Kerry: Airstrikes ‘stopped the onslaught’

Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday expressed confidence that U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have stopped the initial “onslaught” from extremists in the region. 

However, Kerry said the recent launch of strikes in Syria against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is not expected to lead to a “massive retreat” in the next few weeks. 

{mosads}”Airpower has been effective, and now as their supplies begin to get hit, and other things begin to happen, I believe there is the possibility of a slow degrading that ultimately [will lead to defeat] — and I say ultimately because the president has been clear, this will take time,” Kerry said on CNN. “You and others should not be looking for some massive retreat within the next week or two. There are going to have to be major efforts to stand up tribes.”

Major cities like Baghdad and Irbil could have fallen without airstrikes, Kerry said, and ISIS could have gained other territory in Iraq. 

Along with airstrikes, the United States plans to arm and train vetted Syrian rebels to take on ISIS on the ground. 

Kerry said the current effort is aimed at defeating ISIS, but that could also free up rebels to complete their ultimate goal of toppling Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. 

“They have proven themselves to be willing to fight, and now we believe if ISIL begins to have less capacity to get in their way, they will have more capacity to achieve their goal,” Kerry said, using an alternate acronym for the group. 

Kerry declined to debate whether President Obama should have begun the operation much sooner, which many in Congress and some in the administration had advised. 

“We are focused on the now,” Kerry said. 

He said Obama never dismissed anyone while debating the issue, and there were serious questions about the legality of the operation in the past. The Syria operation’s legality is clear now, Kerry asserted, with the request for assistance from Iraq and the need for collective self-defense against ISIS. 

He said the group’s level of “depravity” and “fundamental evil” has galvanized Arab allies in the region to sign on to support the airstrikes.