Pentagon Not Pushing Timeline for Mosul Offensive
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Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Pentagon spokesperson Rear Adm. John Kirby said at Friday’s press briefing that the U.S. was not putting pressure on Iraqi forces to be ready for an offensive against ISIS militants in Mosul.
Asked whether a timeline that would lead to a spring offensive in Mosul was realistic, Kirby said that he feels it would be unfair to describe the situation as “the Pentagon or the military…pushing the Iraqis on any specific timeline.”
“I think the most general that I’ve been willing to go,” Kirby said, “is that we were looking at roughly the spring timeframe. I never pinned it down to a month,” he noted.
“Number two,” Kirby added, “we’re not pushing or aggressively trying to nudge them towards a faster timeline than they’re going to be ready.” He also said that the U.S. would “work with them and make sure that they’re ready on their timeline.”
“With the exception of the Iraqis, nobody has a greater stake in the ultimate success of operations inside Iraq, particularly in a place like Mosul, than the Pentagon,” Kirby explained.
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