Biden didn’t waste anytime sending Ash on a trip out of the country. Mrs. Ash Carter has remained in the US.
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter arrived Sunday in Kuwait where he will host a major meeting with senior military, intelligence and diplomatic officials to discuss the U.S. strategy to combat the Islamic State group.
A senior U.S. defense official, who briefed reporters about the meeting on condition of anonymity, said the attendees at Monday’s meeting will include: Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. Central Command; Lt. Gen. James Terry, the commander of Operation Inherent Resolve; Lt. Gen. Raymond Thomas, the head of Joint Special Operations Command; Maj. Gen. Michael Nagata, who’s spearheading the Syria rebels train and equip mission; Gen. Philip Breedlove, the commander of NATO; retired Gen. John Allen, the president’s special envoy for the coalition against the Islamic State; Brett McGurk, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran at the U.S. State Department; and the U.S. ambassadors to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.
“We’ve got a lot of stars in the room,” the official said.
Carter plans to ask those gathered about:
Efforts to train and equip the Iraqi security forces and moderate Syrian rebels.
The offensive capabilities of the Iraqi army.
Plans for mobilization of Iraqi Sunnis against the Islamic State.
The air campaign in Iraq and Syria.
The different opposition groups in Syria.
What coalition partners are doing to assist the U.S.-led effort.[…]There are believed to be 1,000 to 2,000 Islamic State fighters in Mosul. They’ve occupied the city for about nine months and have had plenty of time to fortify their defenses
The CENTCOM official said that the Mosul operation is expected to be launched in April or May after the main force goes through U.S.-led training.
But some doubt that the Iraqis will be up to the task by then.
Mowaffak Rubaie, Iraq’s former national security advisor and now a member of the parliament in Baghdad, told the L.A. Times that the plan was “not practical,” saying the Iraqi forces probably won’t be ready until the end of this year or even early next year.”
Carter said the attack won’t be launched prematurely.
“The timing will be and should be determined by when that operation can be successful,” he told reporters during a visit to Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan Sunday before he departed for Kuwait.