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Retiring U.S. Army chief suggests embedding U.S. soldiers in Iraqi troops to better fight IS

Xinhua, August 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S. Army's departing top general said Wednesday that his country should consider embedding its soldiers into the Iraqis if the campaign against the Islamic State (IS) fails to yield good progress in the coming months.

"I believe that if we find in the next several months that we're not making the progress that we have, we should probably absolutely consider embedding some soldiers with them, and see if that would make a difference," said Gen. Raymond Odierno.

"That is an option we should present to the president when the time is right," added the chief of staff of the Army at his last press briefing before he retires on Friday.

Facing pressure from hawkish Republicans who have repeatedly called for a "surge" of U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq, U.S. President Barack Obama has insisted that he would not engage U.S. troops in ground conflicts in Iraq.

Though not shy away from demonstrating his frustration as a commander who has so far spent three long tours in Iraq only to see the security situation deteriorating again into chaos, Odierno dismissed remarks by most Republican presidential candidates that the Pentagon should act more aggressively in Iraq.

"I absolutely believe that the region has to solve this problem. The U.S. cannot solve this problem for the region," said Odierno.

As the multinational campaign against the IS is heading towards its first anniversary, its slow progress and occasional setbacks have drawn fire from the Republicans and are evolving into an issue looming over the 2016 presidential election

Speaking at a late Tuesday rally in California, Republican candidate Jeb Bush, believed by many as the front-runner in the crowded Republican field, issued blistering remarks toward Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, accusing the pair of poorly handling the Iraq war.

"That premature withdrawal was the fatal error, creating the void that ISIS moved in to fill," Bush said of the Obama administration's decision to bring back U.S. troops in Iraq in 2011, referring to the IS with a previous name.

Currently, there are about 3,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, the majority of whom are providing military training to the local Iraqi forces. Endi