CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — The new defense secretary, Ashton B. Carter, said Monday after meeting with senior American military and diplomatic officials in Kuwait that the Obama administration had “the ingredients of the strategy” to defeat Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.
In describing an approach that has included political and economic pressure in addition to military force, Mr. Carter said the United States now needed to better use the assistance of other countries in the international coalition that has come together to fight the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Mr. Carter also said that despite the concerns and challenges surrounding the arming and training of Syrian rebels — whose allegiances may not ultimately line up with the United States’ — the American military would be able to balance the risk.
–
The group “is not using the same tactics, techniques and procedures they used in the past when we first started this” in the summer, he said.
Go to Home Page »
