As the White House mulls sending more troops into Iraq to support the fight against Islamic State fighters, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said existing efforts to counter the extremists, including airstrikes, were increasing in effectiveness.
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford said better intelligence enabled U.S. forces to hit targets affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, with more accuracy than they had just a year and a half ago.
His remarks came days after he told reporters that more U.S. troops were likely headed to Iraq to support an effort to take back the ISIS stronghold of Mosul.
"As our intelligence has developed over time, we've been more effective in conducting strikes against [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant] leadership as well as going after their resources, particularly in the north," he said, using another term for the extremist group. "Moving forward, we're going to look for ways to reinforce success as the Iraqi security forces and Peshmerga prepare for operations in Mosul, which we think is a strategically significant operation." more
