At a news conference after the G7 summit in the Bavarian village Krün, President Barack Obama acknowledged that the US did not have a complete strategy to counter the Islamic State militant group.
"When a finalized plan is presented to me by the Pentagon, then I will share it with the American people," Obama said. "We don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis as well."
Obama laid out a four-point strategy in September, but critics have slammed his strategy — or lack thereof — in recent weeks as the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) has made territorial gains in Iraq and Syria.
"They're nimble, they're aggressive, and they're opportunistic," Obama said of ISIS militants.
The strategy Obama described in September included airstrikes, increased support to allied ground troops such as the Iraqi security forces, counterterrorism methods to cut off ISIS funding and the flow of foreign fighters, and humanitarian support to groups ISIS is targeting.
Obama said the "commitments on the part of the Iraqis" include how training and recruitment, especially of Sunni soldiers and tribesmen, take place.
Sunnis haven't been as involved in the fight against ISIS, a Sunni extremist group, as the US would like. Some experts say the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad is reluctant to arm and train Sunnis out of fear that the Sunnis might one day turn on them.
Obama emphasized that the US and other allied forces have "made some progress but not enough" in preventing foreign fighters from entering Syria and Iraq.
"We're taking a lot of them off the battlefield, but if they’re being replenished, it doesn't solve the problem in the long-term," he said.
The relaxed border policies Turkey adopted between 2011 and 2014 allowed extremists to easily travel to Syria and join the rebels in their fight against the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. And though Ankara is cracking down, fears of blowback mean the problem remains.
Obama said in September that the goal was to "degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL," but that goal still seems far off.
From the CEO and editor of Foreign Policy Group:
Notion that policies in Ukraine, Iraq are making progress is simply delusional. No more gentle way to put it. More of same won't do trick.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) June 8, 2015Several pundits and experts have questioned Obama's strategy in the Middle East and in Iraq specifically.
J.M. Berger, who recently coauthored a book on ISIS, wrote in Politico last month that Obama's repeated references to "tactical" setbacks for US-supported Iraqi forces and lucky breaks for ISIS in capturing territory "is code for saying that the enemy is not 'strategic,'" which does not seem to be the case with ISIS.
Middle East experts have pointed out that ISIS is using religion and Islamic law to establish a social contract with the Muslims living in its territory, demanding taxes and adherence to its strict version of Sharia law in exchange for goods and services.
These policies indicate that ISIS' strategy is rooted in long-term dominance rather than short-term gains.
Here's a video of Obama's statements on Monday:
SEE ALSO: The Obama administration's ISIS strategy faces a crippling contradiction