In his closing days as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dempsey councils patience over intervention.

Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attends Queen Elizabeth II Trooping the Colour parade on June 13 in London.(Photo: DoD)

June 15, 2015

By Robert Burns

...He counsels patience, for now. (click here)

Give the Iraqis more time to heal their internal divisions and fight their own battles. Resist the temptation to grab control of the contest against the Islamic State group. An enduring victory will take more than military might; it will require a unified Iraq supported by neighbors.

"If we were to take control of this campaign, I mean literally seize control of the campaign, then there's no doubt in my mind we would probably defeat ISIL on, let's say, a faster timeline, but at some considerable cost to our young men and women in uniform," he told U.S. troops Thursday in an aircraft hangar in Naples, Italy, on one of his last overseas trips before finishing his four-year tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

And that defeat would not last....