The White House on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s assertion that it has failed to effectively fight the Islamic State, and responded with a list of statistics showing progress in its fight against the Islamic State.
“Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris,” Trump tweeted. “When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness.”
Presidential press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters he didn’t have a “specific reaction to that tweet,” but did say the government is “pleased” by the progress Iraqi security forces have made in the Western Anbar region, and said the operation will help Iraqis re-establish economic trade.
He also provided an update on the success Iraqi forces have had on driving the Islamic State out of populated territory in Iraq.
“The updated assessment is now 45 percent of the populated area that ISIL previously controlled has been retaken” in Iraq, he said. “In Syria, that figure is now 20 percent thanks to the work of local partners.”
In addition, the Pentagon has indicated that it has killed 120 high-value individuals in ISIS’ attack network, including “leaders, facilitators and recruiters.”
The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has also trained more than 30,000 Iraqi security forces, and currently is training the highest number that the coalition has ever trained.
He also cited a $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to the Iraqi government, announced Thursday, and gave Obama credit for efforts “to encourage our partners and allies in the coalition to ramp up financial assistance they are providing with Iraq.
“Obviously, the security challenges with Iraq, combined with some of the challenges they have encountered with implementing political reforms as well as the impact on the much lower global price for oil all have combined to have a negative impact on the economic situation in Iraq,” he said.
