Iraqi Forces Ceded Ramadi Without Fight

Even though they vastly outnumbered Islamic State insurgents, Iraqi army forces ceded the city to them without a fight, Secretary of Defense Ash Carder said. “What apparently happened is the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight,” Carter said, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” program May 24. “They withdrew from the site, and that says to me – and I think to most of us – that we have an issue with the will of Iraqis to fight ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and defend themselves,” Carter said. He also reiterated that the U.S. has made no commitment to insert U.S. troops into the fight, specifically denying that there had been any plan to place forward air controllers in Iraq to direct air strikes.