JOINT CHIEFS CHAIR SAYS IRAQI FORCES 'DROVE OUT OF RAMADI'

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Dempsey: Iraqi Forces Not Driven From Ramadi, They Drove Out of Ramadi
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

BRUSSELS, May 20, 2015 – Iraqi security forces weren’t “driven from” Ramadi, they “drove out of Ramadi,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told reporters traveling with him that he has said from the start that the mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant would take years to accomplish.

“At the start I said three years,” he said. “That still might be the case, we may be able to achieve our objectives in three years. But I said then, and I reiterate now, that there may be tactical exchanges -- some of which go the way of Iraqi security forces and others which go the way of ISIL. But the coalition has all the strategic advantages over time.”

Time will tell, the general said, and time is also a factor because the key to victory is not just military success on the battlefield, but the ability of the Iraqi government to draw the various groups in the country back together.

After-action Review

U.S. commanders in Iraq are working with their Iraqi counterparts to work out exactly what happened, Dempsey said. Reports indicate that Iraqi security forces drove out of Ramadi -- an important provincial capital -- during a sandstorm May 16.

“This group of [Iraqi security forces] had been forward-deployed in al Anbar [province] -- arguably the most dangerous part of Iraq,” he said. “They believed they were less well-supported. The tribes had begun to come together, but had not … allied themselves with the [security forces].”

The sandstorm precluded U.S. air support against ISIL and the Iraqi commander on the ground made “what appears to be a unilateral decision to move to what he perceived to be a more defensible position,” the general said.

Success Demands Commitment

Success against ISIL requires the commitment of the Iraqi government, the Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi people, he said.

There must be political reconciliation among the various actors, a plan for the reconstruction of those areas that have been affected by ISIL attacks and the promise of “governance that gives the people the belief that they will be cared for in the future,” Dempsey explained.

From the start of the campaign against ISIL, the United States has been clear that support is conditional on Iraq’s government accomplishing these goals, the general said. “They have to happen, and if they don’t happen, then this campaign won’t succeed,” he said. “That’s been clear from the start.”

The anti-ISIL coalition is working to coalesce the Sunni tribes in
Anbar against ISIL. The coalition will give the tribes some training and equipment, “but all that necessarily needs to flow through the government of Iraq,” the chairman said. “The coalition will only support those groups that subordinate themselves to the government.”

PENTAGON SAYS RECENTLY LOST RAMADI WILL BE TAKEN BACK FROM ISIL

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Pentagon: Iraqi, Coalition Forces Will Retake Ramadi
By Terri Moon Cronk
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2015 – Iraqi security forces and coalition partners will retake the Iraqi city of Ramadi, now “largely under control” of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremists since yesterday, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters today.

The colonel said it’s important to not over interpret ISIL’s gain in a single city when Iraqi forces are engaged in offensive operations across the “breadth and depth” of a large nation.

“To read too much into this is a mistake,” Warren said. “This is one fight, one episode, in which Iraqi Security Forces were not able to prevail –- today.”

While ISIL was able to gain the upper hand in Ramadi, “what this means for our strategy is simply that we -- the coalition and Iraqi partners -- now have to go back and retake Ramadi,” Warren said.

Ebbs, Flows Expected in Fight

Defense Department officials have always said there would be ebbs and flows in Iraq’s fight against ISIL, he said, adding that “it’s a difficult, complex, bloody fight, and there will be victories and setbacks.”

Iraq and coalition forces will retake Ramadi, Warren said, “In the same way we are slowly but surely retaking others parts of Iraq with Iraqi ground forces, combined with coalition air power.”

While noting that it is too soon to determine how ISIL gained control over Ramadi yesterday, ISIL forces apparently generated enough combat power to cause Iraqi security forces to reposition out of Ramadi, he said.

Ramadi Environment is Challenging

“Ramadi is an urban environment, one of the toughest to fight in,” Warren said. “It is an environment that limits the ability of air power, so that creates unique challenges.”

Because the ISF have cleared areas of ISIL forces, he noted that Iraq’s capabilities are “slowly but surely” improving.

Some 7,000 ISF members are trained and another 3,000 to 4,000 are in the training pipeline, which will make a difference, the colonel said.

The strategy to defeat ISIL is working, Warren said.

He added, “We believe the Iraqi Security forces, along with coalition air power, will defeat ISIL.”