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US military strategy in Iraq a ‘disaster’: Analyst

The US military strategy in Iraq to halt the advances of the ISIL terrorist group has been a “disaster,” says a journalist and political commentator in Canada.

The US military strategy in Iraq to halt the advances of the ISIL terrorist group has been a “disaster” and has wreaked havoc in the region, says a journalist and political commentator in Canada.

The US and its Arab allies, as well as Western intelligence agencies, have been funding and arming ISIL to overthrow the Syrian government, Edward Corrigan told Press TV on Monday.

“American allies of Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia” along with “elements in the CIA and British intelligence have been supporting ISIL,” Corrigan said.

That policy poses “a serious threat” to those Arab states, especially to the Saudi kingdom, which has been weakened by “the power struggle in the Saud family,” he added.

By supporting militant groups, “the West has created a huge problem in the Middle East and it’s spinning out of control,” he said.

Corrigan made the comments after senior US military officials recently cautioned the White House against deepening US involvement in Iraq as President Barack Obama was weighing deploying more military personnel to push back ISIL.

The cautious position was most evident in recent White House debates after the Iraqi city of Ramadi fell into the hands of the ISIL terrorists last month, The Washington Post reports.

Obama’s top military advisers, including General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have argued against a shift in strategy that would put American military personnel in danger.

“The military advisers are correct that putting more American boots on the ground in Iraq is not an effective strategy,” Corrigan said. “The whole American approach towards the Iraq situation has been a disaster from stage one.”

Recent setbacks in Iraq and Syria have raised serious doubts about Obama’s strategy, months after he announced an open-ended military air campaign to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIL forces by enlisting the support of allies.

At a G7 summit in Germany earlier in the week, Obama said "we don't yet have a complete strategy” against the ISIL terrorists.

AHT/HRJ


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