The Islamic State could have taken control of Iraq’s capital city if the United States didn’t intervene in the country, secretary of state John Kerry said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday. Discussing recent developments in the fight against the militants, Kerry explained the gravity of that threat prompted the Obama administration to take action.
“What we’ve done is we’ve stopped the onslaught — that was what we were able to achieve with air power,” he said. “They were moving towards Erbil, they were moving towards Baghdad.”
“Baghdad could well have fallen, Erbil could have fallen,” Kerry continued.
He also pointed to other successes that U.S. air strikes have supported, including the Kurds’ retaking the Mosul Dam and breaking the siege of Mount Sinjar. Such efforts will continue, Kerry said, warning Amanpour and Americans that they shouldn’t expect “a massive retreat within the next week or two.”
“The president has been clear: this will take time,” he said.
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