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Carter in Iraq to seek new ways to battle Islamic State

U. S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter addresses the U.S. troops at the Incirlik Air Base near Adana, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. Carter said the U.S. wants Turkey to better control its border with Syria, which could help block the flow of foreign fighters to the Islamic State group, and to more forcefully join the U.S.-led coalition "in the air and on the ground." (AP Photo)
U. S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter addresses the U.S. troops at the Incirlik Air Base near Adana, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. Carter said the U.S. wants Turkey to better control its border with Syria, which could help block the flow of foreign fighters to the Islamic State group, and to more forcefully join the U.S.-led coalition "in the air and on the ground." (AP Photo)

By Associated Press 4 min read

BAGHDAD (AP) – Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with Iraqi leaders and his commanders Wednesday on an unannounced war zone visit aimed at broadening U.S. assistance to Iraq to defeat the Islamic State group.

The Obama administration has been talking for days about “accelerating” the fight against IS, but that effort is complicated because there is some Iraqi reluctance to having a greater U.S. footprint in the country.

Those concerns could affect whether or not Iraqi leaders agree to allow the U.S. to send Apache attack helicopters and more troops into the fight.

At the start of a meeting with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Carter said the U.S. wants to help Iraq as it fights against IS in Ramadi and then later in Mosul.

“Everything we do…here is subject to the approval of the sovereign Iraqi government,” Carter said. “And I also wanted to emphasize to you, the respect for sovereignty and for Iraq’s territorial sovereignty is a principle that the United States strongly supports in every context.”