A year after the United States launched its first airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq, House Speaker John Boehner conveyed his continued disappointment with President Obama’s strategy to combat the terrorist organization.
“One year after authorizing the first airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq, President Obama still doesn’t have the overarching strategy that’s needed to actually defeat these savage terrorists,” Boehner said in a press release Saturday. “Today ISIL forces control huge swaths of both Iraq and Syria. Scores of innocent men, women and children in these countries are murdered every week. And Iraq’s stability and sovereignty, a vital U.S. interest, remains at risk.”
“Instead of punting this crisis to the next administration, it’s time for President Obama to change course, and put forth a strategy to win this fight,” he added.
Boehner pointed to some solutions he offered in May, where he outlined a plan to better coordinate commanders’ strategies with conditions on the ground, and improve relations with Islamic leaders to prevent further radicalization.
The speaker also stressed the need to counter the Islamic State’s use of social media to enlist new recruits.
“It’s a battle that we’re losing right now,” said Boehner.
According to a recent report by the International Organization for Migration, more than 3 million Iraqis were displaced by Islamic State violence between January and June in 2015.
In early June, a State Department official said that more than 10,000 jihadists had been killed since the beginning of the airstrike campaign by the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State.
“We have seen enormous losses from Daesh [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria], more than 10,000 since the beginning of the campaign, and this will end up having an impact,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told French radio, according to AFP.
