The top American military officer has said the success of the U.S.-led campaign to retake Iraqi territory hinges on getting more help from Arab nations, saying the so-called Daesh needs to be “squeezed from multiple directions.”
Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that more Arab participation in the effort is a prerequisite for President Barack Obama's approval of the military campaign plan against the Daesh group, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
"If we can get ISIL looking in about five different directions, that's the desired end state," he said while traveling to Croatia from Lithuania, where he discussed Iraq and other issues with his NATO counterparts, Fox News reported.
Dempsey stressed the importance of gaining more Arab participation in the U.S.-led effort, suggesting that without it the military campaign might not move to its next phase. Obama was briefed on the plan last week but has not okayed it.
"We want them to wake up every day realizing that they are being squeezed from multiple directions," he said.