U.S. President Barack Obama says he is confident that the Islamic State militant group will be driven out of Iraq, although he acknowledged there have been "setbacks" fighting the "nimble, aggressive, and opportunistic" militants.
Speaking on June 8 after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi during the G7 summit in Germany, Obama said the United States will continue to increase training and military assistance to Iraqi security forces.
But he said more training will not solve the problem. What is needed, he said, is more recruits, especially from among Iraq's population of Sunni Muslims.
"We've got more training capacity than we have recruits," he said.
"We've seen Sunni tribes who are not only willing and prepared to fight...but have been successful at rebuffing ISIL," Obama said, using another name for the group. "But it has not been happening as fast as it needs to."
Obama said Abadi is committed to establishing an inclusive government that represented all factions within Iraq, but still, he said, "a lot of work needs to be done."
