Obama Highlights Efforts To Train Iraqi Forces Battling ISIS

President Obama Responds To Question About What's Not Working In Fight Against ISIS By Highlighting Delay In Training Iraqi Forces. In a press conference after the G7 summit in Germany on June 8, President Obama responded to a question on “what is not working in the fight against the Islamic State,” by explaining the need to increase the speed of training Iraqi forces. Obama explained that he is awaiting a complete strategy to address this specific concern:

Q    Thanks, Mr. President.  I wanted to ask about two things that were on the agenda at the G7 this weekend.  The first was the Islamic State.  You said yesterday, ahead of your meeting with Prime Minister Cameron, that you'd assess what was working and what wasn't.  So I'm wondering, bluntly, what is not working in the fight against the Islamic State.  And in today's bilateral with Prime Minister Abadi, you pledged to step up assistance to Iraq.  I'm wondering if that includes additional U.S. military personnel. 

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PRESIDENT OBAMA:  With respect to ISIL, we have made significant progress in pushing back ISIL from areas in which they had occupied or disrupted local populations, but we've also seen areas like in Ramadi where they're displaced in one place and then they come back in, in another.  And they're nimble, and they're aggressive, and they're opportunistic. 
 
So one of the areas where we're going to have to improve is the speed at which we're training Iraqi forces.  Where we've trained Iraqi forces directly and equipped them, and we have a train-and-assist posture, they operate effectively.  Where we haven't, morale, lack of equipment, et cetera, may undermine the effectiveness of Iraqi security forces.  So we want to get more Iraqi security forces trained, fresh, well-equipped and focused. And President Abadi wants the same thing.
 
So we're reviewing a range of plans for how we might do that, essentially accelerating the number of Iraqi forces that are properly trained and equipped and have a focused strategy and good leadership.  And when a finalized plan is presented to me by the Pentagon, then I will share it with the American people.  We don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis, as well, about how recruitment takes place, how that training takes place.  And so the details of that are not yet worked out. [The White House, 6/8/15]

Some Media Outlets Take Obama Out Of Context, Reporting That He Has No Strategy To Fight ISIS

Politico: Obama Admits He “Still Doesn't Have A Strategy To Combat The Islamic State.” A Politico report called Obama's comments “a presidential gaffe when talking about the fight against ISIL” and stated that Obama “still doesn't have a strategy to combat the Islamic State.” Politico also presented Republican reactions to the out of context quote:

President Barack Obama still doesn't have a strategy to combat the Islamic State.

Back in September, Obama created a political problem for himself by saying “we don't have a strategy yet” to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

On Monday, speaking at the end of a G-7 summit in Germany that included a meeting with new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, he rearranged the words and added an adjective, but said the same thing about training Iraqi troops to fight ISIL: “We don't yet have a complete strategy,” Obama said.

The nuances of military planning don't make for good sound bites. [Politico, 6/8/15]

ABC News: “President Obama Said Today That The United States Does Not Have A 'Complete Strategy' To Defeat ISIS.” ABC News misleadingly reported that "[t]en months since the start of the American-led intervention against ISIS in Iraq, President Obama said today that the United States does not have a 'complete strategy' to defeat ISIS and stem the group's rise in Syria and Iraq." [ABC News, 6/8/15]

Fox News' Special Report: Obama Doesn't Have A Complete Strategy To Fight ISIS. On the June 8 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier, host Baier claimed that President Obama said he doesn't have a strategy to fight ISIS. Baier reported that “almost a year after admitting he didn't have a plan to deal with ISIS fighters in Syria, President Obama says he does not yet have a, quote, 'complete strategy' to take the fight to ISIS militants in Iraq.” [Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, 6/8/15]

CBS News: Obama's “Candid Admission” That He Doesn't Have A Final Strategy To Defeat ISIS. CBS News claimed that Obama said the U.S. doesn't have a “complete strategy” to stop the advance of ISIS:

President Obama said Monday that the U.S. does not yet have a “complete strategy” to stem the advance of militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) because such a plan would require a commitment from the Iraqi government to accelerate the training and recruitment of local security forces.

