POLICY_ Commander pleads for patience in ISIS fight

THE HILL

Commander pleads for patience in ISIS fight

By Kristina Wong - 12/18/14 02:15 PM EST

Progress in training Iraq security forces to take on the the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been slow, U.S. commander in Iraq Army Lt. Gen. James Terry said Thursday.

While U.S. and coalition partners are planning to train about 5,000 Sunni tribal fighters, only about 250 Sunni tribesmen in Anbar Province have been trained so far, Terry said.

"How the Iraqi government pulls those in over time, like I said, is going to be — going to be pretty critical," he said.

Legislation proposed in September to create an Iraqi "National Guard" of local forces has not yet passed Iraq's council of representatives.

"I'm optimistic that it is going to go through. There are many that see this as a way to not only bring those tribes back in, the national guard piece, but also to bring some of those ungovernable militias back in also," Terry said.

Still, there are doubts about whether Iraq's central government and military — which is led and dominated by Shiites — will be able to bring Sunni forces into the fold.

After U.S. forces left Iraq in 2011, violence between the two religious sects led to the creation of ISIS, a Sunni group that has exploited the sectarianism while gaining a foothold this year.

U.S. and coalition forces are trying to recreate a movement from the first Iraq War known as the "Anbar Awakening," where thousands of Sunni tribesman joined forces with the U.S. and Iraqi security forces against al Qaeda, ISIS's predecessor.

"I hesitate to call it an awakening. I would just tell you that the — the tribal piece of this I — I think is coming around, and we see more and more of it everyday," Terry said.

Terry urged for patience with the Iraq government, saying the fight against ISIS would take at least three years.

"This current government is I think a little over 100 days old," he said.

"Conditions are getting better for that every day. I see the current prime minister at least moving in that direction and we'll continue to support them and encourage them to bring the rest of those that want to come to the side of the government of Iraq, support them to bring those around."

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