Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek, the senior defense official in Iraq and chief of the Office of Security Cooperation, says the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq can be defeated within a year, but the fight won't be easy.
"It's going take a very difficult and hard push by many, many nations involved with this," Bednarek said Sunday on
"The Rita Cosby Show" on WABC Radio.
That said, the battle against ISIS worldwide will be "the fight of our lifetime," he said. "This will be a long-term effort … not just for a year or two years in Iraq, but for the long-term future of our country."
Whoever is elected president in 2016 will have to be courageous, the general said, but he added that the 60-plus-nation coalition is vital to the support of the continued effort that will span the Middle East.
"This is going to take a long time," Bednarek said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama on Tuesday and is expected to request more weapons to fight ISIS, and the United States may stipulate that Iran stop playing a role in training and advising Iraq's military.
Bednarek said the United States is concerned with Iran's continued role, but said the bigger worry is Shia militias.
"The prime minister will highlight Iraq’s sovereignty … highlighting that Iranian influence will not govern Iraq," Bednarek said.
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