Biden reassures Iraqi prime minister of US support

Vice President Joe Biden reassured Iraq's government on May 25 of US support in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), telephoning Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi with thanks for "the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces" one day after Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioned the Iraqi military commitment.
     
Biden's call came in the wake of harsh criticism from Iraqi and Iranian quarters after Carter questioned Iraqi forces' "will to fight" the surging Islamic State group.
     
A White House statement on May 24 describing Biden's call said the vice president welcomed an Iraqi decision to mobilize additional troops and "prepare for counter-attack operations." Biden also pledged full US support to "these and other Iraqi efforts to liberate territory from ISIL," the statement said.
     
In reaction to Carter's remarks, which were aired May 24 in a CNN interview, a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister suggested the defense secretary had "incorrect information," while Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of the elite Quds forces in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, offered his own critical assessment of US forces.
     
The heated exchanges came after the loss of Ramadi, and amid other gains by ISIL in recent days. The statements laid bare fissures among countries that have become allies of convenience against the militants.

The criticism from both Iraq and Iran began when Carter told CNN's "State of the Union" that Iraqi forces "vastly outnumbered" ISIL, but still "showed no will to fight" and fled ISIL advance on Ramadi.
     
On May 25, Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for al-Abadi, said his government was surprised by Carter's comments.
     
"We should not judge the whole army...