Inspiring: General ‘somewhat’ certain Baghdad won’t fall to ISIS

Nothing inspires confidence like blatant waffling from the nation’s tough-talking, notoriously blunt military brass.

While speaking to a an annual conference at the Association of the United States Army on Monday, the nation’s top Army general, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno, was asked to gauge his level of confidence in the Iraqi Security Forces’ ability to defend the city of Baghdad from the ISIS onslaught. Odierno inspired the confidence of legions when he replied, “somewhat.”

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“I believe the capability is there to defend Baghdad,” he continued, according to a report in The Hill. “But we’ll have to see what plays out over the coming days.”

In September, Odierno suggested that it was a mistake for American troops to pull entirely out of Iraq in late 2010 and, if a residual force had been permanently stationed in Iraq, the current threat posed by ISIS might not be so significant.

“If we were there, maybe we would not have seen the breakdown of the government,” Odierno said. “I think we would have been able to keep a closer eye on what was going on.”

On Tuesday, Presidents Barack Obama will join Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and over 20 defense ministers from coalition partner nations at Andrews Air Force Base to discuss the ongoing campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Odierno’s uninspiring admission comes as ISIS militants execute a series of suicide and roadside bombing attacks in both Baghdad and the Anbar province’s capital city, Ramadi. On Monday, the terrorist army took control of an Iraqi army training camp in Western Iraq, CBS News reported.

But Iraqi troops, overstretched and overwhelmed by ISIS’ summer blitz that seized large swaths of territory in western and northern Iraq, continued to come under pressure Monday in the western Anbar province, where militants seized an Iraqi military training camp.

The camp, near the town of Hit that fell to the insurgents earlier this month, was overrun in the morning hours after clashes with Iraqi soldiers who were forced to abandon the camp and withdraw from the area, two Anbar officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Town residents confirmed the camp’s fall, speaking to the AP also on condition of anonymity, fearing for their own safety.

ISIS touted its conquest of the camp in a statement Monday. The statement could not immediately be verified but it was posted on militant websites commonly used by the group.

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