President Obama: We Are Not Losing In The War Against The Islamic State

New York Times: Obama Defends Approach to ISIS Fight but Says More Is Needed

WASHINGTON — President Obama denied that the United States and its allies were losing the fight against Islamic State forces in the Middle East, but he acknowledged in an interview posted online on Thursday that more should be done to help Iraqis recapture lost territory.

While repeating his refusal to commit large-scale American forces to the region, the president said Sunni fighters in Iraq needed more commitment and training to take on fellow Sunnis aligned with the Islamic State. But he offered no regrets about his handling of the war and said in the end it would be up to the Iraqis to increase their efforts.

“I don’t think we’re losing,” Mr. Obama told Jeffrey Goldberg, a journalist for The Atlantic in an interview conducted on Tuesday just days after the Iraqi city of Ramadi fell to Islamic State fighters. “There’s no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time, primarily because these are not Iraqi security forces that we have trained or reinforced.”

Update #1: Obama: We're not losing against ISIS -- CNN
Update #2: Obama: 'I don't think we're losing' the fight against Islamic State --L.A. Times

WNU Editor: This blog has been chronicling and reporting on the rise of the Islamic State since the beginning .... including U.S. reaction to it. I still do not know what is the U.S. strategy to defeat this group even though President Obama feels supremely confident that his strategy will succeed.

Update: With the Islamic State on a "roll" .... Islamic State fighters overrun Iraqi govt lines east of Ramadi (Reuters) .... calls that the U.S. should change its "playbook" are rising .... Obama urged to ‘scrap’ parts of anti-ISIS playbook as Iraqi, Syrian cities fall (FOX News). Bottom line .... calls for deploying U.S. combat soldiers to both Iraq and Syria are now rising.