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What happened to the US will to fight Daesh?

After the fall of Ramadi to Daesh, the US said the Iraqis did not have the will to fight, which drew flak from Baghdad.

President Obama’s statement on the sidelines of the G7 meet that the US doesn’t have a strategy to train Iraqis for the fight against Daesh is laughable. Even US officials have slammed the president, not only for his lack of strategy but also for mouthing it in public. For the world, it’s déjà vu. George W Bush lied to the world about Saddam Hussein’s nuclear weapons and sent his military to Iraq to dethrone the dictator, not knowing what was in store for the US in post-war Iraq. Obama’s admission on Monday only revealed efforts to hide the truth about the situation in Iraq.

After the fall of Ramadi to Daesh, the US said the Iraqis did not have the will to fight, which drew flak from Baghdad. The country may be in the dumps, but the statement was like rubbing salt into wounds which America created in the first place.

Obama remarks are more profound than it sounds. If the US doesn’t have a strategy for Iraq, who else has it? Other Western powers do not have the might and reach to take the war to Daesh. The UK is not in a position to take up the responsibility alone and their army is expected to be downsized to juts 90,000 in a couple of years. Prime Minister David Cameron, however, announced that his country will increase military advisers in Iraq to 275 after requests from Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi. France and Germany are there, of course, but both countries are not willing to act independently. More importantly, they cannot swing the tide against the militants.

Russia has the military might to wipe out Daesh but has a cosy all-weather relationship with regimes in Syria and Iran. Putin may be willing to back Iraq’s sole military efforts against Daesh, if only to score a few brownie points over the US and its failed strategy in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Daesh is running wild and turning more brutal with every passing day. Instead of a call to arms, Obama is turning and walking away. We call it an act of cowardice.