In an apparent damage control effort by Washington after U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Iraqi forces showed no will to fight ISIL in the city of Ramadi, Vice President Biden spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on Monday to reaffirm U.S. support for the Iraqi government's fight against the terrorist group.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant extremists took control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi last week when Iraqi forces failed to fight for the city and instead withdrew, Carter said in an interview broadcast on CNN's "State of the Union."
U.S. military forces can provide the Iraqis with equipment and training, but "we obviously can't give them the will to fight," Carter told CNN.
Iraqi security forces must have the will to fight and defend themselves against ISIL extremists, he added.
His remarks drew a rebuke from Abadi, who said Carter was fed the wrong information.
In an interview with the BBC, the Iraqi leader vowed that the national forces would take back Ramadi from ISIL "in days."
In his call with the Prime Minister, the Vice President recognized the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces over the past eighteen months in Ramadi and elsewhere.
The Vice President welcomed the Council of Minister's unanimous decision on May 19th to mobilize additional troops, honor those who have fallen, and prepare for counter-attack operations, the White House said in a statement.
Biden pledged "full U.S. support in these and other Iraqi efforts to liberate territory from ISIL, including the expedited provision of U.S. training and equipment to address the threat posed by ISIL's use of truck bombs."
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