INTRO:
Foreign ministers from more than 60 countries fighting the so-called Islamic State will meet in Washington on Wednesday to plan their next moves as the group loses ground in its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
The summit, which will be led by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, is a gathering of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS, a group begun by former President Barack Obama that is committed to eliminating the threat from the terror organization.
Kate Fisher reports
IN: The battle
OUT: SOC
DUR: 2'45"
SCRIPT:
VO: (DVIDS Mosul pix)
The battle to recapture Mosul - Islamic State's last stronghold in Iraq has entered its sixth month but is making progress.
Iraqi government forces, backed by U.S. advisers, artillery and air support, have cleared the east and half of western Mosul and are focused on controlling the Old City.
SOT: JEFF MARTINI, Rand Corporation
"state in disarray. consensus that they're gonna lose that territory
we could argue their on the path to defeat. the raqqa campaign could be difficult. mosul has taken months, i thin kraqqa could take even longer. there's still one sig fight ahead. it hasother manifestations. it could go back into going back into the population - being an insurgent group. even if their' caliphate goes away"
VO: (Merkel meeting)
During the presidential campaign Donald trump promised to expand what he called a weak and indecisive fight against the militant group.
He reiterated that on Friday at a meeting with one of his coalition partners- German chancellor Angela Merkel:
SOT: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
"Most importantly, our two countries must continue to work together to protect our people from radical Islamic terrorism and to defeat ISIS. I applaud Chancellor Merkel for Germany's contributions, both civilian and military, as a counter-ISIS coalition member. "
VO:
But so far president trump's strategy isn't markedly different from president Obama's - the coalition who are meeting on Wednesday- was created by his predecessor. And some argue it can't achieve much anyway.
SOT: JEFF MARTINI, Rand Corporation
"has been surpassed by a smaller collection of states that are the key actors now in syria . diminished in importance because of the establishment of this new group."
VO:
President Trump has prioritized defence - announcing a 54 billion dollar increase in military spending. If approved by Congress, more than $3 billion of that would be allocated to the fight against ISIS.
Two hundred additional troops have already been sent to Syria to assist with the forthcoming fight for Raqqa.
But some here in Washington describe this as mission creep - they're concerned about putting any more Americans in harms way in the middle east.
kate fisher