Obama’s plan to eliminate ISIS is “unrealistic,” says former US Secretary of Defense

(IraqiNews.com) On Monday, former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates described the US president Barack Obama’s plan to eliminate the ISIS organization in Iraq and Syria as “unrealistic.”

Gates said in an interview with the American network ‘NBC’ that, “There may be a need for ground troops to achieve the US administration’s goals,” expressing his belief that the air raids managed to contain the terrorist organization.

“I think that we are in a position too far from expelling ISIS elements out of Iraq,” he added.

Gates, who served as a defense minister during the reign of former presidents George W. Bush and the current Barack Obama, indicated that the United States should not focus on eliminating ISIS, but work on a process that aims at preventing the spread of terrorism instead.

He added, “Obama did set an ambitious goal and speaking about the elimination of ISIS at the present time is “unrealistic”,” stressing that defeating ISIS is not possible without special forces on the ground to support the air strikes.