Ryan Crocker: ISIL is better funded, better equipped version of al-Qaeda

Ryan Crocker: ISIL is better funded, better equipped version of al-Qaeda

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Sat Jul 5, 2014 12:10AM GMT

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Former US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker says the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is the 6.0 version of al-Qaeda, since it is better organized and better funded.

In an interview with CNN on Friday, Crocker said that the ISIL is "far bigger, far better organized, better funded, better equipped than the al-Qaeda of 9/11."

"This is what I call al-Qaeda version 6.0," he stated, adding that Washington should consider launching targeted airstrikes against the group’s strongholds.

Crocker said that "we've reached the point where we need to be seriously considering and executing very carefully targeted airstrikes against facilities that they hold, against their command and control nodes, and against they're leadership if we've got them in our sights.”

He also criticized the United States’ policies in Iraq, saying, "Disengagement can have graver results than engagement in the first place."

Crocker added that Washington should move both politically and militarily to help Iraqis get back on a stable course.

"We still have time to help the Iraqis get back on a stable course, but we're going to have move quickly, and we're going to have to move with determination, and we're going to have to move both politically and militarily," he said.

According to US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, of the 300 “military advisers”, 200 are now on the ground. However, the Pentagon chief says, “None will perform combat missions.”

Meanwhile, nearly 550 additional troops are in Baghdad for the protection of the US embassy and US facilities at the Baghdad airport.

The ISIL has captured large swaths of territory across northern Iraq after seizing the city of Mosul on June 10.

The militants, who have posted pictures of their atrocious acts against Iraqi citizens online, have vowed to continue their offensive towards Baghdad.

However, the United States has used the situation as a pretext to increase its military presence in the Arab country and the Middle East region and exert pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to form what Washington calls an “inclusive government”.

A recent report shows that the ISIL terrorists were trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012. The report said that the militants were initially trained at the time as part of covert aid to the militants operating inside Syria.

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http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/05/369921/us-envoy-isil-60-version-of-alqaeda/