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The president's candid admission -- that the U.S. is still fleshing out its anti-ISIS strategy -- was reminiscent of a similar declaration last August, as ISIS was gathering steam and the U.S. was in the early stages of mustering an international response to the militant group's rise. [CBS News, 6/8/15]

Fox's Bill O'Reilly: “After Nearly Two Years, The USA Does Not Have A Plan To Confront ISIS.” On the June 8 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly claimed that Obama said he has no plan to confront ISIS, which he said is “frightening” and “incredibly disturbing.” He went on to say that Obama “lacks the will” to defeat ISIS. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 6/8/15]

Daily Caller: “Obama On ISIS: 'We Do Not Yet Have A Complete Strategy.'” The Daily Caller also claimed that Obama said there was no strategy to fight ISIS during his press conference:

President Barack Obama took to the world stage Monday to herald, among other things, his strategy for dealing with the Islamic State.

“We do not yet have a complete strategy,”  Obama said at the G7 summit in Germany, “because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis as well, about how recruitment takes place, how that training takes place, and so the details of that are not yet worked out.”

He seems to contend that his strategy (that there is no strategy) depends on the participation and willingness and proficiency of actors otherwise outside of his control -- the Iraqis. Odd thing is, as journalists were quick to point out, Obama said pretty much the same exact thing a year ago when the U.S. began its military campaign against ISIS. [Daily Caller, 6/8/15]

Other Media Outlets Reported Obama's Remarks Correctly

Vox: “What Obama Said Is That There's No Full Strategy Yet For Training And Equipping Iraqi Soldiers.” Vox explained that Obama's comments were only about the strategy of “training and equipping Iraqi soldiers”:

It's been widely reported that President Obama said Monday that he doesn't have a strategy for defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Some news outlets have played it as a gaffe that reveals Obama's own doubts about his ability to defeat ISIS. And he may well have such doubts -- many Americans do. But that's not what he said.

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What Obama said is that there's no full strategy yet for training and equipping Iraqi soldiers because “it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis.” That shouldn't come as a surprise, since Obama was meeting on the sidelines of the conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the US has been calling for improvements in the Iraqi military.

It's also different than saying he has no strategy for ISIS. We know the difference because Obama has actually said before, at a September 4 news conference, that he wasn't ready to seek approval from Congress for an ISIS plan because he didn't have one.

[...]

Obama's remarks on Monday were limited to the plan for the Iraqi army. Back in September, the question was whether he had any plan at all to take to Capitol Hill. [Vox, 6/8/15]

Wall Street Journal: Obama Said U.S. Is Reviewing Strategies For Training Iraqi Troops. The Wall Street Journal's report on Obama's press conference presented his remarks in the proper context:

Mr. Obama said after a meeting at the summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, that the Pentagon is working on a plan to speed up the training and equipping of the Iraqi military, but that he needed commitments from Iraqi officials to step up training and recruiting.

In the absence of such pledges, the U.S. hasn't yet developed a “complete strategy” for training the Iraqi military, Mr. Obama said. The Pentagon is assessing strategies to hasten progress, but the details haven't been settled, the president said Monday during a news conference at the conclusion of the G-7 summit in the Bavarian Alps.

“When a finalized plan is presented to me by the Pentagon, then I will share it with the American people,” Mr. Obama said. [The Wall Street Journal, 6/8/15]

CNN: Obama Said He Doesn't Yet Have Complete Strategy On Training Iraqis, But Critics Claimed He Was Admitting There Is No ISIS Strategy. CNN reported on comments made by Obama following the G7 meeting and noted that Obama said his advisers are still working on a training plan for Iraqi government forces. CNN noted that critics of the administration claimed he said he doesn't yet have a strategy to fight ISIS:

President Barack Obama said Monday his top national security advisers were still working to solidify training plans for Iraqi defense forces battling ISIS in their own country.

“We don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis,” Obama said during concluding remarks at the G7 conference in Germany, citing recruitment as a key stumbling block facing the central government in Iraq. 

Critics of the administration's strategy in Iraq seized upon the President's comments Monday, claiming they indicated a policy failure and referencing similar comments Obama made in August. [CNN, 6/8/15]