Dempsey’s timeline

Dempsey’s boys who are entrusted with the task to train and facilitate the Iraqi armed forces, however, are in a fix of sorts.

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Published: Mon 17 Nov 2014, 10:25 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2015, 9:40 PM

There is no quick-fix solution to the war mongering in the Middle East. That was the subtle message that the top United States military general conveyed, as he made a stopover in Iraq. General Martin Dempsey, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, tried to raise the morale of more than 1,500 troops stationed in the war-weary country by saying that the ISIS is a bunch of midgets, and there is nothing to fear against them. Dempsey, who is widely known for making remarks off the battlefield, said that recent successes against the dreaded militants are an indicator that progress is being made, but warned that the struggle to exterminate them could go on for years.

Dempsey’s boys who are entrusted with the task to train and facilitate the Iraqi armed forces, however, are in a fix of sorts. The reason is quite simple: talking into account the capitulation of the Iraqi army before the marching invaders in the north, it is too difficult to say with certainty how capable they would be this time around.

Pentagon had trained the previous force, which melted away before the ISIS, and too at an exorbitant cost after staying put in the country for more than a decade. Thus, Dempsey chose political cliché, as he remarked that time is immaterial in accounting for the successes against the ISIS. That is where the general went wrong. Time management against the enemy in the battlefield is of immense importance. And as far the ISIS is concerned, the sooner it is eradicated, the better.

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