The Pentagon's nominee to lead the Marine Corps says the nation's year-long fight against Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists is "in a stalemate" in Iraq and Syria.
Under questioning by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain on Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Robert Neller said he doesn't believe ISIS is winning or losing,
Fox News reports.
"I believe they are in a stalemate right now," the veteran general said.
Since the U.S.-led air campaign began Aug. 8, 2014, U.S. intelligence estimates ISIS has 20,000-30,000 fighters, the same number the CIA estimated last September, Fox News reports.
Yet other Obama administration officials have characterized the situation far differently,
the Washington Free Beacon reports.
On Monday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest spoke of the “significant progress in terms of rolling back ISIL gains inside of Iraq," Fox News notes.
And President Barack Obama spoke last month of the "progress" the United States has witnessed after hitting ISIS in Iraq and Syria with thousands of air strikes.
Story continues below video.
But some lawmakers disagree, including McCain, who's repeatedly said "ISIS is winning," the Free Beacon reports.
On Tuesday, Neller said "we're doing what we need to do right now," and that ultimately Iraqi fighters are the ones who must take back the land lost to ISIS.
"They're the ones that are going to have to do this," Neller told McCain, Fox News reports, to which the senator responded:
"General, they can't do it themselves, we know that, the Iraqis cannot do it themselves. That is why they are losing."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.