Harper admits air strikes alone won’t stop Islamic State

Prime Minsiter Stephen Harper has acknowledged that air strikes may not be enough to defeat the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.

“I think everybody has recognized that not all of the objectives in terms of defeating ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) can be accomplished just through an aerial campaign,” said Harper Tuesday. “But nevertheless, an aerial campaign can have considerable effect and I think all the evidence suggests it is having considerable effect.”

Harper made the comments during a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande, who is in Ottawa for a bilateral visit. His remarks come days after Canadian CF-18 fighter jets dropped their first bombs on IS targets in Iraq as a part of a U.S.-led mission against the extremist group. Canada recently committed to a six-month aerial deployment with the coalition, which includes more than 40 countries.

Harper did not say what further steps the coalition might need to take beyond air strikes. Military experts have long said that air strikes will not be enough to defeat the Islamic State, which has made major gains in Iraq and Syria — suggesting that Western ground troops may be needed. But Harper said the job of driving back IS on the ground belongs to the Iraqi military.

“We all recognize that it has to ultimately push back on the ground,” said Harper. “It’s obviously the belief of all of us that to really be effective it has to be the Iraqis themselves who take that responsibility.”

Hollande said that air strikes are necessary, but agreed they’re not enough.

“These strikes cannot be enough. There should also be some ground movements. And in Iraq, it is for the Iraqi army and for the Peshmerga from the Iraqi Kurdistan to make sure that these territories are taken back,” said Hollande.

The French president also highlighted France’s support for the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian Opposition, as well as its co-operative efforts with Turkey, where they hope to train some Syrian troops.

Canada is also facing pressure to train Syrian troops. On Monday, Brig.-Gen. Hussam Alawak, in charge of intelligence for the Free Officers Movement — an arm of the Free Syrian Army — said Canada’s time, effort and money would be better spent on training ground forces to retake territory from IS in Iraq and Syria, rather than on an aerial bombing campaign.

Original Article
Source: ipolitics.ca/
Author: Michelle Zilio