Iraq

After Fall Of Ramadi, Iraqi Troops Hope For More U.S. Support

7:38pm May 26, 2015

NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Washington Post reporter Loveday Morris about how the city of Ramadi, Iraq, fell to the self-declared Islamic State. She says Iraqi troops in the city were worn down.

Queue Listen Now

World News

Iraq, Iran Push Back Against Defense Secretary's Comments On Iraqi Forces

11:19am May 26, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

In an interview Sunday with CNN, Ash Carter said Iraqi forces lacked the "will to fight" ISIS in Anbar Province and its capital, Ramadi.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington earlier this month. In an interview on CNN Sunday, Carter complained that Iraqi forces lacked "the will to fight" the self-declared Islamic State.

Defense Secretary Carter: Iraqi Forces Lack 'Will To Fight' ISIS

11:04am May 26, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Ash Carter, in an interview on CNN, said that the ISF lost Anbar despite "vastly outnumbering" fighters of the self-declared Islamic State.

Obama Administration Forced To Defend Strategy Against ISIS In Iraq

8:08am May 25, 2015

by Mara Liasson

On this Memorial Day, the Obama administration finds itself defending its foreign policy strategy in Iraq where the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has captured the city of Ramadi.

Queue Listen Now

Robert Gates: Obama Should Step Up Military Assistance To Iraq

9:48pm May 23, 2015

by NPR Staff

The former secretary of defense says that even stepping up the rules of engagement for U.S. troops in Iraq might not keep ISIS in check. "There's no certainty about any of this," he says.

Queue Listen Now

Obama Faces Criticism For Light Footprint Strategy Against Islamic State

8:32pm May 22, 2015

by Scott Horsley

President Obama says the U.S. is not losing the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq, but his strategy has come under criticism after the fall of Ramadi.

Queue Listen Now

Week In Politics: U.S. Policy On Islamic State, 2016 Presidential Race

8:32pm May 22, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with regular political commentators E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution and Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review about U.S. policy on the self-declared Islamic State and the 2016 presidential race.

Queue Listen Now

In this photo released Thursday by a website run by Islamic State militants, damaged Syrian helicopters sit at Palmyra air base, which was captured by ISIS after a battle with the Syrian government forces earlier this week.

World News

Islamic State Reportedly Seizes Last Syria-Iraq Border Crossing

2:02pm May 22, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The checkpoint at al-Tanf, known as al-Waleed in Iraq, has been seized, according to a British-based monitoring group that says ISIS fighters now control half of Syria.

State Department Envoy Defends Administration's Efforts Against ISIS

7:32am May 22, 2015

Steve Inskeep talks to Brett McGurk, the State Department's deputy special envoy to the coalition fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State, about the administration's strategy in Iraq and Syria.

Queue Listen Now

President Obama tells The Atlantic that the loss of Ramadi to the self-declared Islamic State is a

Obama Calls Loss Of Ramadi A 'Setback,' But Denies U.S. Is Losing To ISIS

5:26pm May 21, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The comments came in an interview with The Atlantic. The president also discussed the nuclear talks with Iran and his often-frosty relationship with Israel's political leadership.