ISIS: Iraqi military’s victory over militants in Mosul a key win for Obama strategy

THE Iraqi military’s hard-fought victory over the Islamic State group in Mosul marks a defining moment not just for them. It is also a key win for the US doctrine behind it.

Instead of putting large numbers of American boots on the ground, the US-led strategy in Iraq and Syria has been a non-stop air campaign combined with continual training and advising for proxy local forces.

Pentagon officials say the outcome is clear — three years after collapsing as flag-waving jihadists swept across their country, Iraq’s security forces have become a battle-hardened army that prevailed in a brutal urban fight.

“Training works,” said one senior US military officer who was deployed to Iraq from 2015-’16. It “has enabled the Iraqis to take back their country.” It’s a far cry from when then-Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said in May 2015 that the Iraqi military “showed no will to fight.” When IS attacked in 2014, the Iraqi security forces had grown weak under then-prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Source: ISIS: Iraqi military’s victory over militants in Mosul a key win for US doctrine | Perth Now