On November 3, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said one million armed volunteers have joined Iraqi forces to fight ISIS.
According to Iraqi News, Abadi said the number was so great that it presents a problem of trying to integrate them all into Army Brigades. He said they can “only integrate a small number” at a time, and many other Iraqis still remain willing to join (in addition to the one million who already have).
On September 26, Breitbart News reported retired US General David Petraeus’ contention that ISIS could not be defeated by airstrikes alone–he said boots on the ground would be necessary. However, he also made clear that Iraqi forces can be the boots on the ground that deal with ISIS.
Petraeus suggested the key to beating ISIS was relentless pressure from US-led airstrikes combined with Iraqi ground forces which prevent ISIS from recapturing the areas from which they are driven. “We have seen this elsewhere,” Petraeus said, “You have to keep on disrupting. If you let up the pressure, then… senior leadership will back.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.