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PARIS (AP) — Despite the recent gains by Islamic State militants in Iraq and in Syria, the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting the extremists is planning to stay the course it set last year.
Iraq's prime minister called for more support from the 25 countries in the coalition at a conference in Paris today. But the conference offered no strategy beyond the one that has yet to bear fruit, and none had been expected.
Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken pledged to "redouble our efforts." He was leading the delegation after Secretary of State John Kerry broke his leg in a cycling accident over the weekend.
He said the U.S. will make it easier for Iraq to obtain new weapons -- after the Iraqi leader said that Iran and Russia, which have been hit by sanctions, are potentially important arms suppliers.
Blinken also said the U.S. will send anti-tank rockets to Iraqi forces to use against the armored suicide truck bombs that have devastated and terrified Iraqi forces.
He says the plan was in place before the fall of Ramadi -- where Iraqi troops pulled out without a fight and abandoned U.S.-supplied tanks and weapons.
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125-a-12-(Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken, at news conference)-"determined and focused"-Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken says defeating the Islamic State group will be tough but the coalition is committed to doing the job. (2 Jun 2015)
<<CUT *125 (06/02/15)££ 00:12 "determined and focused"
128-a-19-(Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken, at news conference)-"pressure on Daish"-Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken says Iraqi fighters are getting advanced munitions from the U.S. to help beef up the fight against Islamic State. ((not cut length)) (2 Jun 2015)
<<CUT *128 (06/02/15)££ 00:19 "pressure on Daish"
APPHOTO ZIH102: French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, left, shakes hands with Sweden's Prime Minister, Stefan Lofven upon his arrival at the Hotel Matignon residence in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) (2 Jun 2015)
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APPHOTO REB129: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, left, French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, center, and US Deputy Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken address the media after a meeting in Paris, France, to discuss strategy in fighting the jihadist militant group, who have made key battlefield advances in recent weeks in Iraq and Syria, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 Iraq's prime minister and international allies are gathering in Paris to re-examine their strategy against Islamic State extremists, after the group's recent gains. The coalition, which includes the United States and France but not Russia, Iran or Syria, is meeting Tuesday after extremists conquered both the Iraqi city of Ramadi and the historic Syrian city of Palmyra. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu) (2 Jun 2015)
<<APPHOTO REB129 (06/02/15)££
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