News / Military

Pentagon working to craft ‘new narrative’ on ISIL war: Officials

Monday, 28 December 2015 1:51 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 28 December 2015 3:04 PM ]

According to Amnesty International, the ISIL terror organization is in possession of a substantial arsenal of US-made weapons and equipment. (File photo)

US military officials are working to craft a “new narrative” for the war against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, in part to deflect criticism that President Barack Obama does not have a strategy.

Officials on the Operation Inherent Resolve task force have formed a working group to formulate a “new narrative” to communicate the war strategy to the American people, military officials told The Hill.

The issue was raised during a Dec. 14 meeting by the US National Security Council, where President Obama asked his national security team to improve communication about the military campaign.

In a recent interview with NPR, Obama acknowledged that there was “legitimate criticism” of what his administration has been doing “for more than a year now to defeat ISIL.”

"And so part of our goal here is to make sure that people are informed about all the actions that we're taking," he added.

On November 12, Obama claimed that the US military had “contained” ISIL, a bold statement that was refuted a day later when a series of coordinated attacks killed more than 130 people in Paris. Daesh claimed responsibility for the carnage.

Critics, including the Republican presidential candidates, have stepped up attacks against Obama, saying the US is losing the battle against the violent terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.

"To say there's no strategy is just flat out wrong," said Army Col. Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman for the operation against ISIL.

Garver said the new working group will look at “how best to articulate” the various aspects of the military campaign in a “concise easy to understand way.”

US warplanes have been pounding purported ISIL positions in Iraq and Syria for more than a year. The offensive, however, has failed to stop the advances of the extremist militants.

According to Amnesty International, the terror organization is in possession of a substantial arsenal of US-made weapons and equipment they have captured from the Iraqi military.

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