Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says the US must remain in Iraq after ISIS is defeated.
We broke it, we bought it.
The American military, along with its international partners, will need to remain in Iraq even after the expected defeat of the Islamic State group, outgoing Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Saturday.
Carter said the U.S. and its coalition partners must not stop after completing the current campaign to expel ISIS from Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul.
He said the militants are on a path to lasting defeat.
“But there will still be much more to do after that to make sure that, once defeated, ISIL stays defeated,” he said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS. “We’ll need to continue to counter foreign fighters trying to escape and ISIL’s attempts to relocate or reinvent itself. To do so, not only the United States but our coalition must endure and remain engaged militarily.”
Carter did not say how long this continued U.S. military presence might be necessary or how many troops would be required. At any rate, those decisions are likely to fall to the Trump administration after it takes office in January.
Via Fox News