By Nick Simeone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2014 – The U.S.-led strategy to degrade
and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is working, Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel said today, but emphasized that the fight against the
terrorist group will be a “complicated, difficult contest.”
In an exchange with reporters at the Pentagon after meeting
with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo, Hagel said the administration
has repeatedly made clear that the fight against ISIL will be a long, difficult
effort.
“We believe that our strategy is working,” he said, while
acknowledging that progress in Iraq is mixed.
“The reality is that ISIL has control and still does control
a significant amount of ground in Iraq and I don’t think it’s any different
from any complicated, difficult contest,” the secretary said.
With the U.S.-led coalition continuing to carry out
airstrikes against ISIL targets, Hagel told reporters “there will be mixed and
various outcomes daily,” but said he saw no reason for changing U.S. policy.
“We think it’s working,” he summed up.
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