heads to Pentagon for meetings on Islamic State
July 6, 2015
(WASHINGTON, AP) — President Barack Obama is making a rare visit to the Pentagon to get an update from military leaders on the campaign against the Islamic State.
Obama’s meetings follow a wave of weekend airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition in eastern Syria. The coalition says it was one of the most sustained aerial operations carried out in Syria to date.
The president has insisted he will not send U.S. troops into combat to fight the Islamic State in Iraq or Syria. However, he has acknowledged that the U.S. lacks a “complete strategy” for training Iraqi troops to carry out ground missions.
Efforts to train Syrian rebels are also sputtering. Fewer than 100 rebels are being trained by the U.S., far less than the goal of producing 5,400 fighters a year.
The president has insisted he will not send U.S. troops into combat to fight the Islamic State in Iraq or Syria. However, he has acknowledged that the U.S. lacks a “complete strategy” for training Iraqi troops to carry out ground missions.
Efforts to train Syrian rebels are also sputtering. Fewer than 100 rebels are being trained by the U.S., far less than the goal of producing 5,400 fighters a year.
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